CHERISH YOUR MEMORIES WITH CHOLINE

?The brain depends on choline ( a B vitamin ) to manufacture the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.?

Acetylcholine is one of the main brain neurotransmitters, as it is crucial for memory and learning, as well as arousal and reward. If your loved one has Alzheimer's, you have probably heard of how the memory loss typical of the disease is associated with a shortage of acetylcholine.

Most available drugs for Alzheimer's, like donepezil ( Aricept ), are aimed at improving the action of this chemical in the brain. However, anyone can be low in this neurotransmitter because of their diet. Since choline is an essential nutrient that the brain needs but is not able to produce on its own, the production of acetylcholine is limited by how much choline is reaching the brain at any given moment.

Approximately 10 percent of the total amount of choline circulating in the body is produced by our liver. We must rely on our diet to provide the remaining 90 percent needed. For example, eggs are among the richest sources of choline.

But if you are eating a diet deficient in choline, you will likely cause an acetylcholine deficiency in your brain - affecting your memory as the by-product.?

This begs the question: Is it easy to eat enough of this vital brain Not particularly. According to current dietary guidelines, if you are an adult woman, you and your brain need at least 425 milligrams ( mg ) of choline daily, while men need about 550 mg daily. In practical terms, if you are an adult woman, you can get your 425 mg of choline by eating 22 grapefruits, or 3 pounds of broccoli, or half a chicken ... or you can eat 3 eggs. If you are an adult man, you'll need more of the same foods, so 27 grapefruits, 4 pounds of broccoli, 2 pounds of chicken, or about 4 eggs. Every day. This is not to suggest that you should eat several pounds of broccoli a day ( nor a case of grapefruit ), but it does serve to clarify two very interesting things. First of all, it makes it clear that some foods are more choline-dense than others, and therefore more brain-supportive. For example, it's easier to enjoy a three-egg omelet than to ingest twenty-two grapefruits. Second, this shows that eating right for your brain is both literally and figuratively " not a piece of cake.

Let's now take a look at the foods that best provide the choline necessary to boost our brains ' acetylcholine levels. Egg yolks top the list, with a whopping 682 mg of choline per 100 grams of yolk ( or about 4 eggs ). Since stuffing yourself with egg yolks might be a tad impractical, a combination of different choline-rich foods is arguably the best solution. Other choline-rich foods include fish eggs ( caviar ), most fish, organ meat ( e.g, liver, kidney, brain, and heart ), shiitake mushrooms, wheat germ, quinoa, peanuts, and almonds.?As an additional assist, nutritional supplements can be helpful. Here's a shortcut that might do the trick. Brewer's yeast ( the one that's used to make beer, not to bake cakes ! ) is a great natural source of choline.?

Though an acquired taste for some, Marmite, a product that features brewer's yeast as its main ingredient, is a regular staple in most English and Australian kitchens. Since first being manufactured in the early 1900s, this savory spread has been praised for its high nutritional value, so much so that it was included in every soldier's rations during World War I. Considering it takes only a couple of tablespoons of brewer's yeast to reach our daily choline requirements, sprinkling this food on cooked vegetables and salads, or adding it to soups and stews, is a smart way to boost your choline levels. I always add some to my soups. One word of caution: although it's quite difficult to eat too many foods rich in choline, keep in mind that excessive choline can be toxic. In general, no more than 3500 mg for adult men and women is recommended as a daily dosage.