Episode 25: Choline for Fertility and Pregnancy: Why This Nutrient Matters

In this episode, Michelle delves into the essential role of choline in fertility, pregnancy, and fetal development. She explores what choline is, why it's crucial during these stages, how to ensure adequate intake, and whether supplementation is necessary.

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The information provided in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet or nutrition plan, especially if you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant. The hosts and guests of this podcast are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the information discussed.

Transcript

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You are listening to Nourish, bump and Beyond the podcast dedicated to all things fertility and prenatal nutrition. We are host Annika Rowe and Michelle Brown. We believe that successful pregnancy outcomes start with good nutrition. Each week we'll explore various aspects of nutrition, focusing on how specific nutrients, foods, and dietary choices can enhance preconception wellness, optimized fertility, and support a healthy pregnancy. Whether you are planning to conceive, struggling with fertility challenges, or navigating the joys and complexities of pregnancy, this podcast is your trusted source for a nourish start to parenthood dive. Let's dive, dive in. Let's dive in. Hi everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Nourish Bump and Beyond. In today's episode, I will be chatting all things choline, and I did just wanna mention that unfortunately Ika can't jump on to join us today. Although I'm really excited to be talking about choline because, it is very critical in both the preconception, so before you conceive and during pregnancy as well. So, we'll be chatting about how you can find choline, so what foods contain it, and whether you should consider a supplement. and I'll also be sharing the latest research as well, which I'm sure you'll find useful. I feel like Coleen's a bit of an unsung hero when it. Comes to both, fertility and pregnancy. And the reason for that is it's only quite relatively new in terms of its discovery. So it's only been discovered during the last a hundred years, though it was only actually classified as a nutrient in 1998. So that's quite, recent in the grand scheme of things. And because of that, there's been a bit of delay in getting information out there as why it is so crucial during preconception and pregnancy. So first up, what even is Coleen? So choline is a water soluble nutrient, which means that we can easily excrete it from our body, and it's essential meaning that we can't actually make enough of it ourselves. So we need to source that from external sources, which is normally our diet or our food Now, what role does it play in our bodies? It's really important so it helps, build all of the cell membranes in our body. It helps, our nerves work properly. and most importantly, during pregnancy, it supports the baby's brain development and DNA methylation. Now, if you tuned in about two episodes now, we did chat about DNA methylation in our epigenetics episode. And for those that didn't tune in. Epigenetics in a nutshell, is how our environment can influence our genes and dictate whether they are switched on or off, which impacts how they function within our body. So super, super important. Now, choline is a methyl donor, so this means that it can donate, methyl groups, which really support that methylation process And control whether those genes are turned on or off, which is Really pivotal. Now if you're trying to conceive or considering starting a family, you're probably thinking, how can choline help me on that journey? So there was a study, by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found higher choline. Intakes were associated with both improved egg and sperm quality. And they thought this was likely due to its role in the cell membrane. Function and also the methylation process that we talked about before. So. This means that choline could potentially enhance fertilization and embryo development as well. So that is a really promising finding we also know that choline, along with folate and B12, can help reduce what is called homocysteine levels and. This is a marker that we often look at in fertility nutrition because high levels of homocysteine have been associated with reduced fertility and increased miscarriage risk. So if you're already working on your folate intake in the preconception phase, don't forget, to focus on choline as well because they work sadistically. And,, yeah, there's really promising research there too now if you are already pregnant, it's just as important that you don't slack off with your CHO consumption, and that's because of the impact it has on babies' brain development. Like I mentioned earlier, so there was a study conducted in 2018 and they found that mothers who consumed. Double the recommended intake of choline during pregnancy had babies with significantly faster processing speeds. So information processing speeds compared to mothers that consumed a recommended amount. So this is just one study. But, an interesting finding and they associated the faster processing speed in. Infancy with better cognitive outcomes later on in childhood. So it was an interesting finding in 2021, there was a study that found that 90% of pregnant women in the US don't meet their recommended intake of choline, which is around 950 milligrams per day. And the gap in Australia is likely really similar, and that is because the richest sources of choline aren't staples in our modern westernized diets. So. Really interesting that such a large number of women aren't actually meeting the recommended amounts. So, on that note, where can we get Cho from? So some of the best sources of choline are eggs, beef, liver, poultry and meats, fish and seafood as, as well as dairy products. And if you are vegetarian or vegan, soybeans and legumes offer smaller amounts as well. But it is much more challenging to meet those requirements if you're following a plant-based diet or a vegan diet because lion's share of choline actually comes from those animal products, as well as the byproducts of animals like the eggs and the dairy. So if you are thinking, well, how on earth can I eat enough choline during the day and do I need to supplement? The first thing we need to determine is your requirement. So if you're a female, and you are age between 19 and 50, it's likely that you need around 425 milligrams of choline per day. Though these requirements increase to 440 milligrams per day during pregnancy and up to 550 milligrams a day while you're breastfeeding. So what would that look like in a day? If you were to start your day eating two large eggs, that would give you approximately 294 milligrams of choline. So that's a pretty large chunk just with the two eggs. Then for example, if you had a chicken salad for lunch with approximately a hundred grams of grilled chicken breasts, that would give you another 85 milligrams of choline. Toss that through with one cup of cooked quinoa, that would give you another 43 milligrams of choline and add in some cooked broccoli. Let's say one cup that would give you about 63 milligrams of choline. So all up there, just from breakfast and lunch, that would allow you to meet your colon intakes in just those two meals if you weren't pregnant or if you were pregnant. And then if you were breastfeeding, you would need to really focus on that, throughout the rest of the day as well. But you do need to be really intentional with your day because it is tricky to meet those requirements if you're not planning for it. Now this brings me to our next question. Do you need to take a supplement? Um, and if so, do you need just a calling supplement or is it in your prenatal? And really interesting. There was a study done by the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2016. They actually went through and looked at 400 prenatal supplements and found that only 8% contained any choline at all, and fewer than that actually provided the recommended therapeutic dose. And the reason that colon isn't universally included in prenatal vitamins is because it's bulky and it's really hard to formulate into small capsule. So it often gets left out even though it's so critical for fetal brain development and your tube health. So really, important if you're just relying on your prenatal supplement, it might not be cutting it for you. If you are pregnant or trying to conceive, you may not be meeting your calling intake requirements just from diet alone or even from diet and prenatal combined, and that's why it's such a good idea to chat with a dietician. We can go through, analyze your diet, have a look at the supplements you're taking, and, work out a, routine for you that can really make sure that you're hitting,, the recommended requirements for choline. Now just on a note of recommended requirements, there is actually a growing consensus among researchers that the current recommended intakes may actually be too low for pregnancy. And their studies are suggesting that intakes around the 550 to 930 milligrams per day are more optimal, given the important role that Colleen plays in both cognitive development and placental function. So, why more research is needed is important to note that perhaps our guidelines are skewed towards the lower end, in terms of our requirements. Now, the upper limit for choline is 3,500 milligrams per day because it is a water stable vitamin.. So our bodies can more easily, get rid of that if we don't need it. However, it's not possible to consume all that through food. So to get that much, you would be consuming that from a supplement, though it is important to note that higher. Levels of choline at that upper end are associated with antenatal depression and also anxiety. So yeah, if you are consuming higher amounts, it is a good idea to keep out for those symptoms. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Nourish Bump and Beyond. We hope this episode has inspired you to prioritize your nutrition and nourish your journey towards parenthood. Don't forget to connect with us on Instagram at Appetite by Annika and Food for Fertility for more tips, updates, and resources.