Choline has been found beneficial in the treatment of nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys). Addition of choline to an otherwise adequate diet has quickly corrected experimentally produced nephritis in laboratory animals.
When choline was provided in adequate diet, a substantial improvement was observed in the disease. Better results were found when choline was given together with lecithin.
Vitamin Choline And Liver Damage
The effect of choline has been widely studied in different laboratory animals. In rats deficient in choline, it has been observed that fat accumulates in the liver cells within a few hours.
The fat combines into pools and seeps into the blood and bile. Unless choline is added to the diet, scars replace most of the liver tissue, a condition similar to human cirrhosis, which is fatal to animals and humans alike. However, the liver again becomes healthy if choline is given early enough.
Benefits Of Choline For High Blood Pressure
Deficiency of choline in animals have shown rise in blood pressure. In an experiment, 158 patients with severe hypertension were studied while being given choline daily.
Symptoms such as headache, sound in ear, constipation were cured. The blood pressure began to fall within three weeks and decreased in every case, the average drop being 31 mm systolic and 20 mm diastolic. There was gradual improvement in sleep, vision and body swelling.
Heart Disease: Choline, is also important in heart related ailments. Patients who were recovering from heart attacks were given choline. After giving both choline and inositol, there was remarkable improvement in cholesterol level in blood. The blood lecithin also increased.
Natural Sources Of Vitamin Choline
Vitamin Choline is one of the B group vitamins. Choline is abundant in large quantity among different foods that we eat. It is also manufactured inside the body. The body can make Vitamin Choline from methionine an amino acid, with the aid of vitamin BI2 and folic acid.
- Choline can be found as nutrient in vitamin B Family, which is responsible for early development of human’s brain and also throughout the life.
- Choline can be found in foods like, whole large egg, pan fried beef liver, cauliflower, almonds, navy beans, beef (ground), tofu and peanut butter.
- Vitamin Choline is available in liberal quantities in fish and sea foods.
Main Functions Of Vitamin Choline
Vitamin Choline in its chemical composition is crystalline and without any color. This vitamin has capability of dissolving in water as well as in alcohol. It is heat resistant even in its dilute form. This means even in heat choline does not lose its structure and function. Choline is absorbed from the intestine and most of it is excreted through urine.
- Choline does an important work of transporting fat from one place to another in the body, thus it helps to prevent fat deposition in liver.
- Combining with other B group vitamin called inositol, choline facilitates proper utilization of cholesterol from the blood.
- Lecithin is important for nerve cells. It makes easy transportation of messages from one nerve cell to another. Combining itself with phosphorus and fatty acids choline can stimulate production of lecithin.
- Choline is considered an important B vitamin to produce a substance in the brain required for memory. It can penetrate from the blood into the brain cells.