The missing nutrient in your wellness routine

nutritionnutrition & functional medicinebiohackingfemale biohackingfemale healthhormonal healthgut & liver support
Written By Nina Çapar

Why choline deserves your undivided attention

I’ll be honest—until a few years ago, I hadn’t given much thought to choline. It wasn’t something that showed up in wellness trends, on food labels, or in the glossy nutrition posts I saw online. I could tell you all about magnesium, B12, and omega-3s… but choline? It flew completely under my radar.

That changed when I started digging deeper into the relationship between nutrition, brain health, and hormones. I kept seeing this quiet little nutrient pop up in research on cognitive function, liver support, pregnancy, and even inflammation. And what I learned surprised me: choline isn’t just important. It’s essential—and many of us aren’t getting enough of it through our diets.

So let’s talk about choline. What it is, why it matters (especially for women), and how you can start giving your body the support it (quietly) craves.

What Is Choline—and Why Haven’t We Heard More About It?

Choline is a water-soluble nutrient that acts a bit like a B-vitamin. Your body needs it to build cell membranes, support nervous system function, regulate metabolism, and create acetylcholine—a neurotransmitter involved in memory, mood, and muscle control.

It also plays a major role in methylation, a biochemical process that affects everything from hormone regulation to detoxification to gene expression.

Despite all this, choline has largely flown under the radar of public health conversations. As highlighted in a landmark article from the journal Nutrition Reviews, choline is “an essential nutrient for public health”—yet population studies consistently show that most adults, including pregnant women, consume less than the recommended amount [1].

In fact, fewer than 10% of Americans meet the Adequate Intake level for choline. This is an astonishing number, if you ask me.

This is especially concerning because choline deficiency isn’t just about feeling tired or foggy—it’s linked to much more serious conditions like liver dysfunction, neurological issues, and increased risk of birth defects during pregnancy [1].

Personalized Nutrition: Why Some Women Need More Choline Than Others

Emerging research shows that choline metabolism is not one-size-fits-all. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry explored the bioavailability and utilization of choline across different individuals—and found that genetic variations, microbiome diversity, and even hormone levels affect how your body absorbs and uses it [2].

That means two women can eat the same diet but have vastly different choline status depending on factors like:

  • Their estrogen levels (which influence endogenous choline synthesis)

  • Their gut microbiota (some bacteria metabolize choline faster than others)

  • Their genes (specifically variations in the PEMT and MTHFD1 genes, which impact choline requirements)

This opens the door even more to a future of personalized nutrition—where your choline intake isn’t just based on population averages, but on your body’s actual needs.

For now, it simply means this: if you’re menstruating, pregnant, breastfeeding, using hormonal birth control, or navigating perimenopause—your need for choline might be higher than you think.

Signs You Might Be Low on Choline

There’s no gold-standard blood test for choline yet, but these subtle signs may indicate your body isn’t getting enough:

  • Brain fog or memory lapses

  • Mood swings or irritability

  • Fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest

  • Muscle tension or difficulty recovering from workouts

  • Hormonal imbalance

  • Fatty liver or poor digestion

Of course, these symptoms overlap with many other health conditions, which makes it a bit more difficult, but if your diet is low in choline-rich foods, it’s worth taking a closer look or trying out something different. After all, that’s what biohacking and my page is all about! And since women’s bodies are not yet fully researched, biohacking is the answer many of us need. 

Where to Find Choline in Real Food

So, let’s talk about where we can find this choline. Egg yolks are, by far, the richest dietary source of choline. One large egg yolk contains around 125 mg of choline!

Other good sources include:

  • Liver (especially beef and chicken liver)

  • Salmon and sardines

  • Shiitake mushrooms

  • Wheat germ

  • Brussels sprouts and broccoli

  • Quinoa and soy products (unprocessed or minimally processed)

This means that for plant-based eaters, it can be a bit more challenging to meet your choline needs through diet alone. That’s where smart supplementation—especially during pregnancy or periods of intense cognitive or physical stress—can make a difference.

Actionable Tips to Support Choline Intake

If you’re looking to give your brain, liver, and hormones a boost through better choline support, here’s how to start:

✅ Eat more whole eggs (yes, including the yolks!) — aim for 1–2 daily if you tolerate them well.
✅ Add liver to your diet — even just once a week in small amounts can deliver a powerful nutrient boost, especially when it comes to choline, iron, and vitamin A. I’ll be honest: liver has never been my favorite food (and I know I’m not alone in that). There’s something about the taste that I just can’t get used to. But knowing how incredibly nourishing it is, I’ve found ways to make it more palatable. My go-to tip? Mix it into meatballs or blend it into a homemade pâté. You’ll get all the benefits — without having to face the full flavor head-on.
✅ Focus on nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods — refined diets are almost always lower in choline.
✅ Consider a high-quality choline supplement — especially if you’re plant-based, pregnant, breastfeeding, or on birth control. Look for CDP-choline or alpha-GPC for best absorption.
✅ Support your methylation pathways — with folate, B12, and magnesium alongside choline. They work synergistically in hormone metabolism and detox.

Final Thoughts: A Quiet Nutrient Worth Listening To

Choline may not get the spotlight that magnesium, protein, or adaptogens do—but it’s quietly doing some of the most important work in your body every single day. And as research continues to uncover how uniquely individual our needs can be, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about listening to your body. Nourishing your cells. And supporting the systems that help you feel clear, resilient, and fully alive.

If you’re craving clarity, deeper hormonal balance, or better energy regulation—choline might be the hidden key.

And if you’d like guidance on how to build a nutrient-dense foundation that supports your hormones, mood, metabolism, and mental clarity, my course on holistic nutrition and cycle living was made for women like you!

🧠 Nourish your brain. 💛 Support your hormones. 🌿 Eat for the version of you that wants to thrive.
👉 Check out the course before enrollment closes.

References

Nina Çapar
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