Choline Bitartrate Myprotein Review Acetylcholine Benefits Brain Function

We derive choline from certain foods in our diet, but an estimated 90% of the population does not get the recommended amount per day. A choline deficiency can greatly impair your memory and reasoning functions while also making it harder to focus and even affecting your mood.

Thinking and concentration abilities. Choline intake is especially important later in life where lower acetylcholine levels precipitate cognitive decline, senile dementia and even Alzheimer’s.Choline (2-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyl-ethanaminium) is a water soluble nutrient that is closely related to the B complex of Vitamins. While your body naturally makes a small amount of this compound, we require external sources from our diet and supplements in order to meet our daily needs.

This essential nutrient is used in our liver to prevent the build-up of fat but its most important role is in contributing to certain brain systems. Choline is used to develop and maintain health brain cells, especially by improving the signaling capacity, structural integrity and fluidity of neuronal membranes.

According to the Natural Medicines Database, Choline is used in the treatment of, “liver disease including chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, hypercholesterolemia, depression, memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and schizophrenia … body building, delaying fatigue in endurance sports, preventing neural tube defects, preventing cancer, Huntington’s chorea, Tourette’s disease, cerebellar ataxia, complex partial seizures, asthma, and as a supplement in infant formulas.”detox,hair loss, dollar collapse,alex jones,

It has been found that Choline needs are especially high for babies developing in the womb when an estimated 50,000 neurons per second are being formed. One study in animal subjects found that pregnant mothers who were given greater amounts of Choline had offspring with higher IQs than their counterparts with lower intakes.

The Role of Acetylcholine

Another key responsibility of Choline is in promoting cholinergic activity through the synthesis of acetylcholine. In your brain there are an estimated 86,000,000,000 neurons and they all communicate predominantly through the transmission of various chemical signalers called neurotransmitters.

Acetylcholine is one of the neurotransmitters most involved in processes related to memory formation, retention, recall, mathematical and verbal reasoning, planning and focus. It is created in your brain when an acetate molecule combines with a choline molecule, but if you do not have enough choline in your system this can result in acetylcholine deficiency.

When you have high levels of acetylcholine available in your neurons, you may feel like your thoughts are clearer and that your speed of cognition is increased. Lower levels may be associated with inattention, difficulty remembering new information and recalling stored memories, diminished mental energy and the characteristic sensation of “brain fog”.

This neurochemical is also connected to the plasticity of your brain which measures how easily your neurons can form new connections. Memories are believed to be stored when a new connection (called a synapse) is created between two neurons through a process known as Long Term Potentiation.However, as we age our brains become less plastic and fewer of these new connections are formed – a change which is typically foretold by less acetylcholine activity.

This is particularly noticeable in elderly individuals with Alzheimer’s where acetylcholine levels are extremely low.In fact, most of the medications for Alzheimer’s work on the cholinergic system trying to increase stimulation of the acetylcholine receptors on your neurons.

Consider that 10% of the population over 65 has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but if you live past the age of 85 your likelihood of developing this disorder increases to 50%.While so far there has been limited success in reversing the damage caused by this disease, it may be possible to prevent or slow down the degeneration by ensuring you have enough choline in your system to produce this all-important neurotransmitter.