← All supplements

Choline

Supplement essential nutrient brain & moodgeneral nutrition
Aka: choline bitartrate, alpha-GPC precursor
Brands seen in Singapore: California Gold Nutrition, NOW Foods, Life Extension, Nutricost, Thorne
Third-party tested: Thorne certifies other products with NSF Certified for Sport, but nothing for choline.Certification is granted per product, so check the tub you actually own. Not being listed is not the same as failing.
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
An essential nutrient · cognition trials show no clear gain
When to take
No timing rule in the sheet · the AIs are daily amounts
Take with
Food · supplements hold 10–250 mg against a 425–550 mg AI
Pros & cons
Pros
  • Essential — the body cannot make enough of it
  • AI 550 mg/day men, 425 mg/day women (19+)
  • No known clinically relevant drug interactions
Cons
  • Review of 13 studies: no clear cognitive gain
  • High intakes bring fishy body odour, low blood pressure
  • Supplements hold 10–250 mg — well under the adult AI
Sources
  1. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Introduction · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Choline is an essential nutrient that is naturally present in some foods and available as a dietary supplement … choline is needed to produce acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter for memory, mood, muscle control, and other brain and nervous system functions”
  2. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Introduction (endogenous synthesis) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Humans can produce choline endogenously in the liver, mostly as phosphatidylcholine, but the amount that the body naturally synthesizes is not sufficient to meet human needs. As a result, humans must obtain some choline from the diet”
  3. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Recommended Intakes (basis for the AIs; Table 1, 19+ years row) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “the FNB established AIs for all ages that are based on the prevention of liver damage as measured by serum alanine aminostransferase levels … 19+ years 550 mg/day 425 mg/day 450 mg/day 550 mg/day”
  4. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Sources of Choline: Food (Daily Value note under Table 2) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The DV for choline is 550 mg for adults and children age 4 years and older … FDA does not require food labels to list choline content unless choline has been added to the food”
  5. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Sources of Choline: Dietary supplements · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Typical amounts of choline in dietary supplements range from 10 mg to 250 mg. The forms of choline in dietary supplements include choline bitartrate, phosphatidylcholine, and lecithin. No studies have compared the relative bioavailability of choline from these different forms”
  6. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Choline and Health: Neurological disorders · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “a 2015 systematic review of 13 studies on the relationship between choline levels and neurological outcomes in adults found that choline supplements did not result in clear improvements in cognition in healthy adults”
  7. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Health Risks from Excessive Choline (Table 3 ULs, 19+ years row) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The FNB has established ULs for choline from food and supplements based on the amounts of choline that are associated with hypotension and fishy body odor … 19+ years 3,500 mg … The ULs apply to healthy children and adults”
  8. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Health Risks from Excessive Choline (adverse effects, TMAO) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “High intakes of choline are associated with a fishy body odor, vomiting, excessive sweating and salivation, hypotension, and liver toxicity”
  9. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Health Risks from Excessive Choline (TMAO) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Choline consumption has been shown to increase production of TMAO, a substance that has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, in a dose-dependent manner in adults”
  10. NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional), “Updated: June 2, 2022”; read via the web.archive.org capture 20260824091049 because ods.od.nih.gov 403s direct fetches — Interactions with Medications · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Choline is not known to have any clinically relevant interactions with medications”
  11. HSA Singapore — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), clause 4.8 (Tables 4–5 list vitamins and minerals only; no choline row) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5”
  12. HSA Singapore — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in HS and TM, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. 001 (October 2025), clause 1.3; Annexes A and B checked · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list [choline, lecithin and phosphatidylcholine are not listed in Annex A or B]”
  13. iHerb Singapore — “Choline: California Gold Nutrition, Alpha GPC” category page, default order, 76 results · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “California Gold Nutrition, Brain Health with Alpha-Glycerophosphorylcholine … NOW Foods, Choline & Inositol … Life Extension, Citicoline (CDP-Choline) … Nutricost, Alpha GPC … Thorne, Phosphatidyl Choline”
Report a correction View as JSON

Updated 2026-08-30. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.