The importance of choline during pregnancy is being talked about more and more as over 90% of pregnant women don’t get enough choline in their diets. (3) According to NHANES data, pregnant women in the United States are getting about 62% of the RDA for choline from diet alone, leaving about a 38% gap in intake. (3) Read on to learn more about the benefits of choline, why it is important during pregnancy and what form of choline we use in our Essential Prenatal Multivitamin and all Ritual Essential Protein. *

What Is Choline?

Choline is a water-soluble essential nutrient that works alongside folate to support neural tube development during pregnancy. Choline is naturally present in various types of foods but also available as a dietary supplement to help fill nutrient gaps. It can be found in foods like eggs, beef liver, salmon, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. Despite choline’s availability in foods, it can actually be difficult to get enough choline from food alone when pregnant, regardless of the diet being followed.*

Choline Benefits During Pregnancy

Why is choline important during pregnancy? Choline has many functions throughout our bodies and its key to support those functions, especially during pregnancy. Choline is a major component of the cell membrane as it supports normal cell division and growth. Choline is a key nutrient as the precursor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (AKA: a chemical that carries messages from our brain to our body through nerve cells). Adding onto its resume, choline also works with omega-3 DHA to help support fetal brain development—which is why we include it in Essential Prenatal. We also include 250 mg of choline in Essential Protein Pregnancy & Postpartum.*

How Much Choline Is Recommended?

Despite the fact that the Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine) recognized choline as an essential nutrient in 1998, the FDA didn’t establish a recommended daily intake (RDI) for choline until 2016.* FYI: The RDI of choline for pregnant women is 450 mg per day. (1,2)

For those that aren’t pregnant, there are slightly different recommendations.
• Males 19 years old and up should aim for 550 mg per day
• Females 19 years old and up should aim for 425 mg per day
• The RDI for people that are breastfeeding is higher at 550 mg per day
BTW: If you’ve recently given birth, we’ve got you covered with Essential Postnatal Multivitamin to help support your choline needs.

As mentioned above, there are a variety of foods that are substantial sources of choline. Since we truly believe in a “food-first philosophy”, we recommend trying to add the following foods throughout the day and using supplementation for additional support. You can meet 27% of your recommended daily value RDV in just 1 hard-boiled egg, 13% in 3 ounces of roasted chicken breast and ground beef. For a more veggie-forward approach, you can find 10% of your RDV through 1 large baked potato, 8% from 1 cup of cooked quinoa, and 6% from ½ cup of boiled brussel sprouts. Try throwing some of these ingredients into your favorite homemade salad or put together as a nutrient-packed dinner - a simple and flavorful way to reach your RDI of choline. (2)

Ritual’s Form of Choline

Essential Prenatal contains VitaCholine®, a clinically-studied fermented choline in the choline bitartrate form, which means that it is choline molecules joined with tartaric acid salt molecules. This is the same form of choline found in food. BTW: Choline bitartrate (CBT) is USP verified and non-GMO verified.*

References:

1. Bell, Carl C. “These Findings Indicate That Currently Pregnant Women Cannot Get Daily-Recommended Choline from Prenatal Vitamins..."
2. Korsmo HW, Jiang X, Caudill MA. Choline: Exploring the Growing Science on Its Benefits for Moms and Babies. Nutrients. 2019 Aug 7;11(8):1823. doi: 10.3390/nu11081823. PMID: 31394787; PMCID: PMC6722688.
3. National Institutes of Health. “Office of Dietary Supplements - Choline.” Nih.gov, 2017.
4. USDA, Agricultural Research Service. Usual Nutrient Intake from Food and Beverages, by Pregnancy/Lactation Status, What We Eat in America, NHANES 2013-2016. 2020.