Favorite Choline?

[pogoman]

Yes, from what I've read there's mixed results regarding heart risks with any of the choline variants.
Some say choline increases TMAO, some say its due to other causes.
But it does lower homocysteine which is a plus.

 

[nandixon]

In my experience, Alpha GPC is a pure cholinergic, whereas citicoline also affects dopamine.

Alpha GPC gave me headache, muscle tension and depression, signs of acetylcholine overload, but I know others do well with it.

Citicoline works like a mild stimulant. It helps with concentration (ADHD type problems), which pure cholinergics often does not.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. Or try both and see which one you like.

Have you tried uridine, as 5'-uridine monophosphate, by any chance? And if so, how did it compare to citicoline (CDP-choline)?

In humans, it looks as though most of the cytidine component of citicoline is initially converted into uridine. (See: Effect of oral CDP-choline on plasma choline and uridine levels in humans)

That uridine can then be re-converted in the brain to cytidine and hence back again to CDP-choline.

Importantly, the uridine can also be used for RNA synthesis. (If a functional deficiency of coenzyme Q10 exists, endogenous uridine production can be significantly impaired, which is why I'm looking at this.)

It's pretty interesting that there seem to be at least a half-dozen possible mechanisms by which citicoline might be beneficial, the least important of which is probably the provision of extra choline.

 

[Sherpa]

I second Adreno's recommendation of Citicoline / Cognizin. I took it years back, pre-CFS, as a grad student and it really helped with mental clarity and "ADD" (which was most likely caused by nutrient deficiencies: omega-3, B12 and folate) . I am not familiar with subtle differences between forms, but this was a highly effective supplement for me at the time.

 

[adreno]

Have you tried uridine, as 5'-uridine monophosphate, by any chance? And if so, how did it compare to citicoline (CDP-choline)?

No, I haven't tried pure uridine. I'm aware that citicoline breaks down to this.

Citicoline has a distinctive effect on me, that no other choline form has , perhaps this is why.

 

[perchance dreamer]

Uridine helps me tolerate more choline and dopamine-boosting supplements without getting insomnia. I take it before bed because it makes me really sleepy.

I had taken citicoline 2 years ago for awhile, then stopped. I took it again for the first time last Saturday.

It made me exceedingly sleepy, and I got a really good night's sleep (unusual for me) in spite of the asinine springing forward into Daylight Savings Time, which usually does a number on me. It may be that if I took it awhile I'd also get good concentration effects like others do. I'll try it again today and see if it helps my sleep again.

 

[heyitisjustin]

Citicoline and Alpha GPC are both far superior to Phosphatidylcholine. The evidence of Phosphatidylcholine being helpful for anything but liver disease is poor, no matter how much they try to hype their marketing.

I get over stimulated. Taking dopamine is a problem for me so I was thinking Citicoline and Alpha GPC were out.
Does Phosphatidylcholine + ALCAR not create ACh? Does it do it less efficiently? Or is the whole issue that Phosphatidylcholine doesn't cross the BBB?

 

[adreno]

Or is the whole issue that Phosphatidylcholine doesn't cross the BBB?

Yeah, the problem is that PC doesn't have much of an effect in the CNS. It's mostly peripheral. Citicoline and Alpha GPC are effective at raising choline levels in the brain.

ALCAR is of course involved with ACh production, but in different ways. It is not a source of choline. But PC and ALCAR might be enough for you.

 

[Pyrrhus]

It may be somewhat premature, but for those of you asking about supplements to boost phosphatidyl-choline:

I can share what I have in my notes about choline, which may help:

Lecithin contains phosphatidyl-choline (PC), which is one of the three main forms of supplemental choline.
100mg PC contains 13mg choline.

The other main forms of supplemental choline are citicoline (CDP-choline) and glycero-phospho-choline (GPC).
100mg GPC contains 40mg choline.

Milk contains both PC and GPC. Both PC and GPC are naturally found in the brain.
CDP-choline is temporarily made by the body when synthesizing its own PC.

Since choline synthesis in the body consumes a large percentage of the body's methyl donors, taking supplemental choline should free up a large percentage of the body's methylation capacity.

Choline should not be taken at the same time as carnitine, as they compete with each other for transport across the blood-brain-barrier.

In my own personal case, a single dose of 300mg glycero-phospho-choline (GPC) caused temporary start-up effects of headache, weakness, worsened brain fog, worsened light/sound sensitivity, depression/irritability, preceded by a brief burst of energy and appetite loss.

Eventually these start-up effects faded and I was able to tolerate two daily doses of 300mg GPC without any problems. For what it's worth...

 

[Pyrrhus]

Related discussions:

Choline Advice
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/choline-advice.46964/

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https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/anyone-know-of-any-negative-experiences-with-choline.55954/

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https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/choline-causes-brainfog.32629/

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