Choline Bitartrate is an essential nutrient needed by the nervous system to produce acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that facilitates the transmission of impulses between neurons. Choline Bitartrate is extremely important in maintaining healthy cell membranes because it produces phosphatidylcholine. It helps in the production of lipotropic agents which inhibit the conversion of carbohydrates to fat and assists in the production of HDL (good) cholesterol. Choline Bitartrate is very helpful in hormone production and in enhancing sexual function, as well as bladder, kidney, pancreatic, testicular, and liver function.
Why Do We Need Choline Bitartrate via a choline supplement?
There are two reasons for the body’s need for a choline supplement – classified as an essential nutrient in 1998 by the National Academy of Sciences.
1. Choline Bitartrate is required for the synthesis of one of our body’s primary neurotransmitters, acetylcholine. Number two, it is used for the building and maintenance of the body’s membranes. Acetylcholine is vital for thought, memory and sleep, and is also involved in the control of movement. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are the main driver of the liver, pancreas and adrenal/testicular functions, and are the major regulators of the cardiovascular functions. Uptake of circulating choline decreases with age and choline is essential for nerve structure and function. FACT: Acetylcholine is a type of compound known as a neurotransmitter. These are chemicals are stored in nerve cells and are involved in transmitting messages between the nerve cells and muscle cells. Acetylcholine is found in nerve endings and is constantly being manufactured and broken down by the body.
Can We Assimilate Enough Choline Bitartrate Through Diet Alone?
Though Choline Bitartrate can be manufactured internally from amino acids methionine and serine, it has been designated an essential nutrient, meaning that it is required by the body but not made in adequate amounts, so we need to get it in our diet. Choline Bitartrate is available in a number of foods, including eggs, fish, legumes, nuts, meats and vegetables- even human breast milk. It is important to supplement our diets with choline since the production of acetylcholine decreases with age. The importance of Choline Bitartrate was demonstrated in a study in 1998 by Steven Zeisel from the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In this study, volunteers on a choline deficient diet were not able to produce enough acetylcholine.
What If The Brain Doesn’t Receive Enough Choline Bitartrate To Manufacture Acetylcholine?
If the neurons do not receive sufficient Choline Bitartrate to manufacture acetylcholine they may resort to extracting Choline Bitartrate out of the nerve cell membranes, in a process called auto-cannibalism. In the short run, this process provides the body with enough Choline Bitartrate to produce just enough acetylcholine to keep neuro-transmission and other nervous system functions going. In the long run, however, the nerve cells become increasingly damaged as neural cell membranes grow rigid and more and more dysfunctional.
How Does Choline Bitartrate Affect Sleep?
One of the lesser known functions of acetylcholine is helping to maintain sleep. Acetylcholine controls sensory input, and strengthens the “stimulus barrier,” making it possible to sleep through minor noises and other disturbances. As we age, we tend to become light sleepers, and Choline Bitartrate and Melatonin can help regulate sleep patterns. The same stimulus barrier also helps us concentrate and solve problems. Too little acetylcholine can lead to irritability and a lack of focus as too many unimportant stimuli bombard us, preventing us from thinking clearly.
Read More about Choline and choline supplements to learn how it can benefit you and your lifestyle.
P.S. Find out how tapping emotional freedom has helped many people to get into balance with their health.
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