VitaCholine

• VitaCholine® is the premier source of choline, made to the highest standards to deliver relevant and compelling health benefits to consumers. VitaCholine is used in infant formula, prenatal multivitamins, fortified foods and many other products. The Non-GMO Project, a third party non-GMO verification program, reviews our products to ensure we deliver the standard consumers expect.
• Choline is an essential nutrient that our body makes in small amounts through a series of complex metabolic processes. VitaCholine® salts by Balchem are absorbed and converted into free choline, which the body then uses to support a healthy brain, liver and nervous system.
• Infant Nutrition is helping babies get a smart start through better nutrition. VitaCholine® is the gold standard in choline supplementation. Choline is an essential nutrient, critical for both prenatal vitamins and infant formula to help ensure proper brain health and development.

How Choline & DHA Work Together

Two nutrients with well established roles in fetal growth and development are the essential nutrient choline and the omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Each nutrient individually helps support a healthy pregnancy but new data suggests beneficial synergies as well.

“Choline plays a role in your fetus’s brain development. Experts recommend that pregnant women get 450 mg of choline each day.”

Choline
Choline is an essential nutrient that supports the growth and development of the child’s brain and spinal cord. Recent research highlights some of the benefits that adequate or supplemental choline can provide both mom and baby:

• Supports Cognitive Development: Choline aids in the development of multiple aspects of cognitive function, including learning, memory, and attention.
• Enhances Baby’s Neurocognitive Ability: Children born to mothers who consume supplemental choline (930 mg/day) during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy have been shown to have improvements in information processing speed as early as 4-13 months of age.
• Cognitive Benefits That Last: A follow up study of those same children at age 7 showed that choline supplementation during pregnancy improved children’s sustained attention & cognitive function – 7 years later!
• Associated With Lower Incidence of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs): Choline and folate share an important metabolic relationship. A recent systematic review & meta-analysis found that low maternal choline intake/circulating concentrations were associated with a higher odds of NTDs among mothers of newborns.

Children born to high choline consuming mothers showed greater sustained attention when followed up at age 7y. Mean ± SEM;
*Significant main effect of choline treatment, p<0.05; Adapted From

Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) is one of three major omega-3 fatty acids of importance in human nutrition. DHA is primarily accumulated in the brain and retina, where it plays important roles:

Critical for Brain Development: An adequate supply of DHA is critical for brain development of infants and children.
Supporting Brain Function: DHA has been shown to impact multiple aspects of brain development and function, such as modulating neurogenesis, influencing neurotransmission, and promoting synaptic activity.
Reducing Preterm Birth: High intakes of foods containing omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA have been linked to longer gestations and improved perinatal outcomes. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis from the Cochrane Library concluded that increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake (including DHA) may reduce the incidence of preterm birth (<37 wks) and early preterm birth (<34 wks). Experts generally recommend that expecting moms consume at least 200 mg/day of DHA to support a healthy pregnancy, but more than 95% of pregnant women do not get enough DHA in their diets.

Preterm birth (<37 wks) and early preterm birth (<34 wks) were reduced in women receiving omega-3 fatty acids compared with no omega-3.

Choline + Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)
Choline and DHA share an important metabolic relationship highlighted by new clinical data in expecting mothers. Phosphatidylcholine, a choline derivative, helps transport various lipids around the body, including DHA and higher maternal choline intake helps improve DHA uptake

Choline Improves Markers of DHA Status: Pregnant women given supplemental choline + DHA during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy increased their DHA status more than women given DHA alone. Adequate maternal DHA status during pregnancy is critical to ensure proper supply of nutrients to baby. The Institute of Medicine recommends that women consume 450 mg/day of choline and during pregnancy 550 mg/day during lactation, yet less than 5% of women in the United States meet those recommendations from food and beverages alone.
Encourage your patients to get enough choline and DHA in their diets to help support a healthy pregnancy.

Maternal DHA Choline + DHA supplementation improves DHA status better than DHA alone. Mean ± 95% CI; *Significant difference between groups, p<0.05; GW = gestational week; RBC = red blood cell; FA = fatty acid

Choline is an essential nutrient for all ages and stages of life. For women, the requirement for choline increases significantly during pregnancy and lactation. Adequate intake of choline during pregnancy & lactation helps to both replenish maternal stores and support the growth and development of baby’s brain and spinal cord. Despite its importance, few pregnant or lactating women are meeting their needs for choline. Expecting mothers may want to consider adding a choline supplement to their diet.

Choline: Essential Roles in Pregnancy and Lactation.

• Essential for brain structure & function
• Maternal choline supplementation improves cognitive processing speed in infants.
• Essential for nervous system control
• Maternal choline supplementation improves sustained attention in children up to age 7
• Supports normal visual development
• Choline supplementation improves markers maternal DHA status

Note: Less than 5% of pregnant or lactating women in the United States get enough choline in their diet from foods and beverages alone.

Dietary Intakes of Choline Are Below Recommendations

Total Choline = Sum of all choline containing metabolites, including Choline, GPC, PCho, & SM *Significant difference between groups, p<0.05

Choline Containing Foods:
High amounts are only found in animal products like beef, eggs, chicken, and canned salmon; vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, contain some choline. Just 6% of American women get enough choline in their diet from foods and beverages alone, with even fewer getting enough choline during pregnancy and lactation.

Supplements: Experts caution that many prenatal supplements do not contain adequate amounts of choline. Consider adding a separate standalone supplement to increase your choline intake to at least 550 mg/day to support your needs during pregnancy and lactation to help support baby’s brain growth and development.

Fortified Foods: Choline fortified foods, like yogurts and milk, are great options to help you increase your intake of this essential nutrient.