Choline for Vegans: How Much You Need, Plant Sources and What the Research Shows

Published: 17 September 2026

Choline is an essential nutrient: the body makes some, but not always enough, so part of it has to come from food. Animal foods generally contain more choline than plant foods, and in the few studies that have measured it, vegans ate less than omnivores. That is not the same as being short of it. The requirement is uncertain, many people eat less than the reference values whatever their diet, and researchers who calculated vegans’ intake found no evidence that a healthful plant-based diet leads to choline deficiency.

What choline does

Choline is part of phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine, also called lecithin, which help build cell membranes. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the liver needs choline to assemble and release very low-density lipoproteins, the particles that carry fat out of the liver. Choline is also the starting material for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and for betaine, through which it takes part in folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism. A diet lacking choline can cause fatty liver, which can progress to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as liver and muscle damage.

The body makes choline. Why is that not enough?

The liver can make choline through an enzyme pathway known as PEMT, which is sensitive to oestrogen. EFSA notes that this production can be insufficient, which is why choline is treated as an essential part of the diet.

The clearest evidence comes from controlled depletion studies. In one, published in 2007 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 57 healthy adults first ate a diet containing 550 mg of choline per 70 kg of body weight a day for 10 days, and then less than 50 mg per 70 kg a day for up to 42 days. Fatty liver or muscle damage developed in 77% of the men and 80% of the postmenopausal women, but in only 44% of the premenopausal women. Normal organ function returned when choline was added back to the diet. Six men developed these signs while still eating 550 mg per 70 kg a day, the US Adequate Intake. The researchers concluded that characteristics such as menopausal status change how much choline a person needs. These were deliberate deprivation diets, with far less choline than the vegan diets described below.

Genes also play a part. EFSA notes that some common gene variants can influence how much choline a person needs, but that the data are not sufficient to predict an individual’s requirement from them. A 2009 review reported that premenopausal women carrying one very common variant were 15 times as likely as non-carriers to develop signs of deficiency on a low-choline diet.

How much choline is recommended?

Because the evidence is not strong enough to set an average requirement, both EFSA and the US Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) set an Adequate Intake (AI) instead.

EFSA (2016): 400 mg a day for all adults, 480 mg in pregnancy and 520 mg during breastfeeding. The adult value is based on the midpoint of average intakes observed in healthy EU populations (about 370 mg a day) and on a depletion–repletion study in which about 70% of depleted people with signs of organ dysfunction recovered on about 400 mg per 70 kg a day. EFSA considered separate values for men and women unnecessary.
US Institute of Medicine (1998): 550 mg a day for men and 425 mg for women aged 19 and over, 450 mg in pregnancy and 550 mg during breastfeeding. The US also set a tolerable upper intake level of 3,500 mg a day for adults. EFSA did not set an upper level in 2016.

The Türkiye Dietary Guidelines (TÜBER 2022) list choline among vitamin-like substances and name eggs as its best source. They also advise that the diets of vegetarian pregnant women be assessed for vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, choline and the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

This matters when reading intake studies: because an AI is not an average requirement, the share of people who are truly short cannot be estimated from it. As a 2018 review put it, current intakes cannot be deemed inadequate based on the AI alone.

Where vegans get choline

Choline is found in many foods, but animal foods generally contain more per gram than plant foods. Among plant foods, legumes, soy foods, nuts, seeds, quinoa and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts are useful sources. The values below come from the US Department of Agriculture’s standard food composition database (SR Legacy). EFSA itself used US data for its intake estimates, because European food composition data on choline were lacking. Values for individual products can differ.

Choline per portion (USDA SR Legacy):

Edamame, prepared, 100 g: 56.3 mg
Soybeans, cooked, 100 g: 47.5 mg
Chickpeas, cooked, 100 g: 42.8 mg
Lentils, cooked, 100 g: 32.7 mg
Firm tofu, 100 g: 28.1 mg
Unfortified soy drink, 250 g: 59.0 mg
Brussels sprouts, cooked, 100 g: 40.6 mg
Broccoli, cooked, 100 g: 40.1 mg
Shiitake mushrooms, cooked, 100 g: 36.8 mg
Quinoa, uncooked, 50 g: 35.1 mg
Oats, dry, 50 g: 20.2 mg
Peanuts, dry-roasted, 30 g: 19.4 mg
Pumpkin seeds, 30 g: 18.9 mg
Brown rice, cooked, 100 g: 9.2 mg

Portions add up. As an illustration, a day with 60 g of oats and 250 g of soy drink at breakfast (24.2 + 59.0 mg), 200 g of cooked chickpeas and 150 g of cooked quinoa at lunch (85.6 + 34.5 mg), 150 g of firm tofu and 150 g of cooked broccoli at dinner (42.1 + 60.1 mg), and 30 g each of peanuts and pumpkin seeds as snacks (19.4 + 18.9 mg) provides about 340 mg of choline. That is about 86% of EFSA’s AI from ordinary meals, before counting bread or other vegetables.

The same legumes and soy foods are central to protein quality in a vegan diet; see also our tofu and soy guide and how to build a balanced vegan plate.

How much choline do vegans actually eat?

Few studies have measured it, partly because many food composition databases, including Germany’s, have no choline data. In a 2025 analysis in Nutrition Journal, researchers in Germany calculated choline intake by hand from the four-day weighed food diaries of 108 young, healthy adults, using the USDA data. Median intake from food was 257 mg a day in 35 vegans, 237 mg in 33 lacto-ovo-vegetarians and 329 mg in 40 omnivores. Omnivores ate significantly more than both other groups; vegans and vegetarians did not differ. Only 12 participants (11%) took a choline supplement.

The authors estimated that, on average, the vegan diets provided up to about 61% of the recommended intake used in their index, which is based on US values. Even so, they wrote that there is no evidence that a healthful plant-based diet leads to choline deficiency, that how much dietary choline is needed is still debated, and that the need to increase choline intake in people on plant-based diets is far from proven.

Low intake compared with the AI is not unique to vegans. The 2018 review estimated that only about 10% of Americans and 8% of pregnant women in the US meet their AI, and reported that vegetarians in the US had the lowest intakes, about 192 mg a day. In the EU surveys EFSA used, average adult intakes ranged from 269 to 468 mg a day.

A 2025 trial: did extra choline change anything?

The MultiVeg study, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in the European Journal of Nutrition, gave 72 healthy vegan adults aged 19 to 57 in Germany either a set of supplements or placebos for four months. One of the supplements was a soy lecithin powder that provided about 320 mg of choline a day. Blood choline rose in both groups; the rise was larger in the supplement group, but not significantly. Both groups were within the laboratory’s reference range for plasma choline before and after the trial.

Compliance was only moderate, 54% to 60% in both groups, and much lower with the powder than with capsules. Choline intake from food could not be calculated, because the German nutrient database has no choline data. And plasma choline is a weak marker: the authors call it unreliable, and EFSA found no clear dose–response relationship between choline intake and plasma choline. The authors wrote that the result may reflect these limitations or may suggest that a vegan diet provides enough choline, and that it is not yet fully established that choline is a critical nutrient for vegans. The trial was mainly funded by Watson Nutrition, which markets multinutrient supplements; the authors state that the company had no role in data collection, analysis or writing.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: when choline deserves attention

Pregnancy is where the case for paying attention to choline is strongest. EFSA’s AI rises to 480 mg a day in pregnancy and 520 mg during breastfeeding. EFSA also notes that intervention studies indicate pregnant and breastfeeding women may need more choline than other women, although the data are not sufficient to estimate how much more.

A 2019 review in Nutrients reports that most pregnant women in the US do not reach the US recommendation of 450 mg a day and that choline is absent from most prenatal vitamins on the market. The American Medical Association advised in 2017 that prenatal vitamins should contain evidence-based amounts of choline. In a small controlled feeding study, infants of women who consumed 930 mg of choline a day in the third trimester showed faster information processing than infants of women consuming 480 mg. It involved 24 infants, and the 2018 review that describes it notes that findings from this group need confirmation in a larger sample.

TÜBER’s advice for vegetarian pregnant women is relevant to vegans too. If you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, include legumes and soy foods every day, check whether your prenatal supplement contains choline, and discuss any extra supplement with your doctor, midwife or dietitian rather than adding one on your own.

Supplements, lecithin and too much choline

Most adults do not need a choline supplement. The evidence reviewed above does not show that non-pregnant vegan adults need one.
Vegan forms exist. The soy lecithin powder used in the MultiVeg trial was labelled as providing 300 mg of choline in an 11.5 g daily dose. Capsules can contain animal-derived ingredients such as gelatine; see our guide to animal-derived ingredients in medicines and supplements.
More is not better. High intakes are associated with a fishy body odour, vomiting, excessive sweating and salivation, low blood pressure and liver toxicity. The US upper level of 3,500 mg a day was based on low blood pressure with nausea and diarrhoea at 7.5 g a day.
What about TMAO? Gut bacteria turn unabsorbed choline into trimethylamine, which the liver converts into TMAO, a compound studied as a possible risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The 2018 review states that the choline–TMAO connection is not yet established, and describes a feeding trial in which fish raised TMAO far more than eggs or beef.

Who funds choline research?

Some research calling for more choline is funded by industries with an interest in the answer. The 2018 review was funded by Balchem, the Egg Nutrition Center and the Beef Checkoff. The author of the 2019 article asking whether the UK is overlooking a potential choline crisis has advised the British Egg Information Service and the Meat Advisory Panel, among others. None of this makes their data wrong, but it is a reason to read their conclusions alongside independent assessments such as EFSA’s.

A 30-second choline check

Do I eat legumes or soy foods (beans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu, soy drink) every day?
Do I regularly include nuts or seeds, quinoa, and vegetables such as broccoli or Brussels sprouts?
Pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding: does my supplement contain choline, and have I discussed my intake with a health professional?
Considering a supplement: is it vegan, and am I staying well below 3,500 mg a day?

Health note

This guide is general information, not individual advice. People with liver disease, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and anyone considering high-dose supplements should discuss choline with a doctor or dietitian.

Sources

EFSA NDA Panel. Dietary Reference Values for choline. EFSA Journal. 2016;14(8):4484. Summarised in Dietary Reference Values for nutrients: Summary report, 2017.
Fischer LM, daCosta KA, Kwock L, et al. Sex and menopausal status influence human dietary requirements for the nutrient choline. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85(5):1275–1285.
Zeisel SH, da Costa KA. Choline: an essential nutrient for public health. Nutr Rev. 2009;67(11):615–623.
Wallace TC, Blusztajn JK, Caudill MA, et al. Choline: the underconsumed and underappreciated essential nutrient. Nutr Today. 2018;53(6):240–253.
Korsmo HW, Jiang X, Caudill MA. Choline: exploring the growing science on its benefits for moms and babies. Nutrients. 2019;11(8):1823.
Derbyshire E. Could we be overlooking a potential choline crisis in the United Kingdom? BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 2019;2(2):86–89.
Storz MA, Stübing F, Hannibal L, Huber R. Analyzing dietary exposure to critical nutrients on a plant-based diet using the food- and total nutrient index. Nutr J. 2025;24:39.
Zerback T, Koeder C, Weder S, et al. Assessment of vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, vitamin K, folate, and choline status following 4 months of multinutrient supplementation in healthy vegans: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eur J Nutr. 2025;65(1):9.
T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı. Türkiye Beslenme Rehberi (TÜBER) 2022.
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: SR Legacy, April 2018.

Editor: Anıl Güler, Pharmacist
Last scientific review: 16 September 2026