Frequently Asked Questions

Choline is an essential nutrient your body needs. Your body can make a small amount of choline, but most of the choline you need comes from food. Most of the population does not get enough choline daily. [1]

Choline supports our brain, liver, heart, and overall body health. Choline can improve how your brain works and lowers your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. [2]

Choline was found to be an essential nutrient in the 1990s. [3] There is limited research on this nutrient and scientists still do not know the exact amount you may need.  This study will help scientists understand how your body uses and absorbs different forms of choline.

Extremely low levels of choline can lead to symptoms such as muscle pain, weakness, and organ failure. It is rare to have such low choline levels, even if you eat lower than the recommended amount. Your initial choline levels won’t impact eligibility. We are studying how choline is absorbed during the study itself, regardless of baseline levels.  It is recommended for women (19+) to consume 425 mg (equal to around 2-3 eggs) every day. Foods high in choline include beef liver, eggs, soybeans, beef, fish, potatoes, kidney beans, milk, and brussels sprouts. [1]

When making cheese, you have solid cheese curds and leftover liquid whey. A portion of the liquid whey is dried down into a product with both protein and fats (also known as phospholipids). The choline we are testing is in the fat of this whey-based product. The scientific name of the whey-based product is called Whey Protein Phospholipid Concentrate (WPPC for short). [4]

The whey-based product has a different form of choline than what is found in other foods like eggs. [4] Our study is exploring how well this form of choline is absorbed and how our bodies may use it. By learning this, we hope to identify additional food options that can help women who have completed menopause meet their daily choline needs.

This product does contain lactose, but in very small amounts. The amount of lactose in this product is  between 2 to 4 grams. This is about the same amount as 1/3rd cup of milk. The smoothies provided in this study will be made with lactose-free milk to be more accessible for those with lactose intolerance.

This whey-based product is made during the cheese making process and is a food ingredient. It has not been shown to impact any pre-existing health conditions. However, we do not recommend drinking the smoothies if you cannot drink 1/3rd cup of milk without upsetting your digestive system.

The ingredients in the beverages have not been shown to interfere with any medications. However, people who take certain medications or have trouble digesting fat, will not be able to participate. This is not because it’s unsafe. We require individuals with standard digestion to best understand how the choline is absorbed.

Egg and dairy have two different forms of choline. [4] We might digest and absorb one form differently than the other, but we do not know that yet. Our study will help determine how these different forms are absorbed.

The hormone, estrogen, is important for making choline in our bodies. After women complete menopause, the amount of estrogen goes down. [5] This means women may benefit more from foods with choline to meet their needs. In the future, we plan to expand our research to other age and gender groups.

Our team wants to learn more about how the body absorbs and uses choline from the whey-based smoothie compared to an egg-based smoothie. We hope this product can be another sustainable source to support people’s choline needs.