Beyond Limits: Cholinergic Supplements for Peak Mental Performance
Cholinergic supplements are a valuable approach to elevate focus, memory, and cognitive performance. Whether you are having a tiring day or simply require an extra boost, this article could help you!
How often does it happen that you feel more tired than usual and your motivation is low? Maybe while you are sitting at your desk but don’t manage to focus, or you are at the gym but feel like having no energy to push through the workout. Sometimes you know the cause, like poor sleep the night before, but some other times you have no idea why you are feeling like that. All you want is to gain some energy and live the day the best way possible, feeling great and accomplished. If only we had a magic pill that could make us overcome all of that and suddenly feel energetic…
But wait! What if I told you that we might have that? And I am talking about a class of supplements called cholinergics. Cholinergic supplements are compounds designed to boost levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter crucial for cognitive function..and much more. By supporting the production and activity of acetylcholine, these supplements promote sharper focus, improved memory, and enhanced learning capabilities. They also support muscle contraction and therefore give you not only a mental but also a physical boost. Derived from natural sources or synthesized to mimic biological compounds, cholinergic supplements offer a safe and effective way to optimize brain health.
Does it sound exciting? In this article, I will give you the key knowledge of the science behind these amazing compounds. Let’s dive in.
Biological Background: The Cholinergic System
Before we move forward, it is important to have a general idea of what is the cholinergic system and what functions it has in our body. This complex system is at the base of the communications between cells in our nervous system and also the rest of the body, in particular muscle cells. At its core is acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter essential for functions like memory, learning, muscle movement, and even regulating heart rate. When acetylcholine is released from a nerve cell, it binds to receptors on neighboring cells, triggering a response. For example, this interaction is essential for muscle contraction, allowing us to move and coordinate our actions smoothly. In the brain, acetylcholine is involved in processes like attention, learning, and memory. It helps us stay focused on tasks and forms the foundation of our ability to remember and recall information (1,2).
Scientific research has shown that disruptions in acetylcholine signaling can lead to conditions like Alzheimer's disease, where memory and cognitive functions decline. Therefore, understanding how acetylcholine works in our body is crucial for maintaining overall health and brain function (3).
How Can I Boost My Acetylcholine Level?
First of all, it is very important to briefly mention what acetylcholine is made of. Very simple..just a choline molecule that undergoes a chemical modification that transforms it into acetylcholine. And the good news is that we can intake choline either through food rich in it or supplements. Increasing the choline available in our body will also increase to a certain extent acetylcholine production, and this has been extensively proven by several studies (4,5). It is recommended that adult men and women intake 550 mg and 425 mg of choline per day respectively, and here comes the striking news: it is estimated that ~90% of the U.S. population does not meet this recommended intake (6,7).
Choline-Rich Foods
Boosting acetylcholine levels in the body can be achieved through various dietary and supplemental strategies. One effective approach is to consume foods rich in choline, and other nutrients that support its synthesis and activity.
Foods high in choline include eggs, liver, fish, nuts, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Just one hard-boiled egg would provide about 150mg of choline, which is over 20% of your recommended daily intake.
Cholinergic Supplements
Since not everybody likes to eat certain foods rich in choline, or simply does not eat them daily and in sufficient amounts, cholinergic supplements come in handy.
These days we find many different cholinergic supplements on the market and unfortunately, they are not sponsored as much as other more popular ones. Why so? Because this is more of a niche area and not everybody even knows what acetylcholine is and how it can improve your health. But the potential here is massive.
We have two main classes of cholinergic supplements: compounds that provide a direct source of choline ready to be converted into acetylcholine, and compounds which instead reduce the acetylcholine breakdown in the body, extending its availability and effects. I will now give you a brief overview of the most popular ones:
Alpha-GPC. Alpha-GPC, or alpha-glycerophosphocholine, is a natural choline compound found in the brain. Upon consumption, alpha-GPC quickly enters the bloodstream and efficiently crosses the blood-brain barrier. Subsequently, it gets broken down into choline and glycerol-1-phosphate, where choline will serve as a precursor to acetylcholine (8). Studies have shown that alpha-GPC supplementation may benefit individuals with cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, by supporting brain health and function. Additionally, alpha-GPC has been found to enhance athletic performance and aid in recovery by promoting the release of growth hormone (9,10).
CDP-Choline. CDP-Choline, also known as Citicoline, is another natural choline compound found in the brain which serves as a quick source of readily available choline upon ingestion. Research suggests that citicoline supplementation may benefit individuals with various neurological conditions, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and age-related cognitive decline. Additionally, citicoline has been shown to support brain health by promoting neuroplasticity and enhancing cellular membrane integrity (11,12).
Lecithin. Lecithin supplements include several different fatty acids which are essential for different functions in our bodies, and they are also a discrete source of choline. Most lecithins are extracted either from egg yolks, sunflower seeds, or soybeans. Although supplementing with lecithin will only provide a smaller amount of choline compared to Alpha-GPC or CDP-Choline, it carries other health benefits such as lowering LDL cholesterol, facilitating digestion of fats, etc.
Bacopa Monnieri. Bacopa Monnieri is a perennial plant growing a bit all over the World. Some studies demonstrated that an extract of this plant is capable of inhibiting an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down acetylcholine in our body. Consequently, supplementing with it will not provide you with choline but will instead increase the availability of the acetylcholine already present in your body. However, more high-quality studies are required to confirm these effects (13).
Huperzine-A. Huperzine-A is a compound extracted from plants of the Huperziaceae family. Studies have shown a similar effect as described for Bocopa Monnieri, but even stronger. This compound seems to have also other notable neuroprotective effects (14).
Best Cholinergic, Dosages & Side Effects
Despite not being very popular, cholinergic supplements are widely used especially by individuals in the scientific field who appreciate their biological potential. However, playing around with neurotransmitters is not always a good idea and everybody should definitely acquire enough knowledge and consult a healthcare professional before starting supplementing with cholinergics.
Overall, both Alpha-GPC and CDP-Choline are the most popular ones, with CDP-Choline often being preferred over Alpha-GPC. This superiority is not much due to the choline quality and/or content itself, but the safety profile. A few years ago a very large study including 108,877 alpha-GPC users, reported that alpha-GPC use for at least 12 months was associated with an increased risk of stroke over 10 years (15). This correlation was demonstrated by proving that Alpha-GPC long-term supplementation can lead to an increase in a molecule in the bloodstream called TMAO, which has been associated with a higher incidence of several cardiovascular events. However, I consider that despite the large number of individuals involved in the study, there are two critically limiting factors: all the participants were at least 50 years old and living in the same country (South Korea), and they had a massive dosage of Alpha-GPC every single day for a whole year, which is absolutely uncommon for a conscious user of this supplement.
On average, it is not advised to intake over 300-600mg of either Alpha-GPC or CDP-Choline a day, best taken in the morning or 30-60 minutes before exercising, if the focus is instead to boost physical performance. With lecithin, the dosage is much higher since the choline content is much lower, and it is totally fine to consume 1200-2400mg a day, preferably either egg or sunflower lecithin rather than soybeans one, due to the better quality.
The two acetylcholinesterase inhibitors Bacopa Monnieri and Huperzine-A are way less researched and there is no real assessment on dosage etc., so would be best to pass on them and wait for more scientific evidence.
Final Considerations & My Experience
Since Neurobiology has been one of my main fields of study, especially during my Ph.D., I always had an unconditional passion for supplements which act on the nervous system. At the same time, I have always been extra careful taking them, as everyone should. Since I follow a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet, with plenty of eggs, meat, fish, etc., I am quite sure I am not deficient in choline. On top of that, I also supplement with 2400mg of sunflower lecithin daily for the wide range of benefits associated with that, which also accounts for a source of choline.
Considering that you exercise, eat a healthy and balanced diet, and, super importantly, sleep enough and have good quality sleep, then you should not require a cholinergic supplement. But, if you are going through a particularly stressful and demanding period, either mentally and/or physically, putting lots of strain on your body, not sleeping well, and still requiring you to perform at your best, you could consider going for it.
I purchased an Alpha-GPC box and only used a dose of 300mg/day (one pill) when I really had short or poor sleep or when I had a quite intense and demanding workout ahead. The effects are noticeable shortly after the intake. However, I never take more than 1-2 doses a week, and there are many weeks I do not take any at all. To potentially reduce the risk associated with TMAO build-up, a garlic supplement would be a great choice (I will probably cover it in a future article). In the future, I might try CDP-Choline as well, mostly out of curiosity, but I do not think I will ever implement in my stack Bacopa Monnieri and Huperzine-A.
As always, drop me a message if you would like to know more, and thanks for reading.
Take care.
Marco