Choline, food by food
Ranking · Choline
Your cells need it for their membranes, and to make acetylcholine, a messenger for memory, mood and muscle control.
An adult is advised to get about 550 mg a day if a man, 425 mg if a woman. ? The words below are read against 550 mg, the men’s amount. ?
How we counted this
Health Canada’s Dietary Reference Intakes, adults 19–30. The word beside each food says how much of that one serving gives, read against the higher amount, 550 mg, which is the men’s: for the other sex a serving counts for more.
The plain words beside each food: “a lot” means one serving gives at least 20% of the daily amount, “some” at least 10%, “a little” at least 2%; below that it says “almost none”. Each row prints its percentage of the daily amount, rounded to a whole number, and the word is read from that printed percentage (a row at 9.6% prints 10% and reads “some”). The cut-offs are ours, one set for every page: 20% and 10% are borrowed from the US labelling terms “high” and “good source”, and applied to Health Canada’s daily amount; Health Canada’s own shopper rule says 15%, and we keep one number so a percentage never changes meaning (provisional: they may change in a later method version).
What it does: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, choline fact sheet for health professionals. How much a day: Health Canada, Dietary reference intakes tables: Reference values for vitamins.
Most per serving: Beef liver, pan-fried (418 mg), then hard-boiled eggs and Chicken liver, simmered.
Listed amounts, not what your body absorbs. Where a human study measured absorption, the food’s page shows it. ?
How we counted this
Listed for 178 of the 198 preparations on this page (150 foods). The other 20 aren’t zero, just not listed: see “Not listed” below.
176 of them are ranked below, by what one serving gives; the other 2 list it but have no serving size on file, so they follow, per 100 g.
The 159 reviewed foods (229 preparations) are counted here, and raw and cooked spinach are two preparations of one food. Each row below is one preparation, and 198 of them are on this page. The other 31 are left out: 19 raw or dry forms of a food ranked as eaten (listed below) and 12 fortified foods. Imported foods are listed separately below, not ranked. Every amount here is copied from the national food databases, as published. A serving’s weight is shown rounded, and the amount is worked from its exact weight, so a row can differ slightly from weight times the per-100 g figure.
- 1
A lot418mg418.2 mg / 100 g - 2
A lot294mg293.8 mg / 100 g - 3
A lot290mg290 mg / 100 g - 4
A lot243mg221 mg / 100 g - 5
A lot135mg135.4 mg / 100 g - 6
Some107mg107.4 mg / 100 g - 7
Some103mg102.5 mg / 100 g - 8
Some101mg100.7 mg / 100 g - 9
Some90.5mg90.5 mg / 100 g - 10
Some85.3mg85.3 mg / 100 g - 11
Some83.7mg83.7 mg / 100 g - 12
Some81.3mg65 mg / 100 g - 13
Some68mg68 mg / 100 g - 14
Some67.2mg224 mg / 100 g - 15
A little51.3mg51.3 mg / 100 g - 16
A little50.9mg84.8 mg / 100 g - 17
A little47.9mg56.3 mg / 100 g - 18
A little47.2mg78.7 mg / 100 g - 19
A little45.4mg82.6 mg / 100 g - 20
A little45mg81.9 mg / 100 g - 21
A little44.6mg81 mg / 100 g - 22
A little43.2mg47.5 mg / 100 g - 23
A little43.1mg16.4 mg / 100 g - 24
A little41.3mg75 mg / 100 g - 25A little41mg15.6 mg / 100 g
- 26
A little37.7mg44.3 mg / 100 g - 27
A little37.2mg42.8 mg / 100 g - 28
A little34.5mg40.6 mg / 100 g - 29
A little34.3mg62.3 mg / 100 g - 30
A little34.2mg32.7 mg / 100 g - 31
A little33.2mg39.1 mg / 100 g - 32
A little33.2mg35.1 mg / 100 g - 33
A little32.2mg23 mg / 100 g - 34
A little31.9mg35.3 mg / 100 g - 35
A little29.6mg32.6 mg / 100 g - 36
A little29.4mg15.2 mg / 100 g - 37
A little27.3mg26 mg / 100 g - 38
A little25.8mg36.8 mg / 100 g - 39
A little24.5mg28.8 mg / 100 g - 40
A little23.6mg78.7 mg / 100 g - 41
A little23.4mg27.5 mg / 100 g - 42
A little23mg18.4 mg / 100 g - 43
A little22.2mg26.1 mg / 100 g - 44
A little21.4mg71.4 mg / 100 g - 45
A little20.4mg27.2 mg / 100 g - 46
A little19.4mg64.6 mg / 100 g - 47
A little19.2mg21.2 mg / 100 g - 48
A little18.9mg63 mg / 100 g - 49
A little18.7mg22 mg / 100 g - 50
A little18.4mg46.1 mg / 100 g - 51
A little18.3mg7.4 mg / 100 g - 52
A little17.5mg15.2 mg / 100 g - 53
A little17.5mg15.2 mg / 100 g - 54
A little17.4mg15.1 mg / 100 g - 55
A little17.3mg20.3 mg / 100 g - 56
A little16.7mg19.7 mg / 100 g - 57A little16.6mg23.7 mg / 100 g
- 58
A little16.6mg30.1 mg / 100 g - 59
A little16.5mg55.1 mg / 100 g - 60
A little16.5mg15 mg / 100 g - 61A little16.4mg19.3 mg / 100 g
- 62
A little16.2mg6.2 mg / 100 g - 63
A little16.2mg19.1 mg / 100 g - 64
Albacore (white) tuna, canned in water55 g · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)3% of the men’s 550 mgA little16.1mg29.3 mg / 100 g - 65A little16.1mg29.3 mg / 100 g
- 66
A little15.9mg18.7 mg / 100 g - 67
A little15.8mg52.5 mg / 100 g - 68
A little15.6mg52.1 mg / 100 g - 69
A little15.6mg52.1 mg / 100 g - 70
A little14.7mg17.3 mg / 100 g - 71A little14.7mg17.3 mg / 100 g
- 72
A little14.5mg13.2 mg / 100 g - 73
A little14.4mg13.1 mg / 100 g - 74
A little14.4mg16.9 mg / 100 g - 75
A little14.3mg10.2 mg / 100 g - 76
A little14mg46.6 mg / 100 g - 77
A little14mg6.5 mg / 100 g - 78A little13.8mg16.2 mg / 100 g
- 79
A little13.7mg9.8 mg / 100 g - 80
A little13.5mg12.3 mg / 100 g - 81
A little13.4mg89.5 mg / 100 g - 82
A little13mg15.3 mg / 100 g - 83
A little12.9mg9.2 mg / 100 g - 84
A little11.9mg10.8 mg / 100 g - 85
A little11.8mg78.7 mg / 100 g - 86
A little11.8mg8.4 mg / 100 g - 87
A little11.8mg39.2 mg / 100 g - 88
A little11.4mg7.6 mg / 100 g - 89
A little11mg27.6 mg / 100 g - 90
A little10.9mg7.8 mg / 100 g - 91
A little10.8mg7.7 mg / 100 g - 92
A little10.6mg7.6 mg / 100 g - 93
A little10.6mg21.2 mg / 100 g - 94
A little9.97mg32.8 mg / 100 g - 95
A little9.84mg12.3 mg / 100 g - 96
A little9.7mg19.4 mg / 100 g - 97
A little9.45mg63 mg / 100 g - 98
A little9.09mg10.7 mg / 100 g - 99
A little8.64mg28.8 mg / 100 g - 100
A little8.54mg6.1 mg / 100 g - 101
A little8.54mg6.1 mg / 100 g - 102
A little8.54mg6.1 mg / 100 g - 103
A little8.42mg9.9 mg / 100 g - 104
Almost none8.04mg26.8 mg / 100 g - 105
Almost none8mg6.4 mg / 100 g - 106
Almost none7.99mg9.4 mg / 100 g - 107
Almost none7.99mg9.4 mg / 100 g - 108
Almost none7.98mg5.7 mg / 100 g - 109
Almost none7.98mg5.7 mg / 100 g - 110
Almost none7.84mg5.6 mg / 100 g - 111
Almost none7.82mg52.1 mg / 100 g - 112
Almost none7.7mg5.5 mg / 100 g - 113
Almost none7.68mg25.6 mg / 100 g - 114
Almost none7.68mg25.6 mg / 100 g - 115
Almost none7.65mg9 mg / 100 g - 116
Almost none7.48mg8.8 mg / 100 g - 117
Almost none7.32mg13.3 mg / 100 g - 118
Almost none7.14mg5.1 mg / 100 g - 119
Almost none6.62mg47.49 mg / 100 g - 120
Almost none6.5mg2.6 mg / 100 g - 121
Almost none6.15mg4.1 mg / 100 g - 122
Almost none5.76mg19.2 mg / 100 g - 123
Almost none5.7mg6.7 mg / 100 g - 124
Almost none5.7mg6.7 mg / 100 g - 125
Almost none5.61mg19.2 mg / 100 g - 126
Almost none5.53mg6.5 mg / 100 g - 127
Almost none5.44mg6.4 mg / 100 g - 128
Almost none5.36mg6.3 mg / 100 g - 129
Almost none5.19mg6.1 mg / 100 g - 130
Almost none5.19mg6.1 mg / 100 g - 131
Almost none5.1mg6 mg / 100 g - 132
Almost none4.95mg16.5 mg / 100 g - 133
Almost none4.8mg6 mg / 100 g - 134
Almost none4.76mg3.4 mg / 100 g - 135
Almost none4.76mg5.6 mg / 100 g - 136
Almost none4.68mg5.5 mg / 100 g - 137
Almost none4.62mg15.4 mg / 100 g - 138
Almost none4.44mg11.1 mg / 100 g - 139
Almost none4.26mg14.2 mg / 100 g - 140
Almost none4.14mg13.8 mg / 100 g - 141
Almost none4.08mg5.1 mg / 100 g - 142
Almost none4.05mg13.5 mg / 100 g - 143
Almost none3.96mg9.9 mg / 100 g - 144
Almost none3.87mg25.8 mg / 100 g - 145
Almost none3.32mg8.3 mg / 100 g - 146
Almost none3.12mg10.4 mg / 100 g - 147
Almost none2.94mg2.1 mg / 100 g - 148
Almost none2.93mg18.3 mg / 100 g - 149
Almost none2.86mg18.7 mg / 100 g - 150Almost none2.54mg16.8 mg / 100 g
- 151Almost none2.5mg1 mg / 100 g
- 152
Almost none2.31mg15.4 mg / 100 g - 153
Almost none1.88mg18.8 mg / 100 g - 154Almost none1.88mg18.8 mg / 100 g
- 155
Almost none1.28mg1.6 mg / 100 g - 156
Almost none1.17mg0.3 mg / 100 g - 157
Almost none1mg0.4 mg / 100 g - 158
Almost none0.93mg23.2 mg / 100 g - 159
Almost none0.78mg2.6 mg / 100 g - 160
Almost none0.44mg2.2 mg / 100 g - 161
Almost none0.43mg0.5 mg / 100 g - 162Almost none0.43mg0.5 mg / 100 g
- 163
Almost none0.43mg0.5 mg / 100 g - 164
Almost none0.43mg0.5 mg / 100 g - 165
Almost none0.34mg0.4 mg / 100 g - 166
Almost none0.27mg5.1 mg / 100 g - 167Almost none0.26mg0.3 mg / 100 g
- 168
Coffee creamer, flavoured liquid15.2 g · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)under 1% of the men’s 550 mgAlmost none0.08mg0.5 mg / 100 g - 169
Almost none0.05mg2.3 mg / 100 g - 170
Almost none0.03mg0.3 mg / 100 g - 171
Almost none0.03mg0.3 mg / 100 g - 172
Almost none0.02mg0.2 mg / 100 g - 173Almost none0.02mg0.2 mg / 100 g
- 174Almost none0.02mg0.2 mg / 100 g
- 175
Almost none0mg0 mg / 100 g - 176
Almost none0mg0 mg / 100 g
Not ranked in this view
These list Choline but have no serving size on file yet.
Not listed
The databases don’t list Choline for these foods: left out, not counted as zero.
- Black beans, canned
- Wild blueberries, frozen
- Cashews, raw
- Chia seeds
- Chia seeds, ground
- Chickpeas, canned
- Kefir, 2–3.9% fat
- Lentils, cooked as dal
- Mackerel, canned
- Mackerel, cooked
- Mussels, cooked
- Pacific oysters, raw
- Raspberries, frozen
- Rhubarb, stewed
- Sardines, canned in water
- Butternut squash, baked
- Tempeh
- Turnip greens, raw
- Sunflower oil
- Whey protein isolate
Not yet reviewed · shown per 100 g, not per serving
Straight from the national databases, not yet checked, so not ranked. The list can include dried foods, spices and fortified products that a review would set aside.
No serving size yet, so shown per 100 g, even under “per serving”.
Not compared with the upper level: with no serving size, a figure for 100 g of a powder or a concentrate says nothing about what anyone eats. Choose an amount under “per 100 g” to compare one.
- Egg, yolk, dried · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)2,403 mgper 100 g
- Egg, whole, dried · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)1,267 mgper 100 g
- Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg yolk · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)820 mgper 100 g
- Egg, yolk, raw, frozen, salted, pasteurized · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)705 mgper 100 g
- Egg, yolk, raw, frozen, sugared, pasteurized · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)669 mgper 100 g
- Egg, yolk, raw, frozen, pasteurized · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)639 mgper 100 g
- Beef, variety meats and by-products, kidneys, cooked, simmered · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)513 mgper 100 g
- Beef, variety meats and by-products, brain, cooked, simmered · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)491 mgper 100 g
- Fish, caviar, black and red, granular · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)491 mgper 100 g
- Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, chitterlings, cooked, simmered · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)471 mgper 100 g
- Beef, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, braised · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)426 mgper 100 g
- Veal, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, pan-fried · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)411 mgper 100 g
- Veal, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, braised · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)399 mgper 100 g
- Oil, soybean lecithin · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)350 mgper 100 g
- Fish, roe, mixed species, raw · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)335 mgper 100 g
- Chicken, liver, all classes, cooked, pan-fried · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)327 mgper 100 g
- Egg, whole, cooked, fried · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)317 mgper 100 g
- Beverages, Protein powder soy based · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)313 mgper 100 g
- Veal, variety meats and by-products, liver, raw · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)310 mgper 100 g
- Egg, whole, raw, frozen, salted, pasteurized · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)297 mgper 100 g
Ranked as eaten. Where a food is also listed in a form people eat, these forms are left out: raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs (their cooked forms are ranked), dry grains and legumes, and frozen vegetables before cooking. Raw oysters stay: they have no other form.
Which 19 are left out?
- raw ground beef
- Beef liver, raw
- Beef steak, top loin, raw
- raw chicken breast
- Chicken thigh, raw
- Chicken liver, raw
- Cod, raw
- raw eggs
- dry lentils
- raw mackerel
- dry rolled oats
- dry pasta
- dry whole-wheat pasta
- frozen peas
- Pork chop, raw
- Pork sausage, raw
- dry quinoa
- raw farmed salmon
- Ground turkey, 93% lean, raw
12 fortified foods are left out: makers add vitamins and minerals in amounts that vary by brand, so check the label for choline: Cakes · Pasta, cooked · White bread, toasted · White bread · Pies · Almond drink, unsweetened, fortified · Breakfast cereal · Flour tortillas · Cookies · Crackers · Oat drink, unsweetened, fortified · Soy drink, unsweetened, fortified
Running low, and too much
Running low
Low choline can cause muscle damage, liver damage and fatty liver. Outright deficiency is very rare in healthy men and non-pregnant women, but most people in the United States eat less than the recommended amount, as do about 90% to 95% of pregnant women.
Too much
High choline intakes are linked to a fishy body odour, vomiting, heavy sweating and salivation, low blood pressure and liver toxicity. The upper level for adults is 3,500 mg a day.
Sources: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, choline fact sheet for health professionals (2022-06-02) · Upper levels (adults 19–30): Health Canada, Dietary reference intakes tables: vitamins (2025-11-19)