The Old-Age Enemy You've Never Heard Of
It was the Midwestern flea-market find that ended up being a 2,000%-plus bagger.
The unnamed scrap-metal dealer had been moseying around one morning at his local flea market when the glint of one metal caught his eye. It was a 30-inch-tall, ridged, ovoid object that rested on a tripod (with each foot shaped like a lion's paw).
For years, he couldn't find a buyer. But he eventually sold it at a London auction in 2011 for an estimated $33 million, after having originally paid $13,302.
This incredible find – made of solid 18- and 14-karat yellow gold, blue sapphires, and diamonds – was one of the priceless Fabergé eggs created for the Russian royal family from 1885 to 1917.
Fabergé eggs are known for being bejeweled treasures and for containing a surprise. This $33-million-dollar "Third Imperial" egg featured an enamel, gold, and diamond watch inside (even the push-button to open the egg was diamond).
Well, in the golden centers of the far-more-affordable eggs that you and I are more familiar with, there's a hidden treasure, too. It's an underrated micronutrient that more than 90% of Americans need more of...
That micronutrient is one you might not be too familiar with... choline. (Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals while macronutrients are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.) Here are some of the major reasons why we need choline:
- It's needed to create major molecules that make up cell membranes.
- It gets turned into acetylcholine, an important chemical messenger (or neurotransmitter) sent between nerve cells that plays a role in learning, memory, mood, and muscle control.
- It helps the brain and nerves develop properly in a fetus.
- It transports fat and cholesterol from the liver.
Once the bit of choline-rich food you eat reaches the small intestine, the nutrient gets absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to your liver.
There, choline undergoes a chemical reaction to turn them into fatty-acid "building blocks" for cell membranes. Some of the choline ends up in our lymphatic system, too.
(Like choline, your lymphatic system is pretty underappreciated. It's our body's "sewage system," and malfunction means a buildup of waste that could lead to a medley of common health problems like heart attack and inflammatory bowel disease. I covered it all – including my tips on how to keep it in top shape – in yesterday's Retirement Millionaire. If you're interested in subscribing, click here.)
If you were to be severely deficient in choline, you could experience damage to your muscles and liver (including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), as well as putting yourself at risk for what might be one of the most feared diagnoses in old age (more on that in a moment).
On the flip side, too much choline could turn you into a sweaty, drooling, vomiting mess... complete with a fishy body odor. Sounds attractive, right?
More severe side effects of too much choline include dangerously low blood pressure and even liver toxicity.
Now, the liver unfortunately doesn't make quite enough choline for your daily needs. Luckily, a huge variety of foods – both plant- and animal-based – contain choline.
For men, 550 milligrams per day are recommended and 425 milligrams for women. Here are some other foods with choline, many of which I eat every day...
Plant-based:
- Roasted soybeans (107 milligrams in a half-cup)
- Skin-on, baked red potatoes (57 milligrams per large spud)
- Canned kidney beans (45 milligrams in a half-cup)
- Quinoa (43 milligrams in 1 cup)
- Long-grain brown rice (19 milligrams in 1 cup)
- Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts (between 24 and 32 milligrams per half-cup)
- Dry-roasted peanuts (24 milligrams per quarter-cup)
- Apples, tangerines, and kiwis (between 2 and 10 milligrams per half-cup)
Animal-based:
- Beef liver (356 milligrams in 3 ounces)
- Top-round beef (117 milligrams in 3 ounces)
- Chicken breast (72 milligrams in 3 ounces)
- Atlantic cod (71 milligrams in 3 ounces)
- Canned tuna (25 milligrams in 3 ounces)
- Milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese (between 26 and 43 milligrams per cup)
As for eggs, the yolk of one large egg will give you around 150 milligrams of choline. And it could even be the key to side-stepping an incurable brain disease feared in old age...
A study published in the May issue of Journal of Nutrition involved using data from 1,024 older adults, spanning 6.7 years. Researchers found that folks who ate more than one egg per week had a 47% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The team also determined that 39% of the neuroprotective feature boiled down to, you guessed it, choline.
Another study published last August used samples from patients with varying stages of dementia (including Alzheimer's) and healthy folks of the same age. Researchers found an association between low blood levels of choline and high levels of inflammation markers, as well as Alzheimer's markers (i.e., amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles that clog up the brain).
I don't mind tucking into an egg or two every now and then. One of my favorite ways to do it is with egg salad, except I use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. It gives me extra protein and a big boost of gut-friendly probiotics.
What We're Reading...
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
July 11, 2024
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