Daniel,

According to the USDA database I wouldn’t consider TVP to be a good source of choline; 1 cup of finely cut TVP only has 13.6 mg of choline.

Also according to the USDA database, 1 tablespoon of soy lecithin contains 47.6 mg of choline. There was no other form of lecithin listed.

I don’t know of a handy way to determine how much lecithin is in foods when used as an emulsifier.

For what it’s worth, on most days, I eat a piece of toast with Earth Balance spread on it and don’t worry too much about choline beyond than that.

Also, is there a good way of estimating how much choline one might be getting from the soy or sunflower lecithin that are in a variety of foods and supplements as an emulsifier?

Phosphatidylcholine is based on a backbone of glycerol, which consists of a 3 carbon chain, labelled: sn1 sn2 and sn3. The first sn1 is linked to a saturated fatty acid (eg stearic), sn2 is linked to a polyunsaturated FA, (eg arachidonic acid if it’s sunflower lecithin) and finally on sn3 is inorganic phosphorus and choline. Add up the MW of each component to calculate what percentage of it is choline. It will vary slightly, depending on the species of fatty acid linked to sn1 and sn2. Processed foods will contain lots of lecithin. 🙂

Daryl,
A tablespoon of sunflower lecithin will go a long way in making sure you get enough choline. I’m not sure exactly how many mg of choline it contains, but you should naturally be getting choline from other sources, too, and when you add a rich source like sunflower lecithin it should put you over the top.

I am putting a tablespoon of sunflower lecithin in my smoothie everyday. It says it contains phosphatidyl choline.

Can you let me know does phosphatidylcholine convert into choline, are these two things different?

If I am taking a tablespoon of sunflower lecithin will this give me enough choline? Thanks

It depends on the brand. This kind contains 82mg choline in 3 tablespoons (20 grams) of nutritional yeast: https://www.vitacost.com/kal-nutritional-yeast-flakes. That is about 20% of the DRI for choline for women and 15% for men. Always check the nutrition facts label to determine nutrient content of the nutritional yeast you’re using.

Sydney,

I consider soy lecithin a supplemental form of choline, so I don’t list it among “foods.”

I also haven’t been able to find a reliable source saying how much choline is an soy lecithin. The Office of Dietary Supplements says:

Dietary supplements
Choline is available in dietary supplements containing choline only, in combination with B-complex vitamins, and in some multivitamin/multimineral products [13]. Typical amounts of choline in dietary supplements range from 10 mg to 250 mg. The forms of choline in dietary supplements include choline bitartrate, phosphatidylcholine, and lecithin. No studies have compared the relative bioavailability of choline from these different forms.