For everyone who's been told their anxiety is just in their head: well, yes, that's the point. New research from UC Davis Health has identified a measurable chemical difference in the brains of people with anxiety disorders - specifically, lower levels of choline, an essential nutrient involved in memory, mood, and keeping your nerve signals from going haywire.
The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry (a Nature journal), reviewed data from 25 previous studies covering 370 people with anxiety disorders and 342 without. The standout finding: people with anxiety had about 8% less choline in their brains, particularly in the prefrontal cortex - the region responsible for regulating thought, emotion, and that little voice that says 'maybe this is fine.'
"This is the first meta-analysis to show a chemical pattern in the brain in anxiety disorders," said Jason Smucny, co-author and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC Davis. He suggested that "nutritional approaches - like appropriate choline supplementation - may help restore brain chemistry."
Choline (pronounced kō-lēn) is not something your body makes enough of on its own; most of it must come from food. And apparently, anxious brains are burning through it faster than a stressed-out grad student goes through coffee. The researchers suspect that chronic fight-or-flight activity - hello, elevated norepinephrine - increases the brain's demand for choline, and if the supply can't keep up, levels drop.
Richard Maddock, senior author and a psychiatrist at UC Davis, has spent decades treating anxiety disorders, which affect about 30% of U.S. adults. "They can be debilitating for people, and many people do not receive adequate treatment," he noted, adding that "an 8% lower amount doesn't sound like that much, but in the brain it's significant."
Before you rush to stock up on choline supplements, Maddock cautions: "We don't know yet if increasing choline in the diet will help reduce anxiety. More research will be needed." He specifically warns against self-medicating with excessive choline supplements. So no, this is not a license to mainline beef liver.
Still, the finding adds to growing interest in the nutrition-mental health connection. Many Americans already don't get the recommended daily amount of choline, which is found in foods like beef liver, eggs (especially the yolk), beef, chicken, fish, soybeans, and milk. Maddock also notes that some forms of omega-3 fatty acids, like those in salmon, may help supply choline to the brain.
The study doesn't prove that low dietary choline causes anxiety or that increasing it will relieve symptoms - that would require controlled trials. But it gives scientists a clearer chemical target to investigate and anxious people another reason to maybe eat an egg.
Materials provided by University of California - Davis Health. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.