Scientists find key brain nutrient from everyday foods lacking in people with anxiety

Millions of Americans battle chronic anxiety — but new research claiming a missing brain nutrient may be partly to blame is already drawing skepticism from experts who say the findings are far from conclusive.Using a non-invasive MRI-based technique that measures brain chemicals, researchers at UC Davis Health in California looked at data from 25 previous studies, comparing 370 people with anxiety disorders to 342 without anxiety. They found that, across the combined studies, individuals with certain anxiety disorders showed an average of about 8% lower choline levels in brain regions that help regulate thinking and emotions. “An 8% lower amount doesn’t sound like that much, but in the brain, it’s significant,” said senior study author Richard Maddock, a medical doctor and research professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis.Choline — found in foods such as eggs, beef, chicken, fish and soybeans — plays a key role in memory, mood and cell health, according to experts.The study authors propose that heightened stress responses in anxiety disorders may increase the brain’s demand for choline, gradually lowering levels of the nutrient — especially in regions that help regulate stress and reduce the threat response, according to the published research.The findings don’t prove that low choline causes anxiety.The researchers also emphasized that it’s too early to recommend eating more choline or taking large doses of it in supplement form. The research does, however, reveal a pattern across three major anxiety disorders that could shape future research into how nutrition and brain chemistry interact with anxiety disorders, they said.“It suggests nutritional approaches — like appropriate choline supplementation — may help restore brain chemistry and improve outcomes for patients,” study co-author Jason Smucny said in a statement.But several clinicians and nutrition experts to...