Tier 4 — mechanistic

Dietary patterns, food groups, and nutrients as predictors of plasma choline and betaine in middle-aged and elderly men and women

Svetlana V Konstantinova, Grethe S Tell, Stein E Vollset, Arve Ulvik, Christian A Drevon, Per M Ueland
The American journal of clinical nutrition 2008 88(6):1663-1669

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 19064529
DOI
10.3945/ajcn.2008.26531
Funding
Funding was not specified in the indexed record or accessible funding metadata.
Competing interests
A competing-interest declaration was not available in the indexed record or accessible disclosure metadata.

Study snapshot

DesignCross-sectional cohort analysis
ModelHuman participants
Sample5812 Hordaland Health Study participants
InterventionHabitual food intake and plasma choline/betaine
DurationSingle observational assessment
EndpointsFood patterns; Plasma betaine

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2008, this source examined food sources, absorption and nutrient metabolism. Design: Cross-sectional cohort analysis. Sample/model: 5812 Hordaland Health Study participants. The exposure or intervention was Habitual food intake and plasma choline/betaine. Follow-up or treatment period: Single observational assessment.

High-fiber bread and several related nutrients predicted higher circulating betaine, whereas a Western dietary pattern predicted lower concentrations.

Associations reflect diet and metabolism together; blood betaine is not a simple measure of supplement intake.

Continue with TMG Data Center

Continue with Foods High in Betaine: TMG Amounts and Practical Portions

Key findings

  • High-fiber bread and several related nutrients predicted higher circulating betaine, whereas a Western dietary pattern predicted lower concentrations.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Food patterns; Plasma betaine.
  • The exposure was observed rather than assigned as an isolated supplement treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Associations reflect diet and metabolism together; blood betaine is not a simple measure of supplement intake.
  • Confounding, dietary patterns, illness, medication use and reverse causation can influence an association. Blood or dietary concentrations do not identify the effect of starting a capsule.
  • Source basis: Indexed abstract and bibliographic data. Missing method details, funding information or participant denominators are not inferred.

Related papers in the corpus

Tier 2
Pharmacokinetics of oral betaine in healthy subjects and patients with homocystinuria
Bernd C Schwahn et al. · British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2003
Tier 4
Cereal foods are the major source of betaine in the Western diet--analysis of betaine and free choline in cereal foods and updated assessments of betaine intake
Alastair B Ross et al. · Food chemistry · 2014
Tier 2
Choline and betaine concentrations in plasma discriminate levels of dietary choline intake in healthy adults: analysis of a double-blind randomized crossover controlled feeding study
Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez et al. · The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2026
Tier 4
Dietary Sources of Glycine Betaine and Proline Betaine in Plant Foods and Their Potential Biological Relevance in Human Nutrition
Bruna Laratta et al. · Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
Tier 4
Concentrations of choline-containing compounds and betaine in common foods
Steven H Zeisel et al. · The Journal of nutrition · 2003

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology