This is the second article in the series on how to balance your brain chemistry with food and supplements. Please read the first article in the series:
Your Brain on Food and Supplements – Dopamine
Acetylcholine is important for memory and learning and is a neurotransmitter used throughout the body. It controls muscle contraction for example. Acetylcholine may be extremely important for long term memory. It determines your brain speed. If you have too little, your brain is going to slow down. The most extreme case of this is Alzheimer’s. You can think of acetylcholine as a lubricant for your brain and body. Acetylcholine along with dopamine are the neurotransmitters that turn your brain on. They allow it to work hard and fast. A lack of either one can lead to memory and attention problems.
People with acetylcholine dominate natures are very sensory oriented. They are creative, innovative, and open to new ideas. Generally they are socially oriented. Acetylcholine natures enjoy activities involving words, ideas, and communication. Counselors, instructors, artists, writers, and actors are likely to have acetylcholine natures.
Acetylcholine deficiency can display as Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, dementia, dry mouth, dry skin, reading/writing disorders, speech problems, slow movement, mood swings, learning disorders, verbal memory problems, memory lapses, attention problems, difficulty concentrating, carelessness, and decreased creativity. If you crave fatty foods or have perfectionist tendencies you may also benefit from more acetylcholine.
How to Increase Your Acetylcholine Levels
This one is a little tricky because the best foods for acetylcholine are fatty. Avoid fatty red meats if you can.
- Egg yolk
- Beef liver
- Chicken liver
- Whole Egg
- Turkey liver
- Wheat germ
- Pork
- Lean ground beef
- Cod, salmon, or tilapia
- Shrimp
- Soy protein
- Peanut butter
- Oat bran
- Pine nuts
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Macadamia nuts
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cucumber, zucchini, lettuce
- Skim milk
- Trimmed ham
- Low-fat cheese
- Low-fat yogurt
Supplements
Frankly the best way to increase your acetylcholine is through supplements. There are some fantastic supplements available. Take these 30 minutes before eating.
GPC choline – This is the best absorbed and most impressive form of choline to take. It is more expensive than phosphatidylcholine, but you absorb so much more of it and it is already in the form that exists in your cell membranes so it is well worth it. Take 500 mg to 2,000 mg daily broken up into 2 doses; one before breakfast and one before lunch.
Phosphatidylcholine – 500 mg to 2,000 mg daily in three doses.
Phosphatidylserine – This has a long history of research to back it up Take 500 mg to 2,000 mg daily broken up into three doses.
The following supplements help preserve acetylcholine in your brain and body:
Acetyl-L-Carnitine – You are out of your mind IMHO if you don’t take this amino acid supplement. It is extremely safe and has such fantastic potential that you should take it if there is any chance in hell that even a small fraction of it’s potential benefits work. I will discuss it more in a future article. Take 1,000 mg to 3,000 mg daily divided into three doses. Combine it with R-Lipoic Acid for powerful synergistic effects. Take 100 mg to 300 mg daily divided into three doses.
Manganese – This is a mineral that preserves acetylcholine. Take 1 mg to 5 mg daily.
Huperizine-A – Take 200 mcg daily in three divided doses. This is an herbal extract and is a proven acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. This means it prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine. This supplement borders on a drug, but it has proven benefits for example in Alzheimer’s patients. I think it is very safe but make your own decision.
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These supplements become even more important when we consider the damage to our brains from various toxins. For example, aluminum and other heavy metals build up in the brain and impair memory and other vital functions. One of the steps to fight the effects of these toxins is to strengthen our brains with the suggested supplements. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my brain needs all the help it can get.
@Jonathan, great point! The fifth article in this series will include a secition on detoxification. It is almost impossible in the modern world to avoid environmental toxins. They are in the air you breath and in your dental fillings.
I’m all about improving my brain. I need all the help I can get.
The best part about your post is the list of foods. I eat most of what’s on that list. It took me a while to get there, but I feel healthier than I ever have.
Hi Stephen, great stuff! Have you read the “Mood Cure” by Julia Ross? If not, I highly recommend it. It’s all about brain chemistry and balancing it through diet and supplements.
As you suggested, the simplest way to balance brain chemistry is to consume more protein. It contains the amino acids we need to produce the neurotransmitters that keep us balanced. Because some of us are genetically predisposed to deficiency, supplements can be necessary to regain balance, but according to Ross, they should only be needed temporarily.
Jonathan brought up an important point about toxins. Few people realize how many toxins they’re exposing themselves to each day with personal care products. In regard to aluminum and Alzheimer’s, antiperspirant deodorants are a great example.
Why do you recommend against fatty red meat? Saturated fat is actually good for us! Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t cause heart disease. Neither does dietary cholesterol.
Great information here. Thanks for providing the food list as well as supplements – really useful.
Stephen,
Great information!
I assume that my acetylcholine levels are high enough since I eat eggs several times per week.
@Vin, no I haven’t read that but I will now! I’ve read the UltraMind solution and something called The Edge Effect (I think). They were great too.
My recommendation on fatty red meats is around arachidonic acid. We get way too much of it and it is very bad. It’s inflammatory. Further you should get more Omega 3 than Omega 6 fatty acids and fatty red meats load you up on the Omega 6 (arachidonic acid is Omega 6).
I still eat red meat and even though I try to limit the fatty stuff I probably get too much because my wife loves it. I load up on Omega 3 to try and compensate. The grain fed hormone fed fatty beef we eat is not natural and our bodies didn’t develop with it. Wild game and range fed beef is much leaner, from what I understand anyway.
“The arachidonic acid pathway constitutes one of the main mechanisms for the production of pain and inflammation, as well as controlling homeostatic function.”
@Karl, great! You’re young enough to save yourself some problems. I was oooold before I fixed my diet
@Laurie, thanks for stopping by Laurie!
@Roger, I wouldn’t assume that. You need more than you are going to get in a few eggs a week. If you don’t have any problems I guess you’re probably OK, but I think anyone over 40 should supplement.
Good point about the omega-6 fatty acids, I didn’t think of that. As you suggested, grass fed beef has a much better ratio of omega-3 to omega-6. It’s mainly the grain that’s fed to commercially farmed cattle that causes beef to be high in omega-6, but that’s far from the only reason why grass fed beef is a much better choice. I’ll be publishing an article on this soon.
Stephen – This is great information! I’m happy to see things like peanut butter, nuts and cheese on this list. I love all those and it is good to know that they are helping my brain while I eat them. I look forward to reading more!
I am not sure whether you recommend the list of foods under “How to Increase Your Acetylcholine Levels”. If you do not recommend these, then I am the saddest guy on the planet – these are my favorite and I was always thinking I am on healthy diet
I can give up on pork (i do not eat it any way), but broccoli, shrimp, and salmon are my favorites…
This is a great post, with a lot of useful information. I enjoy your work…keep spreading your message.
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than no Action
@Vin, thanks. I can’t wait for your article.
@Jeff, nuts are brain food on steroids
I eat tons of peanut butter.
@Alik, those foods are recommended to increase acetylcholine. Thanks for commenting!
@Giovanna, thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Another great one in the series. I’ll stick to my vegetarian diet (mostly vegetarian as I am starting to include fish, exactly salmon
) but I will watch for your recommendations. This is something very useful, Stephen 
This is VERY cool Stephen. I must have high levels of this as my memory is very sharp and I’m able to focus intensely and am highly sensory oriented, almost to the extreme and simply THRIVE on new ideas. I definitely fit the personality type you describe in this paragraph:
“People with acetylcholine dominate natures are very sensory oriented. They are creative, innovative, and open to new ideas. Generally they are socially oriented. Acetylcholine natures enjoy activities involving words, ideas, and communication. Counselors, instructors, artists, writers, and actors are likely to have acetylcholine natures.”
I find it intersting as you say a lack of the acetylcholine can cause loss of attention or focus. It made me wonder if this lack of is related to ADD and similar disorders. I have a brilliant friend with ADD and I am going to show this article to them. This is excellent and useful info Stephen. I am primarily a vegetarian and was a vegan for many years, simply out of an inability to tolerate dairy or meat, but I did and do eat tons of the the nuts and veggies you mention here.
Thank you for this wonderful info. I think it might help my friend. Bless you for such excellence. I know a lot about health and diet, etc. but had not heard about this one. Thank you thank you sooooo MUCH.
)) I love coming here as it is always exciting and fresh and new.
does a lack of this affect the skin?
About brain memory help.
Tks Me
Ok, I have a very serious question; I have been looking all over the internet. If I have frequent anxiety, hyperhydrosis, and depression issues (self-esteem espcially) should I avoid acetylcholine? Also I have read that there is too much (I believe) of this in the brains of Borderline Personality Disoder people, like myself, what about this factored in?
@ Venus: I recommend reading “The Mood Cure” by Julia Ross (someone above mentioned it too.) The book CHANGED my life! (The Ultra Mind Solution and The Edge Effect are good, but not nearly as clear cut and well written as The Mood Cure. I was diagnosed to be clinically depressed with anxiety for many years and ended up in a severe 2 yr depression, that became treatment resistant to SSRIs. (At one point, I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, too.) My best advice on supplements is work with your doctor (who may or may not know anything about amino acid therapy) and slowly add one or two of the recommended supplements and see how your body/brain responds. (The doctor should monitor your progress to make sure that no health issues occur, and can also note if good/bad mood and/or personality changes take place.) I take a TON of supplements at four intervals each day…it takes a LOT of discipline, but it worked for me. (When I am not as diligent and miss a few doses….I notice my body reacting.) I’ve been doing this since Jan 2010….and I’ve never felt better in my life. While at times I feel a bit nutty that I live on “vitamins” – my goal is to get my diet/eating habits up to par and then wean myself off the extra help that I wont’t need (as I’ll be getting it through my diet). I am 100% convinced that the nutrition we eat has a direct effect on how our body (and especially our brain!) works! In my deepest depression, I couldn’t have gotten enough of the nutrients needed to fix the imbalance/deficiency with food alone. Supplements (Amino Acids) were the fast acting “cure” – for lack of a better word – for my depression/anxiety issues. Shoot me a reply and I’ll be happy to share my regimen with anyone who asks. (Note: this is what I found works for me…and may not be the right combo for someone else!)
On another note – I LOVE this blog! So well written and thought out. BRAVO!
I’m looking into those books, thanks for the reply. A few years ago I read Happy Yoga – a fantastic book about transforming your life by simplifying it using Indian-based ideology (although it never comes out and says it). This book is very dramatic in the way it convinces you to change your habits, to say the least. It turned me into a vegetarian and almost a vegan. And I should clarify, I don’t mean I was eating greasy grilled cheese sandwhiches and pop every day – I mean I tried the whole transformative spinach, olive oil, nuts, less dairy and eggs, no meat, less refined carbs, more whole grain, bla bla, natural skin care, animal rights, bla bla. However, with my emotional and mental issues still present, I developed an eating disorder. I COULDN’T FIGURE OUT WHAT ALRIGHT TO EAT. Everyone will tell you what you should and shouldn’t eat. For every well-qualified doctor or enthusiastic believer out there that will tell you not to eat one food, there is another that will tell you to eat it. There is always a scientific study, a 2,000 year old history of success or anthropological-sociological-political-humanitarian-psychological-biological-economic evidence that states why you should eat any one thing and why you SHOULDN’T as well. I have an obsessive personality and if it isn’t one thing its another. I know that these ‘changes’ work well for a lot of people – either because they are able to let it, they happened to find that perfectly fitting diet or whatever, or they aren’t too sick to begin with. However I give this message as a warning for anyone who is able to recognize an obsessive trait in themselves to BE CAREFUL. Don’t let it control you, there is always something in your life that could be fixed………*sigh* …and this is where some final word of wisdom would be; some uplifting answer. However I have not discovered that yet…
And for those who may be wondering – I was a vegetarian for a year and the only noticeable change was that I developed painful IBS……but overall, pros and cons, it wasn’t worth it.