Flow CDP-Choline

So, you’re interested in the Queal Flow. But you want to know a bit more about what’s in it, and why it works. In this blog, I’m going to expand on one particular ingredient in the Flow: CDP-Choline.

What is CDP-Choline?

CDP-Choline is also known as Citicoline or Cytidine Diphosphocholine. It is a compound that the body converts to Choline and Cytidine. The Cytidine is then converted to Uridine. These two compounds confer cognitive-promoting properties, which is why CDP-Choline is a nice one-two punch prodrug and therefore often used as a nootropic compound.

There’s a variety of sources for CDP-choline. Common sources include meat (liver especially), eggs (the yolks especially), fish, and certain vegetables, like Brussel Sprouts and Broccoli.

What does CDP-Choline do?

In other words, why did we put CDP-Choline in the Queal Flow?

CDP-Choline is broken down into two compounds by the body: Choline, and Uridine (by way of Cytidine). Both Choline and Uridine are neuroprotective and potentially enhance learning. Choline is broken down in the body to Acetylcholine, which is known as the “learning neurotransmitter”.

Uridine is known to bypass the blood-brain barrier[1][2] and is converted into various helpful compounds stimulating the creation of membranes and dendrites, aiding synaptic function.

There is a fair amount of promising research showing Uridine may help alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease or slow its progress.[3][4]

There is a CDP-Choline specific study focussing on cognitive effects in adult women. It did report an improvement in attention shown by a reduction of omission and commission errors after ingestion of CDP-Choline.[5] However, this is only a single study, so it warrants replication before the results can be fully trusted.

CDP-Choline as part of the Queal Flow

As explained above, adding CDP-Choline to the Queal Flow is more of a preventative and protective addition than an active compound. Bio-neurological research suggests using CDP-Choline as a prodrug for Choline and Uridine can have significant neuroprotective effects. There is also some early research suggesting some enhanced learning effects, though the efficacy of these claims are as of yet untested.

 

Read more about all the effects of the Queal Flow here.

Read more about our stance on science-based nutrition and research with regard to Flow here.

References

[1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000527367590259X

[2] http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00424-003-1103-2

[3] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0166223696818613

[4] http://wurtmanlab.mit.edu/static/pdf/1051.pdf

[5] http://file.scirp.org/pdf/FNS20120600007_87495447.pdf