Drug Company Hack

 

Choline-Rich Foods Missing From the Diabetes Breakthrough Story

A recent article titled "A Tiny Gut Molecule Could Transform Diabetes Treatment" describes how gut microbes convert dietary choline into trimethylamine (TMA), which then helps reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity. The article notes that choline is a natural nutrient “found in several foods” but does not actually name any of these foods, leaving readers with no practical guidance on what to eat.

From Abstract Mechanism to Practical Eating

The core scientific finding is that when choline reaches the gut, microbes convert it into TMA, which can bind to IRAK4, dampen inflammation, and help restore normal blood sugar control in the context of a poor or high-fat diet. This is a genuinely important shift, because it ties a specific dietary nutrient and microbiome metabolite to metabolic protection, not just to risk. 

However, the article’s language stops at the biochemical mechanism and never crosses into concrete dietary examples, despite explicitly stating that choline is “present in several foods” or “found in common foods.” For anyone trying to act on this information, that omission matters as much as the science itself. It is blatantly obvious the article is not about helping people act on the information, it is a hack job to promote the agenda of drug companies looking for another way to get more out of the insurance companies with expensive drugs.

What the Article Doesn’t Say: Actual Choline-Rich Foods

Choline is not rare or exotic; it is widely distributed in everyday foods, with the richest sources coming from animal products. Major nutrition references list meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy as primary choline contributors in typical Western diets. 

• Eggs (especially yolks): One of the most concentrated and convenient choline sources, often highlighted in dietary surveys and nutrient databases. 
• Organ meats: Beef and chicken liver are among the highest choline foods measured, with very high milligram-per-serving values.
• Other meats and poultry: Beef, pork, chicken breast, and turkey provide substantial choline and are major contributors to intake in many populations. 
• Fish and seafood: Salmon, cod, other lean fish, and even caviar/fish roe supply meaningful choline while also adding omega-3 fats.
• Dairy products: Milk, yogurt, and other dairy foods contribute steady background choline through frequent consumption. 
• Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage are notable plant sources that show up repeatedly in choline source lists. 
• Legumes and other plant sources: Beans, peas, lentils, soybeans, peanuts, potatoes, and some nuts, seeds, and whole grains supply smaller but important amounts, especially for people eating less animal food. 

Why Leaving Out the Food List Is a Problem

By not naming a single choline-rich food, the article forces motivated readers to do extra work just to translate “dietary choline” into a grocery list. That gap is especially striking because public health and nutrition references already provide clear examples and even rank choline sources by contribution to intake.

Readers are essentially told that a common nutrient in “several foods” might help protect against insulin resistance via the microbiome, but are not given any practical way to identify or prioritize those foods.  For people trying to modify diet as part of diabetes prevention or management, that is a missed opportunity.

There is also a significant economic angle to this omission. By focusing almost exclusively on the molecular mechanism—and hinting at future pharmaceutical applications or specialized supplements—the narrative prioritizes interventions that patients will eventually have to pay for. This framing sidelines the most immediate and cost-effective solution: dietary change. While developing new treatments is valuable, it should not obscure the fact that the 'breakthrough' molecule can be fueled right now by affordable, non-prescription foods available at any grocery store. Prioritizing patentable solutions over basic nutrition effectively gatekeeps a health benefit that could otherwise be accessible to everyone immediately.

Connecting the Science to the Plate

If the goal is to help the average person eat in a way that supports the beneficial TMA pathway described in the study, the logical next step is to highlight actual food choices. That does not require overselling choline as a miracle solution; it simply means placing the mechanistic finding in the context of realistic meals built from known choline sources.

Examples could include meals that combine animal and plant choline sources, such as eggs with cruciferous vegetables, fish with beans, or meat paired with potatoes and a side of broccoli. Even a short table of “higher-choline foods” in the original article would have made the research immediately more actionable for readers living with, or at risk for, type 2 diabetes. 

Until popular coverage starts naming the foods alongside the molecules, the burden stays on readers to bridge the gap between elegant biochemistry and everyday eating. Given how straightforward the choline food data already are, that is an easy fix that would make microbiome and metabolism research far more useful outside the lab. 

But of course, they do not want to fix that. Pharmacuticle companies do not make money encouraging patients to make dietary changes.