Key facts
- Wheat bran: 1,339Â mg of betaine per 100Â g; wheat germ: 1,241Â mg; spinach: 645Â mg. 1
- Pretzels: 237Â mg; shrimp: 218Â mg; wheat bread: 201Â mg per 100Â g. 1
- Craig (2004) lists among rich sources seafood, especially marine invertebrates, wheat germ or bran, and spinach. 2
- Cereal foods provide about 60% to 67% of betaine in Western diets and 20% to 40% in South-East Asian diets. 3
- Beets are often mentioned, but they are not among the foods named in the abstract by Zeisel and colleagues, so this page gives no figure for them. 1
What is betaine?
Betaine is a nitrogen-containing compound found in many foods of plant and animal origin. It is also known as trimethylglycine. Researchers measure it alongside related compounds to build food composition tables; in 2004, Craig noted that these tables were still being developed.
Which foods contain the most?
Zeisel, Mar, Howe and Holden analyzed the choline content of 145 common foods and also reported their betaine content. In the abstract of their paper, the highest levels came from wheat products and spinach.
| Food | Betaine per 100Â g |
|---|---|
| Wheat bran | 1,339Â mg |
| Wheat germ | 1,241Â mg |
| Spinach | 645Â mg |
| Pretzels | 237Â mg |
| Shrimp | 218Â mg |
| Wheat bread | 201Â mg |
The review by Craig (2004) expresses content differently, as a percentage of the food's mass: about 1% for seafood, especially marine invertebrates, about 1% for wheat germ or bran, and about 0.7% for spinach.
Two ways of expressing the same thing
The 2003 analysis gives milligrams per 100 grams, whereas the 2004 review gives a percentage of the food's mass. The two are easy to convert: 1% of mass is 10 grams per kilogram, which is 1,000 milligrams per 100 grams. On that scale, the review's roughly 1% for wheat germ or bran and roughly 0.7% for spinach correspond to about 1,000 and 700 milligrams per 100 grams, the same order of magnitude as the 1,339 and 645 measured in 2003. This conversion was made by this page.
Why does wheat come first?
Four of the six richest foods in the table are wheat products: bran, germ, pretzels and bread. The abstracts read give no explanation for this ranking; they only report the measurements. Nor do they say what happens to betaine during cooking, so this page says nothing on that point.
What a cereal study adds
A third source looks at cereals in particular. Ross, Zangger and Guiraud (2014) measured betaine and free choline in a wide range of commercially available cereal foods and cereal fractions, using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. They report that whole grain wheat and its fractions were the richest common source overall, that the pseudocereal quinoa had the highest amount measured, at 3,900 micrograms per gram, and that cereal foods provide about 60% to 67% of betaine in Western diets and 20% to 40% in South-East Asian diets.3
Do not read those numbers against the 2003 table without care. Converted to the same unit, 3,900 micrograms per gram is 3.9 milligrams per gram, or 390 milligrams per 100 grams, whereas the 2003 analysis reports 1,339 milligrams per 100 grams for wheat bran. The studies analyzed different samples with different methods, and the abstracts do not explain the gap, so this page ranks neither of them against the other. The lesson is general: a published food composition value describes particular samples, not a food in the abstract.
What about beets?
Beets are often mentioned as a source of betaine. They do not appear among the richest foods in the abstract by Zeisel and colleagues, nor in Craig's. Without a source read, this page gives no figure for beets.
Betaine and choline: different lists
The 2003 study was designed to measure choline-containing compounds in 145 common foods, and betaine was reported alongside them. The foods with the highest total choline were not the same as those with the most betaine: according to the abstract, they were beef liver (418 milligrams per 100 grams), chicken liver (290), eggs (251), wheat germ (152), bacon (125), dried soybeans (116) and pork (103).1 Only wheat germ appears in both lists. The point for readers is that a food that is rich in one compound is not necessarily rich in a related one.
| Highest total choline (mg per 100Â g) | Highest betaine (mg per 100Â g) |
|---|---|
| Beef liver, 418 | Wheat bran, 1,339 |
| Chicken liver, 290 | Wheat germ, 1,241 |
| Eggs, 251 | Spinach, 645 |
| Wheat germ, 152 | Pretzels, 237 |
| Bacon, 125 | Shrimp, 218 |
| Dried soybeans, 116 | Wheat bread, 201 |
Pork (103Â mg per 100Â g of total choline) was seventh in the first list.1
For other food composition pages, see spermidine, taurine and glycine. The rules for reading a pack are in how to read a food label, and the group is collected in food composition guides.
What the three sources are
| Source | Type of work | What it reports |
|---|---|---|
| Zeisel and colleagues, 2003 | Laboratory analysis of 145 common foods | Betaine and choline-containing compounds in mg per 100Â g; the six richest foods for betaine1 |
| Craig, 2004 | Review of betaine in human nutrition | Rich sources expressed as a percentage of the food's mass: seafood, wheat germ or bran, spinach2 |
| Ross, Zangger and Guiraud, 2014 | Laboratory analysis of cereal foods and fractions | Betaine and free choline in cereals, the share of betaine they provide in two kinds of diet3 |
Each source answers a different question. The first ranks foods on a common scale, the second names the categories of rich sources, and the third zooms in on cereals. None of them gives a value for cooked dishes, for a portion, or for foods in a particular country, so this page reports what was measured and stops there.
- It does not say how much betaine a cooked dish or a portion contains.
- It does not say how the amounts differ between countries, brands or harvests.
- It does not say whether beets, quinoa or any other food belongs on a particular plate: it reports measurements, not recommendations.
What this page does not say
- It attributes no property to betaine.
- It recommends no amount, per day or per meal.
- It repeats no regulatory wording: such wording only applies to a specific product at a specific content.
- The abstracts of both publications were read, not their full text.
When to ask for advice
To adapt your diet to your situation, a doctor or dietitian can advise you. This page presents food composition data and does not replace medical advice.
Frequently asked questions
Where is betaine found?
In many common foods. According to Zeisel and colleagues (Journal of Nutrition, 2003), the highest levels come from wheat bran, wheat germ and spinach, followed by pretzels, shrimp and wheat bread. Craig (2004) also lists seafood, especially marine invertebrates, among the rich sources of betaine.
Which food contains the most betaine?
In the analysis by Zeisel and colleagues published in 2003, wheat bran comes first with 1,339Â mg of betaine per 100Â g, just ahead of wheat germ at 1,241Â mg. Spinach follows with 645Â mg per 100Â g, well ahead of the other vegetables in the list.
Does spinach contain betaine?
Yes. Spinach is the third richest food in the analysis by Zeisel and colleagues (2003), with 645Â mg of betaine per 100Â g. The review by Craig (2004) also lists it among the rich sources, with a content of about 0.7% of the food's mass.
Are beets a source of betaine?
They are often mentioned, but they do not appear among the richest foods in the abstract by Zeisel and colleagues (2003) or in the one by Craig (2004). Without a source read, this page gives no figure for beets; the highest levels came from wheat and spinach.
What is trimethylglycine?
It is another name for betaine, a nitrogen-containing compound found in many foods of plant and animal origin. Both names refer to the same molecule. In food composition tables it is usually listed as betaine, next to choline and the compounds derived from choline.
Does this page recommend an amount of betaine?
No. It only describes which foods contain betaine and the amounts researchers measured. It attributes no property to betaine and recommends no amount. To adapt your diet to your own situation, ask a doctor or a dietitian, who can take your circumstances into account.
Sources
- Zeisel SH, Mar MH, Howe JC, Holden JM. Concentrations of choline-containing compounds and betaine in common foods. J Nutr. 2003;133(5):1302-1307. Abstract read on PubMed, PubMed. Retrieved October 27, 2026
- Craig SAS. Betaine in human nutrition. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80(3):539-549. Abstract read on PubMed, PubMed. Retrieved October 27, 2026
- Ross AB, Zangger A, Guiraud SP. 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. Food Chem. 2014;145:859-865. Abstract read through Europe PMC, Elsevier (via Europe PMC). Retrieved October 27, 2026