BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the most important causes of humanmortality in the world. Higher intakes of choline and betaine have been shown to be associatedwith lower plasma homocysteine levels (the putative CVD risk factor). This study aimed toreview the evidence on the association between dietary intakes of choline and betaine andtraditional/novel CVD risk factors.METHODS: We searched in PubMed website from 1990 to 2009, with the use of followingkeywords: "dietary choline and betaine, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome,inflammation". The cross-sectional and prospective studies as well as the clinical trials wererecruited in this investigation.RESULTS: Dietary intakes of “choline”/“choline and betaine” were not significantly associatedwith CVD risk; however, the higher intakes of choline and betaine were associated with higherserum concentrations of CRP, IL-6 and TNF-5. Individuals with high plasma choline levels wereobese and had elevated plasma triglycerides, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels; whereashigh plasma betaine levels were inversely associated with these biochemical markers. Bothcholine and betaine supplementation resulted in increased blood lipid profiles.CONCLUSION: Although dietary intakes of choline and betaine were not significantlyassociated with CVD incidence, the long-term consumption of these nutrients have been shownto prevent CVD mortality by decreasing inflammation and other risk factors.Keywords: Choline, Betaine, Cardiovascular Diseases, Metabolic Syndrome, Inflammation