What’s making you anxious? Maybe it’s a looming deadline at work. A nail-bitingly close Little League match. Driving in the snow. A standing dinner with the in-laws, perhaps.

And, just maybe, it’s a dip in the unassuming essential nutrient, choline (pronounced KOE-leen).

A new study from University of California Davis Health researchers analyzed data from 25 studies and looked at the chemicals created during brain metabolism. Once authors distilled results from the meta-analysis, they noticed a chemical pattern present in brains with anxiety disorders.

In people with anxiety disorders, which accounts for about 30% of the United States, choline was about 8% lower than in those without. Though it may seem like a small number, researchers say that when it comes to the brain, it matters.

Anxiety disorders can include phobias, panic disorders and generalized anxiety disorder, and affect how “accurately” your brain can assess the true danger or safety of a situation at hand.

One of the hallmarks of anxiety disorders is an unregulated fight-or-flight response, which researchers suggest might lead to the brain calling upon choline more frequently, leading to that pesky lower level.

The essential nutrient supports everything from your cell membranes to your muscle control and mood.

Interestingly, although choline does occur in the body, it is most often sourced from diet, and commonly found in foods like egg yolks, chicken, fish, soybeans and milk.

Like most prospective treatments, further research is needed before we advise you to tackle any incessant feelings of trepidation by drinking a glass of milk.