In recent years, lecithin has received much attention on its being a possible treatment for a variety of illnesses, including high cholesterol, heart problems, Alzheimer’s disease, and memory loss. Not only that, but manufacturers of lecithin supplements are also marketing the compound as an aid to weight loss. But is there some basis to all this?
First, we examine what the compound lecithin is. Generally speaking, lecithin refers to a complex mixture of phosphate acids naturally found in foods that we eat, including soybeans, egg yolk, wheat germ, grape seed, and virtually every plant and animal. The compound acts as an emulsifier, maintaining the fats in bile and easing digestion to help the body better absorb valuable nutrients.
However, when scientists speak of lecithin, they generally mean the compound element phosphatidyl choline or PC. Phosphatidyl choline is s vital component in the formation of cell membranes and cell walls, which play a role in facilitating the movement of fluids in and out of the cell. Professor and chair of the department of nutrition at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill Steven Zeisel, M.D., Ph.D. says that lecithin also helps to maintain the structural integrity of cells.
He explains, “Without lecithin, nothing would survive, because you wouldn’t be able to separate the various compartments within cells, nor would you be able to separate cells from each other.”
When phosphatidyl choline enters the body, it turns into choline, an essential nutrient. The claims revolving around lecithin supplement can all be traced back to this element - choline. As an essential nutrient, choline cannot be manufactured inside the body. In order to get our supply of it, we must turn to our daily diet and supplements such as lecithin supplement.
Choline is very important because it is one of only two nutrients needed by the liver to promote the breakdown of fats. The other nutrient is methionine, an essential amino acid.
Fat-Emulsifier
Choline is a lipotropic agent. As such, it promotes or encourages the export of fat from the liver. If you want to keep your liver healthy and capable of burning the exported fat for additional energy, then taking in lecithin supplements may help to keep up your daily supply of choline.
Lecithin supplements prevent fats and bile to become trapped in the liver, which could happen if you do not have enough supply of lipotropics, such as choline in your body. This in turn could cause severe problems, including cirrhosis of the liver and blocking of fat metabolism, which could lead to atherosclerosis and high blood cholesterol.
Choline in lecithin supplements functions as a methyl donor. It is required for proper liver function as it assists in detoxification reactions that normally occur in the liver.
The Best Source of Choline
The best source of choline is still a healthy and well-balanced diet that includes lecithin-rich foods. However, one cannot expect everyone to get enough supply of choline. To answer for whatever is lacking in your choline levels, lecithin supplements are there for that purpose.
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What is Lecithin
... 1950, egg yolk was the sole source of lecithin used by the commercial food industry. However, by the 1930s, the time when soybean lecithin was discovered, egg yolk no longer held its former place of being the major source of lecithin for commercial use. Today, it is not even Lecithin Supplement a major source of lecithin in nutritional supplements. The reason may be that lecithins that come from plants are GRAS or generally regarded as safe. Who needs to take lecithin? When you know all there is to know about what is lecithin, then you probably know already that the substance is synthesized by the body from food. This means that it is not an essential nutrient, since the body can always get its supply of lecithin from...
Lecithin Sources
... (roughly worth 7.5 grams) of lecithin granules contains about 1700 mg of phosphatidylcholine, 2,200 mg of essential fatty acids like linoleic acid and 1000 mg of phosphatidylinositol, all of which contribute to just how good lecithin is. And yet as good as lecithin is made out to be, a lot of people do not consume adequate amounts of the compound. While Lecithin Supplement a deficiency in lecithin does not seem to have any adverse effects on people, a deficiency in choline, a component of lecithin, however, can lead to serious illnesses such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. The reason for the reduced consumption of lecithin may have something to do with the lecithin sources themselves. Before World War II, people were in the habit of eating large amounts of organ meats, red meats, whole eggs, whole milk with cream, dairy cream, and liver, all of which are excellent lecithin...
Lecithin Weight Loss
... or granular form. Lecithin weight loss supplements are highly filtered. That means they contain less than 35% of phosphatidyl choline while the rest are made of various substances. Majority of these lecithin weight loss supplements are derived from soybeans, although egg yolk lecithin weight loss supplements can also be found. But while lecithin weight loss supplements are valued for their phosphatidyl choline content, the real benefit you get from supplementation is the boost in choline levels your body receives. As an essential nutrient, your body cannot manufacture choline and hence you always depend on the foods that you eat and supplements in order to get your supply. However, there have been reports that people who take large amounts of choline supplements end up emitting a fish like smell, discouraging others from taking the supplement all together. Instead, they take lecithin weight loss supplements, which...
Facts about Lecithin
... the framework of the cell itself. Along with protein and carbohydrates, lecithin helps keep the cell structure strong and retain its shape. Functions and Benefits All the facts about lecithin will lead you only to one thing: that it's a good thing the French scientist Maurice Gobley discovered it when he did in 1950. Otherwise, we would still be stuck Lecithin Supplement with using the other emulsifiers in our foods which contain toxins that are harmful for human consumption. One of the most popular facts about lecithin is that it exhibits emulsifying properties, which the food industry has found many uses for. Aside from keeping margarine and butter in its solid state and provide coating for chocolates and other foods, lecithin can also be used to enhance the...
Lecithin and Cholesterol
... lecithin helps prevent stone formation. As a component of the enzyme lecithin Lecithin Supplement cholesterol acyltranferase, the compound is said to help in the metabolism of cholesterol to its by products. As mentioned earlier, this substance is also called phosphatidylcholine and is an excellent source of choline. Much of the medical benefits of lecithin, particularly on high cholesterol-related conditions have been attributed to the presence of choline. In one study, laboratory rats were given a choline free diet. By the end of the study, all of the test subjects developed liver diseases, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. Other studies, conducted on both humans and animals, also showed how choline supplementation help reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. Though the study results showed only slight reduction of cholesterol, it was enough proof for many drug manufacturers to market the substance as a supplement that could aid in weight loss. Today, commercial lecithin as a supplement for persons with high cholesterol is available in...
Is Lecithin Good for Fatty Liver
... is responsible for removing the toxins, dead cells, microorganisms, and fat from the blood stream. However, if you have fatty liver, instead of straining the blood of all harmful elements, it cannot do that anymore. This causes the blood stream to become overloaded with toxins and fat. The Role of Lecithin in the Liver Lecithin is a phospholipid that is found in every single living cell. It is composed mainly of three types of phospholipids: phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidylethanol (PE). As a major component of the cell membrane, lecithin acts as an emulsifier, keeping the essential fatty acids apart from Lecithin Supplement other molecules within the cell. This role of lecithin is very important since fatty acids are so delicate that when exposed to oxidation, they may become rancid, causing harm to the body. Lecithin is also present in bile where it does what it always does - keeping fatty substances. The bile is a substance essential to digestion and produced by the liver to be stored in the gallbladder....
Organic Lecithin
... an additive that could extend the shelf life of processed foods, the commercial food industry used the product in baked goods, chocolates, salad dressings, nut butters, candies, protein drinks, instant soups, and prepared foods. Organic lecithin could also be added into recipes to improve flavor and to act generally as an emulsifier. Then, in the 1930s, soybean Lecithin Supplement consumption experienced a boom and that when it was discovered that the sludge that was the by product of soybean processing actually contains about 1.8% hydrophosphatides, which consist of organic lecithin. Through a process called "degumming," organic lecithin was extracted from the sludge and sold as an alternative to egg lecithin. Organic lecithin that comes from plants is generally regarded as safe. That is because animal lecithins are often excreted through the...
Lecithin Benefits
... we drop our jaws completely at that shocking news, let's discuss what lecithin is, shall we? And while we do that, why not include in our discussion the lecithin benefits that make this type of fat so uniquely good for the body? Lecithin, the Good Fat Depending on who you're talking with, lecithin can have two different meanings. Commercially, the term refers to a complex mixture of neutral and polar lipids that is popularly used as an emulsifier and/or lubricant. In biochemistry, it refers to phosphatidylcholine (PC), a phospholipid compound comprised of glycerol, two fatty acids (linoleic acid and inositol), a phosphate group and choline (a type of B vitamin). Lecithin is typically found in the cell membrane or cell walls of every single living cell of an organism, whether plant or animal in origin. As you may already know, the cell membranes or cell walls are a semi-permeable layer Lecithin Supplement that is responsible for regulating the passage of nutrients into and out of cells. Lecithin...
Lecithin Effects
... egg yolk in 1950 during its discovery by French scientist Maurice Gobley. In fact, that is how it got its name - lethikos, the Greek word for "egg yolk." But by the end of the 1930s, it was soon discovered that lecithin may also be extracted from crude soybean oil after it has undergone a process called hexane extraction. Lecithin Effects as an Emulsifier The food industry is among the first industries that discovered the wonderful lecithin effects of this natural emulsifier. Since its discovery, it has been used in foods such as chocolate, cheese, margarine, and salad dressings. Acting as an emulsifier, the lecithin effects help mix fats with water and keep them from separating. When you place the chocolate bar in the freezer, the low temperature causes the lecithin effects on the fat to fall apart. That's why the...
Lecithin Side Effects
... persons with high blood cholesterol level, appearing to lower it down. Lecithin, the Wonder Food Unlike other chemical substances such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats and oils, lecithin is actually not an essential nutrient. Well, yes, it does do wonders for the body, but a deficiency in lecithin won't make life bad for you. Besides, it is not like you are going to run out of lecithin anytime soon. You can always get your supply of lecithin from the foods that you eat, like eggs (yolks), soybeans, sunflower, grape seed, wheat germ, to name a few. Lecithin has been the subject of various extensive research studies, particularly concerning its role in degenerative diseases. Because of its being a major component in the structure of myelin sheath and nerve cells, scientists believe that lecithin side effects include a possible cure for conditions involving cognition or those that affect the mental processes used...
Structure of Lecithin
... amounts of hydratable compounds (1.8%), comprised primarily of phosphatides. After going through the synthesizing process, the resulting structure of lecithin is 30-35% crude soy oil and 65-70% phosphatides. Oil can then also be removed completely with the addition of acetone. In the structure of lecithin derived from soy, the phosphatides consist of glycerides, which are the basic components of soy oil. However, instead of one Lecithin Supplement fatty acid radical, this has been replaced with phosphoric acid. Now, this is different in the case of pure or chemical lecithin or phosphatidylcholine, where the phosphoric acid is further esterified with choline. But commercially, the structure of lecithin is mostly fatty acids, with roughly the same proportion as that of soy oil, which is 50-57% linoleic acid and 5% linolenic. There are different types of lecithin derived from soy: unrefined or natural (including bleach varieties), refined, and chemically modified. All of these have different chemical structures and compositions. For instance, unrefined lecithin contains 17.5% phosphatidylcholine, 15% phosphatidylethanolamine, 10% phosphatidylinositol,...
Lecithin is Powerful
... reasons. Lecithin is powerful because it is one of the important nutrients that make up the cell membrane found in the cells of every living organism on earth and plays a vital role in normal cell functions. Lecithin - Its Composition and Functions In biochemistry, lecithin is often used synonymously with another term, phosphatidylcholine, which is actually one of the three main types of phospholipids found in the phosphatide fraction isolated from either egg yolk or soy beans. On the other hand, the lecithin used by many food manufacturers is a mixture of these phospholipids in oil, 20% to 90% of which is Lecithin Supplement phosphatidylcholine. One of the many reasons why lecithin is powerful is because of the presence of phosphatidylcholine. Lecithin that contains this substance is produced from vegetable, animal and microbial sources, but mainly from vegetable sources, the most important sources of which are soybean, sunflower, and grape seed. In 1998, the US Food and Drug Administration named lecithin as GRAS, or Generally...
Lecithin
... what exactly is lecithin? In biology, the human body produces this substance in the liver and transports it throughout the nervous and circulatory systems. It is a phospholipid and is usually used Lecithin Supplement as a synonym for phosphatidylcholine or PC. It is composed mainly of B vitamins, phosphoric acid, choline, linoleic acid, and inositol. As a phospholipid (fat-based), lecithin is a key building block of cell membranes, without which, cell membranes would harden and would no longer stay semi-permeable. As such, lecithin protects cells from the destructive effects of oxidation, a naturally occurring process in the body due to the presence of oxygen. In the food industry, lecithin is regarded as one of the few emulsifiers commonly regarded as safe and was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for human consumption. Since the substance is already an integral part of biological membranes, it can be totally biodegradable and metabolized, making it virtually non-toxic, unlike its synthetic alternatives....
Soy Lecithin Allergens
... succeeded in separating the emulsifier-like fatty compound found in egg yolk. Naming the compound after the Greek word for "egg yolk", lekithos, the first commercially available lecithin was mostly derived from egg yolk, until the 1930s when the use of soy products in processed foods arose. The compound lecithin was discovered in the by product of soybean processing. After the soybeans were processed and its oils extracted, the liquid waste that is left is made to under go a "degumming" process in order to separate its lecithin content. Since then, most of the lecithin sold in the market today are derived from soya. Soy lecithin is said Lecithin Supplement to contain many benefits that help improve overall lecithin. The presence of lecithin in every cell of the human body as a major component of the cell membrane has led many scientists to conduct investigations on the role...
Liquid Lecithin
... the compound has Lecithin Supplement been touted as a memory enhancer by improving cognitive function. Another benefit of liquid lecithin is to increase the rate at which fat is burned to produce energy for the body. Lecithin is contained in the bile, which is a kind of substance produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder necessary for digestion. As an emulsifier, the function of liquid lecithin is to separate the fatty acids in the bile and protect them from the ravages of oxidation. The compound also helps keep the liver cells healthy so they can continue doing their function of filtering and cleansing the blood of all toxins and harmful molecules. Sources Liquid lecithin can be found in nearly all kinds of food. But...