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These closely related nutrients with the scientific-sounding
names are actually essential for every cell in your body.
They’re particularly important for the liver and nerves.
No wonder so many nutritionists urge Americans to get more
of them.
What Is It
Lecithin (pronounced LESS-a-thin) is a fatty substance found
in many animal- and plant-based foods, including liver, eggs,
soybeans, peanuts, and wheat germ. It is also often added
to processed foods, including ice cream, chocolate, margarine,
and salad dressings to help blend, or emulsify, the fats with
water. In addition, the body manufactures it.
Lecithin is considered an excellent source of the B vitamin
choline, primarily in the form called phosphatidylcholine.
Once in the body, the phosphatidylcholine breaks down into
choline, so that when you take lecithin, or absorb lecithin
from foods, your body gets choline. However, only 10% to 20%
of the lecithin found in plants and other natural sources
consists of phosphatidylcholine. You can buy lecithin supplements
that contain higher concentrations of phosphatidylcholine,
but they can be very expensive. For most situations, just
taking plain lecithin, rather than the more costly phosphatidylcholine,
works fine.
Though dietary lecithin is a primary source of choline, choline
is also found in liver, soybeans, egg yolks, grape juice,
peanuts, cabbage, cauliflower, and other foods. You can also
buy choline supplements, and it is often included as an ingredient
in B-complex vitamins or other combination formulas.
What Does It Do
Lecithin and choline are needed for a range of body functions.
They help build cell membranes and facilitate the movement
of fats and nutrients in and out of cells. They aid in reproduction
and in fetal and infant development; they’re essential
to liver and gallbladder health; and they may help the heart.
Choline is also a key component of the brain chemical acetylcholine,
which plays a major role in memory and muscle control. As
a result of these far-flung effects, lecithin and choline
have been touted for almost everything, from curing cancer
and AIDS to lowering cholesterol. And even though the evidence
for some of these claims is weak, these nutrients should not
be dismissed out of hand.
Common Uses
• Help in preventing gallstones.
• Strengthen the liver, making them useful in the treatment
of hepatitis and cirrhosis.
• Aid the liver in ridding the body of toxins in patients
undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.
• Diminish heartburn symptoms.
• May boost memory and enhance brain function.
Major Benefits
Lecithin and choline may be especially helpful in the treatment
of gallbladder and liver diseases. Lecithin is a key component
of bile, the fat-digesting substance, and low levels of this
nutrient are known to precipitate gallstones. Taking supplements
with lecithin or its purified extract, phosphatidylcholine,
may treat or prevent this disorder. Lecithin may also be beneficial
for the liver: The results of a 10-year study on baboons showed
that it prevented severe liver scarring and cirrhosis caused
by alcohol abuse; other studies have indicated that it helps
liver problems associated with hepatitis.
Choline is often included in liver complex formulas along
with other liver-strengthening supplements, such as the amino
acid methionine, the B vitamin inositol, and the herbs milk
thistle and dandelion. These preparations, often called lipotropic
combinations or factors, can protect against the buildup of
fats within the liver, improve the flow of fats and cholesterol
through the liver and gallbladder, and help the liver rid
the body of dangerous toxins. They may be especially helpful
for liver or gallbladder diseases, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis,
or gallstones, as well as for conditions that benefit from
good liver function, such as endometriosis (the leading cause
of female infertility) or side effects from chemotherapy.
Choline, along with the B vitamins pantothenic acid and thiamin,
may also help treat heartburn.
Additional Benefits
These two nerve-building nutrients may be useful for improving
memory in those with Alzheimers disease, preventing neural
tube birth defects (spina bifida), boosting performance in
endurance sports, and treating twitches and tics (tardive
dyskinesia) caused by antipsychotic drugs. They have also
been proposed as possible remedies against high cholesterol
and even cancer. However, more studies are needed to define
their role in these and other diseases.
How To Take It
Dosage: Lecithin is usually given in a dosage of
two 1,200 mg capsules twice a day. It can also be taken in
a granular form: 1 teaspoon contains 19 grains, or 1,200 mg
of lecithin. Choline can be obtained from lecithin, although
phosphatidylcholine (500 mg three times a day) or plain choline
(500 mg three times a day) may be a better source. Choline
can also be taken as part of a lipotropic combination product.
Lecithin and choline have no RDAs, although recently, the
scientific group that sets nutritional standards established
what’s called an Adequate Intake for choline: 550 mg
for men and 425 mg for women.
Guidelines For Use: Lecithin and choline
should be taken with meals to enhance absorption. Granular
lecithin has a nutty taste and can be sprinkled over foods
or mixed into drinks.
Possible Side Effects
In high doses, lecithin and choline may cause sweating, nausea,
vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea. Taking very high dosages
of choline (10 grams a day) may produce a fishy body odor
or a heart rhythm disorder.
Facts and Tips
• Lecithin supplements vary widely in the amount of
their active ingredient, phosphatidylcholine: It can range
anywhere from 10% to 98%. In most cases, a higher concentration
of phosphatidylcholine (and its extra cost) is not necessary.
• Choline is so important for infant development that
all FDA-approved infant formulas must contain this nutrient.
Latest Findings
• Lack of choline shows up very quickly. Healthy adult
men who were put on a strict 30-day choline-deficient diet
displayed elevated liver enzymes, a clear indicator of liver
problems. Supplementing their diet with lecithin restored
their livers to their normal functioning.
• It’s a long way from rats to people, but a new
study suggests a memory-enhancing effect for choline. Rats
fed extra choline produced offspring that performed much better
in memory and learning skills than those whose mothers were
on a normal diet. Conversely, offspring of the rats deprived
of choline did poorly on memory tests.
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