Soy Lecithin – An ideal supplement against Cholesterol

Melanie Ramos 10 min. of reading Plants Leave a comment

Lecithin is a soya derivative that is a highly prized dietary supplement due to its nutritional properties, which are worthy of a place in your pantry. A powerful natural substance, it helps you deal with stress, helps control your nerves and enhances your memory. If you are going through a particularly stressful time, it will help you to stay calm and manage your nervousness less.

What is Soy Lecithin?

Lecithin is a substance that is naturally present in the brain cells. Taking lecithin dietary supplements helps to improve the concentration, enhances intellectual activity and promotes alertness.

The word lecithin comes from ancient Greek and it means “egg yolk“.

In fact, this vital substance was first obtained from egg yolk in 1846. Later on, the scientists found out that it was also present in many and living organisms. It would be many years before scientists realised that it is also found in a wide variety of plants and in virtually all living things.

Today, most of the lecithin consumed comes from soya, amounting to as much as 2% of the lecithin composition of soy as an ingredient.

It makes up part of the brain cells, but it is also involved in other organs and the nerve cells.
Moreover, it is in charge of the transmission of nerve impulses and, therefore, it is crucial for learning and for our response capacity.
It is a precursor for the synthesis of brain neurotransmitters.

What are the benefits of soy lecithin?

Lecithin has several beneficial properties for the organism.

Actually, it is deposited in the stomach mucosa and intestines directly during the digestion, strengthening the mucosa.

Thanks to it, the stomach and intestines are more protected.

Did you know that one of its primary properties is to protect the stomach from acids and drugs that attack the lining of the organ?

Add to this the fact that it also protects the tissues and organs from harmful substances inherent in the food itself and the intake of medicines, and you will know why it should be an essential part of your diet.

In addition to its benefits, it is worth mentioning that in the liver, it helps to prevent pathological changes that may be harmful or dangerous for the cells. We can thus conclude that it is hepatoprotective, a statement which is also corroborated by the fact that it helps the body to repair cells which have already been damaged.

Soy lecithin, properties

Chemically, it is made up by a phospholipid complex among which phosphatidylcholine stands out. Said phospholipid constitutes many enzymes and other substances with biological value.

It supplies nutrients from which our body can synthesize acetylcholine, basic for the transmission of nerve impulses.

Some of its most valuable components are group B vitamins like choline and inositol, vitamin E and phosphorus. All of them are renowned elements due to their beneficial effects for the body.

To put it briefly, they improve the blood lipid profile, helping to prevent a disorder known as fatty liver. In fact, this problem is directly connected to cardiovascular risk.

When it comes to inositol, which belongs to the group B vitamins, it is extremely important when it comes to regenerating the skin cells and protecting the hair follicle.

On the other hand, vitamin E counters the harmful effects of the free radicals in all the cell membranes. These elements are a direct consequence of the passing of time and some chemical aggressions.

This is why its function is distributed throughout all organs and tissues.

Soy Lecithin, what is it for?

Having cholesterol levels over 200mg/dl can lead to arteriosclerosis and coronary disease.

However, despite many warnings from health authorities, high cholesterol levels are one of the major ills plaguing our society in terms of health.

This is a serious public health problem since more than half the people between the age of 35 and 64 exceed said level in Spain.

That is why it is advisable to provide phospholipids that will keep the cholesterol suspended in the blood, avoiding its deposit in the arterial walls.

Therefore, we can say that they help to prevent cardiovascular pathologies related to cholesterol. For instance, myocardial infarction, ictus or thromboembolism.

Heart and brain, major beneficiaries

In addition, it can lower the plasma homocysteine, which is an amino acid which has proven to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. For example, myocardial infarction to the point that it can be used as a heart marker.

The brain is another organ that benefits from phospholipids. This is due to the fact that the breakdown of lecithin releases choline, the main neurotransmitter for the synapses. Therefore, it plays an important role in the electric impulses.

In fact, some scientists think that it could possibly prevent some disorders like Alzheimer or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Lecithin and cholesterol

Soy Lecithin – cholesterol

However, we need to take this with a grain of salt, since the European Food Safety Authority has stated that this cannot be proven. Up until now, there is no way to show a cause-effect between lecithin and its ability to regulate the cholesterol.

So what consideration should we give to soy lecithin?

Therefore, we can say that it can help to prevent, but it does not have a therapeutic effect against cholesterol. So, if we are diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia, the doctor will be the one to determine the treatment.

Liver and immune system also benefit from the benefits of the disease

In terms of gallstone formation, the soy lecithin dietary supplement has the potential to reduce gallstone formation in cases where the bile is saturated with cholesterol.

At the same time, it is an efficient liver detoxifier, which is why it can be cited for its work in liver diseases such as cirrhosis or hepatic eteatosis.

It is also known for contributing to the proper functioning of the endocrine glands, specially the thyroid. Apart from the synthesis of prostaglandins, substances that support the immune system. In fact, they inhibit the platelet aggregation, producing brochodilation and stimulating the endocrine glands.

When we do physical exercise, the plasma choline levels drop considerably. Therefore, we could consider taking it before a long and intense effort in order to support the effect of acetylcholine on the muscle fibers. Consequently, it would improve our performance.

A recommended complement to…

Without wishing to exhaust the catalogue of benefits of this food, we intend to list its main contributions to health in a summarised form.

We can talk about soy lecithin…

Relieving and treating liver problems such as fatty liver, cirrhosis or hepatitis
Preventing and treating digestive tract inflammatory diseases, gluten intolerance and Crohn’s disease
Protecting our body against atherosclerosis
Treating anorexia
Lowering a high cholesterol
Relieving lipid metabolic disorders
Preventing the onset of kidneys stones
Decreasing the feeling of weakness and fatigue
Increasing both the physical and mental performance
Helping to lose weight and reduce the fat percentage
Helping to lose weight and reduce fat
Treating constipation problems
Completing the diet of athletes
Supporting those who suffer Alzheimer’s diease
Avoiding the damage caused by medicines and drugs
Reducing the bile production.

In which foods can I find the benefits of soy?

What are their natural functions?

If you have decided to include more lecithin in your diet, you are in luck, because lecithin is found in many foods.

Take note of the main natural sources of lecithin!

Walnuts
Eggs
Lupins
Soybeans
Maize
Peas
Whey
Large amount of oils and products of animal and vegetable origin

In addition, many bakeries use lecithin as an ingredient for baking bread, improving the appearance of the dough and allowing the bread to remain in an optimal condition to be eaten for a longer period of time.

Beans or soy products are also foods rich in lecithin.

However, as foods differ widely in their lecithin content, it is advisable to take an additional soya lecithin dietary supplement as a way of guaranteeing 100% lecithin supply to your body.

And is its deficit a cause for concern?

The truth is that, although it is not a well-known condition, you should not underestimate the importance of your body suffering from a deficiency of this substance.

If you lack it, your body can suffer:

Difficulty to focus
Fatty liver
Fat accumulation and overweight
Higher cholesterol levels

How to take Soy Lecithin?

You will find soy lecithin supplements available in granule and capsule formats and in different dosages.

FoodSeries Soy Lecithin Granules

EssentialSeries Soy Lecithin

Remember that, although lecithin is present in many foods, it is not easy to meet the body’s daily requirements through food alone, so taking a food supplement as an added bonus is something that more and more people are opting for every day.

How much soy lecithin should I take per day?

The first thing to know about soya lecithin is that the effectiveness of your supplement depends on the composition of the phospholipid complex.

It should be between 98-99%, in the form of phosphatidylcholine.

Take it with moderation, 1 or 2 spoonfuls before lunch. In fact, a single teaspoon has 34 kilocalories from its polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, mainly linoleic and linolenic acids.

Who is it suitable for?

Although it is a supplement that can help the health of most population groups, there are some that can be particularly benefited by taking it.

Soy lecithin is particularly suitable for the following persons:

Children, since it stimulates the development of the brain and the learning capacity.
Adolescents in growth phase and to cope better with the stress from studying and exams.
Adults, since it enhances the attention and response capacity, apart from providing many positive benefits for the organism.
Pregnant women
Athletes, since it shortens the muscle recovery.
The elderly, since it stimulates the brain performance, protects against the hardening of the arteries and lower the fat in the liver.

Contraindications of Soy Lecithin

Taken at the recommended daily doses, it is considered to be a completely safe supplement, with no side effects.

However, if you are taking any medication, you should consult your doctor about whether to start supplementing with soya lecithin, so that it does not interfere with the absorption of the active ingredients in the medication.

Read the experts’ opinion…

To summarise, the experts state in relation to soy lecithin that:

The professionals have reported that it provides good results against liver diseases. Specially for pathologies like fatty liver, hepatitis or cirrhosis.
Lecithin can also support patients who suffer anemia, hypercholesterolemia and disorders that affect the lipid metabolism. In these cases, lecithin provides results when other therapies were not effective at all.

Could you have imagined that this soya derivative had so many benefits? Now you can enjoy the best soy lecithin supplements for your health.

Bibliographical references:

Le NTT, Cao VD, Nguyen TNQ, Le TTH, Tran TT, Hoang Thi TT. Soy Lecithin-Derived Liposomal Delivery Systems: Surface Modification and Current Applications. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Sep 23;20(19). pii: E4706. doi: 10.3390/ijms20194706.

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