Lecithin Weight Loss

Lecithin is a phospholipid, one of the many contained in the cell membranes of all living organisms, whether plants or animals. The term is often synonymous to phosphatidyl choline (PC), which many in the scientific community use to refer to lecithin.

Lecithin, the Emulsifier

One of the many functions of lecithin is emulsifying fats. In the body, lecithin is present in bile, a digestive substance produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder to aid in digestion. It is critical for the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins in the small intestine and serves as a major route for eliminating cholesterol. The presence of lecithin in bile is primarily to keep the fatty acids from mixing with other organic molecules also found in bile, such as bile acids, cholesterol, phospholipids, and bilirubin. By acting as an emulsifying agent, lecithin ensures that bile does all its functions smoothly.

Lecithin, the Aid to Fat-Burning

Another function of lecithin is to help burn fat. When you eat fatty foods, the fat gets deposited in the liver, which will then break it down so the body can use it as a source of energy. If the fats are not properly broken down, they will accumulate and can become rancid producing free radicals that damage liver cells. Lecithin in liver cells helps facilitate proper functioning of the liver, particularly in fat metabolism.

In addition, lecithin helps keep fats in liquid form. That way, they do not cling to the veins and arteries and clog the passages – a symptom of the condition called atherosclerosis. By dispersing fat in the water instead of letting them stick to the walls of the arteries, lecithin aids the cardiovascular functions of the body.

The Role of Liver in Weight Loss

There are a lot of people who find themselves constantly struggling with weight gain for most of their lives. They go through yo-yo dieting, at the same time contending with sluggish metabolism and unbridled cravings, so that hardly anything ever works.

Weight gain is often due to poor liver function. With a liver that is in such poor health as to make it unable to perform its functions, there is a very likely chance that the condition will result in weight gain, especially around the abdomen, cellulite, and water retention.

The Bile

The liver is responsible for secreting bile. A complex fluid, bile (or gall) is a bitter, greenish-yellow alkaline fluid containing water, electrolytes, and a batter of organic molecules which include bile acids, cholesterol, phospholipids (lecithin), and bilirubin. It is critical in digestion, particularly in the metabolism and absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins. Many of the body’s waste products are also excreted into the bile.

The role of lecithin is bile is that of an emulsifier and antioxidant. It helps disperse cholesterol in and breaks it down into essential fatty acids. The phosphate group in lecithin makes it hydrophobic so it will always move away from water (which the area surrounding molecules are mostly composed of) while its lipophilic (fat-loving) head will move towards where the fats are. As such, lecithin helps stabilize the fatty acid molecules by forming a semi-permeable, lipophilic/hydrophobic ring around them.

This emulsifying action of lecithin ensures that the bile is stable and the liver is able to perform its many functions, among which is fat metabolism and cholesterol breakdown.

Lecithin Weight Loss Supplementation

The ability of lecithin to facilitate fat burning makes it a valuable compound in the weight loss and diet community. In fact, the compound is currently marketed as a lecithin weight loss supplement, an alternative weight loss regimen for those who want a diet quick fix.

Of course, lecithin can be naturally found in foods that we eat. Certainly, foods that are rich in lecithin are foods that we often include in our daily diet, such as egg yolk, soybeans, grains, wheat germ, fish, legumes, yeast, and peanuts. However, if these are not enough, lecithin weight loss supplements are also sold in capsule, powder 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 contain phosphatidyl choline, which when synthesized turns into choline.

Lecithin and Weight Loss

Ever since scientists first discovered the role that lecithin plays in fat and cholesterol metabolism in the liver, many researchers have focused their studies on the connection that exists between lecithin and weight loss. How does lecithin and weight loss work together? What evidences show that there is indeed that connection between lecithin and weight loss?

While much of the studies conducted were unreported, one investigation has some bearing on lecithin and weight loss. In this study, an essential nutrient that the body needs, choline, is found to be a component of phosphatidylcholine, one of the many names that scientists use to refer to lecithin. Choline, they found, has the ability to break up cholesterol into small particles which can be easily handled by the system. With sufficient intake of lecithin, cholesterol cannot build up against the walls of the arteries and veins.