Although there are numerous lecithin benefits documented today, a few of the main examples including the treatment of eczemas, high cholesterol levels, extrapyramidal symptoms or even some forms of dementia, it is not clear whether any of those benefits can be considered as valid.

Some of the claimed lecithin benefits include:

• Treatment of Dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease)
• Reducing high cholesterol levels. Preventing the accumulation of bad cholesterol and fatty deposits within our arteries and our heart.  It is also claimed that it raises levels of the good cholesterol.
• Relief of arthritis
• Treatment for gallstones
• Promotes weight loss
• Liver Cirosis
• Aids in vitamin A and thiamin absorption
• Eczema
• Parkinson’s disease
• Tardive Dyskinesia
• Lecithin derived from eggs is believed to help people with AIDS to ease symptoms; also it is claimed that it helps people with herpes and chronic fatigue.
• Lecithin is claimed that helps in preventing arteriosclerosis
• Sport endurance
• Relief from joint pain
• Improves the brain’s memory function retention power and overall learning capacity

The many scientific studies conducted that have tried to shed some light over the curing properties of lecithin-based supplements have not been able to prove the therapeutic value of the substance in most cases. Also, despite lecithin’s overall non-toxic properties, it is not in fact clear whether it may be safe for children or pregnant mothers.

For a long time, lecithin benefits have been promoted in a variety of ways, many people considering these supplements as having a positive effect on patients suffering from a large variety of diseases and disorders. The manufacturers of lecithin supplements claim that the substance is able to treat obesity, reduce high cholesterol levels, or impede the development of liver disease. Let us, therefore, analyze at least some of these claims, and try to shed some light on how valid they may or may not be.

Lecithin and Some of Its Alleged Benefits

Lecithin contains phosphatidylcholine, a substance that is considered by some to be the main reason behind many of the alleged lecithin benefits documented by those who promote it as a nutritive supplement. The ingredient is indeed an important part of our cells, particularly the membranes that surround them, however, the substance is not carried directly to the membranes when being consumed. Rather, it is broken down into another nutritive element called choline, which mainly promotes methylation.Apart from phosphatidylcholine, lecithin is also said to contain various other substances, such as carbohydrates and some types of fatty acids, as well, including stearic, palmitic and oleic acids. These are connected to the choline ester of phosphoric acid, and seem to provide additional evidence that may support some of the claims regarding the various potential lecithin benefits. Besides the diseases we have already mentioned, lecithin is also said to be

lecithin

effective in bringing about various positive results in cases of bipolar disorder, hepatic steatosis, gallbladder disease, as well as anxiety and even dry skin when the treatment is applied directly on the skin. Many of these claims are unfounded, however, as there is very little evidence that seems to point to the ability of lecithin being of any use in treating these diseases. While some studies do seem to suggest that lecithin benefits patients with hepatic steatosis when they are fed intravenously, taking lecithin by mouth has shown somewhat poor results, and there is practically no proof that tends to show the substance’s effectiveness when it comes to treating most of the other disorders. Some of the studies that do prove to some extent that lecithin has something to do with the therapeutic benefits that many supplement manufacturers like to cling to are considered by experts to be not very reliable. Nevertheless, there was a period when, besides potential lecithin benefits being claimed to treat common disorders such as high cholesterol, lecithin was also seen, particularly in Europe, as being useful in treating alcoholic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis or viral hepatitis. Moreover, lecithin was also believed to have the ability of preventing the development of gallstones, as well. However, few of the researchers that thoroughly studied these aspects in a professional way have been able to provide any concrete proof of the substance’s positive influence.

 Some Therapeutic Benefits of Lecithin

In more recent studies involving the research of lecithin benefits, scientists have become interested using phosphadylcholine in order to treat severe ulcerative colitis. The reason why they believed this could actually be a potential benefit of the substance is because, in the case of patients who have this disease, it has been discovered that there may not be a sufficient level of phosphadylcholine within the mucus that lines the colon. Two placebo controlled studies involving a number of 60 patients even worked to provide some evidence that more than half the patients treated with phosphadylchlorine started becoming increasingly responsive to the corticosteroid treatments that were used for attempting to alleviate the disease. However, this fact, while proving that one of the lecithin ingredients is capable of showing positive results, does not truly help in the search for proof involving other lecithin benefits.

Soy lecithin

In some cases, there was also evidence that seemed to hint to the successful use of phosphadylchlorine for balancing homocysteine levels which were, for some time, considered to play a role in reducing the chances of heart disease. Also, because the substance plays a part in the nerve function, it was suggested that it could provide a remedy for neurological disorders like Tourette’s Syndrome, Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease. These latter claims were never proven, however, since the studies they were based on showed significantly conflicting results that could not be accepted as valid scientific evidence.

Therapeutic Dosages

When it comes to assessing lecithin benefits, it should be noted that lecithin contains only about 10 to 20 % (in the best of cases) of phosphatidylcholine, so the advantages that the substance may present can hardly be obtained through the consumption of natural lecithin. Studies regarding cognitive impairment have generally used dosages of naturally obtained lecithin ranging between 1 and 35g per day. In Europe, as a result of some researches, the concentration in certain supplements was raised up to 90%, which in turn, required dosage measurements to be re-evaluated in the case of such products. For liver disease, therefore, a typical dose should involve no more than 350 to 500 mg. For treating cholesterol, the dosage can be slightly raised, ranging between 500 and 900 mg, and for neurological and psychological disorders, studies have shown that dosages of up to 5-10 g are the most effective. In all of these cases, the supplements have to be taken three times per day for the best results to be obtained.

 A Few Words Regarding Safety

Apart from considering all the benefits of lecithin, we also have to be aware of some mild but important dangers when it comes to taking inappropriate doses of lecithin. While the substance is found naturally in many vegetable and animal sources, including peanuts, cauliflower, eggs or beef liver, as well as being commercially distributed in products based on soybeans, egg yolk or even brain tissue, the substance has been known to cause some minor but noteworthy side effects, such as diarrhea or nausea in the case of people who take exceedingly high dosages. Also, cases of anorexia and hepatitis have been reported occasionally, and maximum safe dosages for children, pregnant women or those suffering from severe kidney and liver disorders have not been properly documented.

Research Done in the USA on the Therapeutic Value of Lecithin

 While in Europe, research on various lecithin benefits had already started in the early 1800s, in the US, the first studies on the therapeutic value of the substance only began in the 1930s. There was an extensive amount of research done, firstly being conducted in the case of animals, using lecithin derived from egg yolk. By 1932, three studies, regarding the effects that the substance has on the liver and pancreas functions of dogs, were already published. At the end of the interwar period, the American Lecithin Co. started funding the research on lecithin benefits, providing the medical world with more insight on the therapeutic properties of soy lecithin. The first studies conducted on human patients involved treating liver diseases, psoriasis, decreasing high serum cholesterol and working with the absorption of vitamin A. As they progressed, however, many of the experiments started to conclude that lecithin did not have much value in terms of providing medical benefits, especially in the case of vegetable oils and whole grains, despite it being present in many other varieties of unprocessed foods. As a result, new refining techniques started to be used that altered lecithin. However, there were some positive results, as well. Studies on lecithin benefits, involving rabbits being fed certain amounts of soy lecithin, seemed to provide somewhat conclusive results when 5 of the 7 animals that were on an artherogenic diet showed increasing improvements, as arteriosclerosis and high serum cholesterol were reduced considerably. Similar studies that were conducted with the help of human patients seemed to yield positive results, as well. 79% of 99 people who were treated with a teaspoon of soy lecithin during mealtimes showed some remarkable progress in the reduction of blood cholesterol levels.

In a famous study, conducted in 1958, that had the purpose of showing how lecithin benefits can influence high serum cholesterol levels, soy lecithin containing 3% soy oil was given to patients who could not be treated using regular low fat diets. As a result, 12 out of 15 patients showed a remarkable decrease of over 40% excessive cholesterol in about 3 months. There were many attempts to prove the effects of lecithin benefits in treating other diseases, as well, especially during the 1940s. These included the prevention of fatty degeneration of the liver, the treatment of various skin diseases, such as eczema, keratoses or scleroderma, and later on, even the treatment of some diseases that were considered to be more serious, such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis. In 1950, Dietrich managed to reduce the required dose of insulin in some patients by administering vitamin E and lecithin. Despite some of the more conclusive studies that were done regarding the use of lecithin for providing natural treatments in the case of several types of diseases, in the 1960s and 1970s, the research on lecithin benefits was impeded because the medical community did not consider that the evidence was important enough to take into account. In spite of the fact that coronary heart disease was becoming one of the most significant threats of all diseases documented in the USA in this period, the claims of a few scientists and physicians that lecithin may be able to offer some positive results regarding its treatment were largely discounted.

Nevertheless, the popularity of lecithin, and the search for lecithin benefits continued to intrigue many people, and some studies and findings even appeared in various books and health magazines, presenting a lot of positive information regarding the documented use of lecithin in reducing serum cholesterol levels and the controversy revolving around its ability to treat a variety of diseases.

Some larger scientific studies continued to show promising results. In 1965, for example, research done with the help of 362 patients suffering from high cholesterol proved that, after 18 weeks of lecithin use, involving a dosage of 25 g per day,  proved to be effective; however, cholesterol levels started growing again a few weeks after the treatment ended.In the 1970s and early 1980s, further investigations also proved the effect of some lecithin benefits regarding the treatment of tardive dyskinesia, memory loss and other neurological diseases, and, in 1979, an entire book was published on the therapeutic value of the substance involving brain disorders.As a result, by 1980, a huge amount of documented research was already available in the USA regarding various alleged lecithin benefits. While some proved to be viable and conclusive, especially in the case of lowering cholesterol levels or treating certain neurological unbalances, most findings showed that there was not enough conclusive evidence that would support other lecithin benefits.

Summary

Based on all the information presented here, we have to admit that some advantages do exist when it comes to using lecithin for therapeutic purposes. Many studies have shown this to be true, however, the evidence that they have provided in many cases is not considered conclusive; so, it is still not a sure fact that lecithin can successfully be used as an effective dietary supplement. Research on this subject continues to this day, as many scientists and medical experts are striving to discover additional uses for lecithin and choline, as well as document more detailed findings about the lecithin benefits already documented as a result of past studies.