Lecithin is an important phospholipid that is utilized by all cells of the body. Every day, your liver produces it where it functions to turn fat into energy.
Why are phospholipids so important? Phospholipids perform several important functions in the brain.
First, surrounding each cell in your brain is a cell membrane. Without a healthy cell membrane, your memory is not functioning at optimum capacity.
Phospholipids determine which nutrients and minerals pass into each cell, but they are also influential on how the cells communicate with one another.
This is because they promote the growth of dendrites, a short branched extension of a nerve cell.
This is why taking lecithin can cause improvements in your learning abilities and your memory. Younger people may not notice as much of a difference, however, as older people will experience most of its memory improvement benefits. It helps to maintain the structural integrity of cells in the brain.
As phospholipids form cell membranes, it makes sense that they can influence various organs and tissues throughout the body, such as the heart, blood cells and your immune system. As we age, our bodies produce less phospholipids comprising the cell membranes.
Regarding the heart, lecithin has been shown to break down larger cholesterol molecules into smaller ones, thus making them easier to handle by the body.
Regular consumption of this phospholipid helps to prevent cholesterol buildup on the linings of arteries, as it adheres to the arterial walls.
Thus, it decreases the body's ability to absorb cholesterol through the intestinal walls.
This translates to a reduced likelihood of having a heart attack and it means it can reverse developing atherosclerosis, otherwise known as hardening of the arteries.
For several decades, it has been a popular treatment for reducing cholesterol levels.
It contains phosphatidylcholine (PC), which is the primary chemical thought to be responsible for its medicinal qualities.
In fact, PC is part of the actual membrane surrounding a cell. Once PC is taken into the body, either through supplementation or through foods, it is converted into choline, a chemical that is vital for normal functioning of the brain.
Regarding its ability to improve memory function, there have been numerous studies done indicating that people taking this compound saw improvements in their learning and memory skills.
Even individuals with Alzheimer's saw an improvement in their memory skills in these studies.
Other Benefits
Here are some other benefits of lecithin:
It can prevent the formation of gallstones
It can help control high blood pressure
It helps regulate insulin, the hormone that cells use
so that blood sugar can be absorbed for energy
It may help restore liver function in conditions such as viral hepatitis
In conclusion, lecithin is a good source of choline and inositol, a member of the B-complex family of vitamins. It is an important phospholipid that is needed by all living cells.
It can be found in foods such as cabbage, cauliflower, eggs, soybeans and split peas. However, the average diet of today does not contain enough of it to successfully protects cells and reap its potential benefits.
If your cholesterol is a little high, or you feel that your memory skills are not as good as they once were, lecithin could be just what you're looking for.
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