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Lecithin's Effect on Cholesterol

Lecithin is a naturally occurring substance found in the cells of all living things. It has fat-like properties, and manufacturers extract it from egg yolks and soybeans to use as a stabilizing agent in processed foods. It is also used as a nutritional supplement.

  1. Lecithin in the Bloodstream

    • Lecithin breaks up fat and disperses it in water and, similarly, in the bloodstream. Supplement makers claim that it thereby helps to cleanse fat from the body.

    Study of Lecithin Powder Supplements

    • Researchers at Lifeline Technologies used soy stanol-lecithin powder with fat-free foods to determine how that combination would affect cholesterol absorption. They concluded that it lowered both cholesterol absorption and total low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in test subjects.

    The Lecithin Effect on Egg Cholesterol

    • A study conducted at Kansas State University with rats demonstrated that the lecithin in egg yolks reduced their intestines' absorption of the cholesterol in egg yolk.

    Contradictory Reports

    • A conflicting double-blind study reported in 1998 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that lecithin had no effect on levels of blood cholesterol.

    Lecithin in Combination with Niacin

    • Patients sometimes take niacin or nicotinic acid to treat high cholesterol, but a side effect of this treatment is the depletion of choline in the body. Lecithin contains choline, so if taken as a supplement it can replace some of the choline that was lost.

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