Lecithin/Choline

Claims, Benefits: Helps prevent memory loss, Alzheimer's disease, depression, and various psychiatric disorders; lower blood cholesterol; and even cure liver disease, cancer, and AIDS.

Bottom Line: There are theories about how lecithin/choline may help against some of these disorders, but the clinical evidence is weak or nonexistent.

Full Article, Wellness Letter, July 2002:

Does This Fat Help Your Brain?

Lecithin is a special kind of fat called a phospholipid, which contains the nutrient choline. Many foods contain lecithin, but the best sources are egg yolks, liver, peanuts, wheat germ, cauliflower, milk, and soybeans. It's also added to foods such as ice cream, chocolate, and margarine to help provide texture.

What makes lecithin interesting is its choline. Our bodies use choline to maintain cell membranes, transmit nerve impulses, process cholesterol, and perform other tasks. The body makes choline, but it's now known that people have to consume some of it to stay healthy—that is, it's an "essential" nutrient.

Promoters claim that lecithin/choline supplements help prevent memory loss, Alzheimer's disease, depression, and various psychiatric disorders; lower blood cholesterol; and even cure liver disease, cancer, and AIDS. Though there are theories about how lecithin/choline may help against some of these disorders, the clinical evidence is weak or nonexistent.

Choline is essential for brain development in the fetus, and rats given prenatal choline supplements have better memory as they age than other rats. There's some evidence that humans who consume lots of choline very early in life may indeed be more intelligent and retain their mental abilities as they age. But no one knows whether consuming choline later in life has any effect.

Lecithin may help lower blood cholesterol, in part because it's composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids. But studies have yielded inconsistent results. And any such effect would be small.

Even if lecithin supplements were beneficial, those sold today contain widely variable amounts. You would have to consume enormous amounts of lecithin to get the health benefits, if any. High doses can cause nausea, bloating, and diarrhea.

You don't need supplements of lecithin or choline. A balanced diet will supply enough choline.

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, July 2002