Sunflower Lecithin
1200 mg / 100 softgels

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Sunflower Lecithin

Finally…all the benefits of lecithin…without the soy

This Sunflower Lecithin is Soy Free, Egg Free, Peanut Free, Tree Nut Free, Corn Free and Gluten Free.

Finally…the benefits of lecithin; … Without the soy.

Introduction
Lecithin is one name for a whole group of natural molecules that are found in the membranes of the cells of all living organisms, plants as well as animals. The word ”lecithin” comes from the Greek word for egg yolk, where it was first discovered. Egg yolk is an excellent source of the nutrient. It is also especially high in organ meats, moderately high in red meat, and can be found in whole nuts and seeds. If these foods are avoided, we can be low in this vital nutrient.

Lecithin has a number of other names, including phospholipid, because it combines phosphorus with fats (lipids). It is an excellent source of essential fatty acids, which are a part of each molecule and which are protected from oxidation by the actual form, which is both fat loving for the fatty acids (lipophilic) and water loving (hydrophilic) on account of the phosphorus (phosphate).

As we know, the essential fatty acids (omega 6s and omega 3s) are polyunsaturated and are extremely vulnerable to oxidation, which degrades them and turns them rancid, so that instead of being essential nutrients they become harmful to our metabolism. The form of the lecithin molecules protects the fatty acids. Dr. Orthoefer points out that lecithin granules can be stored without refrigeration for lengthy periods, whereas pure oils containing the unsaturated fatty acids can turn rancid very rapidly. On account of this characteristic, lecithin can be said to work synergistically with vitamin E, which is, as we know, a superb anti-oxidant for oily nutrients.

The phospholipids are a whole class of compounds. Some of the molecules will contain the amino acid choline, or sometimes the sugar alcohol, inositol, or the amino acid serine, as important examples.

Health Benefits of Sunflower Lecithin

There is very little doubt as to the usefulness of lecithin in food and various industries. It is widely used as an emulsifier, but there seems a lot more that lecithin can provide.
The most popular and established health benefit of lecithin is its role in the breakdown of fats in the body. Lecithin is present in the body at the cellular level and though it is not considered as an essential nutrient, it has an indispensable role in regulating the flow of nutrients and waste materials in and out of the cell. For decades now, lecithin has been popular for treating patients with high cholesterol. It has been seen to prevent the build-up of fats and bad cholesterol in the walls of the heart, the arteries and the veins, thereby promoting food cardiovascular health.
It is for this same reason that lecithin is added as a dietary supplement for preventing liver cirrhosis. It disperses fat and help in its breakdown so that they do not accumulate in the liver. Also, since lecithin hastens the breakdown of fats and their metabolism, soy lecithin has been used for promoting weight loss.
Sunflower Lecithin contains 12% phosphatidylcholine (PC) which the main ingredient assumed to be responsible for its medicinal effect. The truth is, PC is part of the actual membrane that surrounds the cell. Once PC is ingested in the body through lecithin-containing foods or supplements, it is broken down by the body into choline which is vital for the proper functioning of the brain.

Lecithin has been shown to aid in maintaining and achieving:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Memory and Mental Acuity
• Exercise Endurance
• Reproduction and Fertility
• Lecithin for healthy breasts in women

Cardiovascular Health

”Lecithin is active in preventing vascular disease. Physiologically, lecithin:
1. Prevents vascular diseases associated with fatty deposits.
2. Prevents degenerative arterial diseases.
3. Helps improve the elasticity of blood vessels.
4. Prevents cholesterol from depositing in arterial walls.”

Lecithin needs to be in balance with cholesterol and is active in cholesterol transport. Lecithin is also essential for maintaining liver health and is essential for transporting triglycerides out of the liver preventing fatty liver. ”Animals fed high alcohol diets develop liver cirrhosis without lecithin, but with lecithin supplementation to the animal diet, cirrhosis does not occur.”

Memory and Mental Acuity

Lecithin is one of the special chemicals that easily crosses the blood-brain barrier. ”It is believed that lecithin permeability is necessary for the metabolic processes that occur in all cells but also for the constant regeneration of the phospholipid-rich membranes of the brain.” The choline-containing phospholipid is an abundant form of lecithin and vitally important for the biosynthesis of the important neurotransmitter acetylcholine, malfunctions of which are involved in:

• Huntington’s chorea
• Friedreich’s ataxia
• Tardive dyskinesia: Dystone’s syndrome
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome

Interestingly, it has been found in the treatment of these diseases that:

• Dietary lecithin is more effective than choline alone.
• De-oiled lecithin is more effective than crude lecithin.
• Improvement in the general health was observed: greater attentiveness, quicker reactions and better orientation were all observed with lecithin.

The amino acid serine is usually an exceedingly minor constituent of commercial lecithin. Phosphatidylserine is its chemical name. It is ”ubiquitous (present everywhere) in cell membranes and essential to the function of all cells in the body. It is particularly concentrated in the brain and tissues involved in an assortment of nerve functions including nerve transmitter release and synaptic activity.” On account of ”mad cow disease,” we no longer want extracts from cow’s brains. Now, a concentrated and expensive extract can be produced from soy lecithin. ”Phosphotidylserine is perhaps the most promising brain nutrient discovery in recent years. It is a useful dietary tool for metabolic support of memory, learning, and behavior.”

Exercise Endurance

During endurance exercise, glucose for energy plus mineral electrolytes are all depleted and thus needed. However, in addition, acetylcholine is needed to carry signals to muscle fibers and ”intense exercise of long duration can and does lower plasma choline levels.” Thus, lecithin, containing choline, can help to enhance long-distance endurance.

Reproduction and Fertility

The male semen actually contains large amounts of lecithin. Supplementing the diet with sunflower lecithin has been found to increase the volume and amount of prostate secretions so that the volume of the ejaculate is increased consequently.
Lecithin, as a phospholipid, which often contains choline, can be involved in the availability of platelet activating factor (PAF), itself a choline phospholipid, in other words, a constituent of the class of compounds that we call ”lecithin.” PAF is involved in reproduction in ”three ways: 1) in implanting of the egg in the uterine wall, 2) in fetal maturation and 3) in inducing of labor.” ”Lecithin also plays a role in male fertility. Test tube studies have shown that lecithin has the ability to restore normal structure and movement to abnormal sperm cells and nearly double the acrosomal response.” The acrosome is ”the caplike, membrane-bound structure covering the anterior portion of the head of a spermatozoon; it contains enzymes involved in penetration of the ovum.”

As we can imagine, the constituents of lecithin are essential for the normal development, especially of the brain and mental capacities, of the human fetus.

Lecithin for healthy breasts in women

Many studies have been conducted to relate the function of lecithin to the reproductive health of women. Some research has shown that during pregnancy, lecithin (and its main component, choline) can help maintain a healthy pregnancy and ideal infant development. Also, there is a claim that lecithin also helps support healthy breast cells and glandular functioning so that it has been incorporated into breast enhancement supplements.

Other Benefits of Lecithin

Lecithin has also been discovered to prevent gallstones and promote gallbladder health. They are also often used to improve memory to those who have brain function-related problems such as Alzheimer’s, amnesia or dementia. It has also been used to boost physical performance in endurance sports. It has also been proposed as possible remedies for psychosis, heart ailments and even cancer. However, to prove these claims, more research and scientific studies would need to be done to determine their exact role in the control of these diseases.

Sunflower Lecithin – An Answer to the Soy Allergic’s Prayers

Having a soy allergy in today’s world means a quick trip to the grocery store is only a long forgotten dream. This is because almost all processed food products on the typical grocery store shelves use soy lecithin as one of its main ingredients.

Soy lecithin is an emulsifier. Quite simply, this means it has the capability of improving the texture and consistency of any product it has been added to. Therefore ice cream and puddings become creamier, melted chocolate becomes smoother, packaged dinner entrees heat up more evenly with a better taste and texture. Most of the world’s processed food industry is so reliant on soy lecithin, it is hard to find any packaged products without it.

For greater than 90% of the world’s population this is great. But for the other approximate 10%, which may be sensitive to soy products (soybeans or MSG) or have a full-blown allergy to soy, their choice of selections in a typical store has been severely restricted.

Why Sunflower Lecithin?

Sunflower lecithin enters the market with several distinct advantages. These include:

• harvesting is handled completely raw with no added chemicals
• processing is done through a method known as a cold-pressing system which again uses no chemical additives or preservatives
• raw sunflower is high in choline and essential fatty acids, both of which are beneficial to our health
• raw sunflower lecithin is 100% GMO-free, unlike soy which can be up to 90% genetically modified organisms(GMO)