Organic Lecithin Has Health And Food Processing Benefits
Sarah Thomas
Lecithin or phosphatidycholine (PC) is a phospholipid, first
discovered in the 1800s by a French scientist called Maurice
Gobley. He extracted the compound from an egg yolk and in 1850
the compound was named lecithin from the word lekithos, which
is the Greek term for egg yolk.
This lecithin was first used commercially as an emulsifying
agent for a number of years. It could extend the life of many
processed foods so the food industry began to add it to all
kinds of food products including baked goods, nut butters,
candies, chocolates, protein drinks, prepared foods and instant
soups. The lecithin would also be added to recipes for flavor
and also to be an emulsifying agent.
In the 1930’s when there was a boom in soybean consumption,
the byproduct of the soybean processing was discovered to
include 1.8 percent of hydrophosphatides. If this sludge was
put through a process called “degumming” organic lecithin could
be extracted and it would be an alternative to the lecithin from
eggs. With this new development, lecithin really gained in
popularity.
In fact the organic lecithin from the soybean turned out to be
a safer product. The animal’s lecithin goes through the kidneys
and may come in contact with all sorts of toxins. The soybean
lecithin hasn’t got that kind of potential pitfall so presently
soybean lecithin makes up the main part of lecithin sold
commercially.
Aside from food, organic lecithin has a multitude of other uses
and has been added to paints, metal tape, animal feeds and
cosmetics. In addition to that, it is sometimes used as a
supplement in things such as capsules, granules or pills.
There are a number of effects that are related to lecithin. For
one, it keeps fat dispersed in food. It prevents the oils from
separating. In fact, one theory is, that it in this way it may
help keep the cholesterol levels in a body low in the same way.
This is still a theory though. Lecithin allows the fat content
in foods to be reduced while maintaining the taste.
Organic lecithin is comprised of ethanolamine, insotil,
phosphatides of choline and other lipids. All living organisms
have these substances which are necessary in the human for the
muscles, liver and the reproductive tract.
Lecithins must be studied further by the medical research
community. It may be a potential treatment for high
cholesterol. It keeps the fat in the bile and disperses
cholesterol. Right now lecithin has been added to a number of
dietary supplements for weight loss.
Organic lecithin holds great promise in the weight loss and
cholesterol control fields of medicine. In addition it is very
important to modern day food processing.
About The Author: Sarah Thomas is an established freelance
writer. You can find more of her writing at
http://www.lecithinguide.com
and
http://www.green-tea-guide.com
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