Do you know what keeps chocolate and cocoa butter in a candy bar from separating? No? Well, it's actually some type of emulsifier or lubricant. Lecithin, to be exact. Now, I'm sure that you have heard of this substance. A number of vitamin supplements available in the market today contain lecithin and the substance itself, as already mentioned, is a common ingredient used for products ranging from pharmaceuticals to protective coverings.

But what exactly is lecithin?

In biology, the human body produces this substance in the liver and transports it throughout the nervous and circulatory systems. It is a phospholipid and is usually used as a synonym for phosphatidylcholine or PC. It is composed mainly of B vitamins, phosphoric acid, choline, linoleic acid, and inositol.

As a phospholipid (fat-based), lecithin is a key building block of cell membranes, without which, cell membranes would harden and would no longer stay semi-permeable. As such, lecithin protects cells from the destructive effects of oxidation, a naturally occurring process in the body due to the presence of oxygen.

In the food industry, lecithin is regarded as one of the few emulsifiers commonly regarded as safe and was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for human consumption. Since the substance is already an integral part of biological membranes, it can be totally biodegradable and metabolized, making it virtually non-toxic, unlike its synthetic alternatives.

The lecithin used in commercial food industry is often extracted from egg yolk and soy. But the food is actually widely found in many animal and plant based foods, including liver, peanuts, wheat germ, cauliflower, grape juice, and cabbage. There are various studies that show lecithin from soy may have some positive effects on persons with high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood.

The benefits seem to be attributed to the presence of choline. As a lipotropic substance, choline functions as an agent in the body's metabolism, giving aid in the digestion of fats. To put it simply, choline helps in burning fat that gets stored in tissues, thereby acting as an agent to support weight loss.

The more choline you have in your body, the faster your fat metabolism becomes, and the lower your blood cholesterol level goes. As you probably know, a large number of health problems are due to high levels of blood cholesterol levels, which actually leads to a congestion of blood vessels. The condition therefore results in the likely occurrence of heart attacks and strokes.

The intake of lecithin may help you avoid this thing from happening to you. As it supports fat metabolism and has been shown to aid in bringing down cholesterol levels, lecithin can protect you against heart attacks and strokes.

In addition, choline in its dietary supplement form is commonly recommended for treating liver, nerve, and a variety of other conditions. It has even been used to treat degenerative conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and memory loss.

As a treatment for memory loss or impairment, many nutritionally oriented doctors consider lecithin or phosphatidylcholine a valuable nerve-building nutrient that may help slow or reverse memory loss because of its function as a phospholipids that serves as a major structural component of brain cells.