Is Lecithin Good For Fatty Liver?

We’ve all been introduced to childhood diabetes, heart conditions, and sky high cholesterol numbers. It seems that a diet consisting mainly of hydrogenated and processed fats, fried foods and super starches all comes back to haunt today’s children and adolescents with all sorts of health problems, even as childhood obesity continues to be a major concern. But despite the seriousness in the impact of these problems, their occurrence takes an inevitable backseat to what cold be the greatest problem ever encountered in the collective declining health of our children. This emerging medical issue is known as Fatty Liver Syndrome.

What is Fatty Liver Syndrome?

When doctors talk to you about NASH, which stands for Non Alcoholic Steatorrhoeic Hepatosis or Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), don’t be put off by these big terms. It is the same thing as fatty liver syndrome, which really just means that your liver is being invaded with exorbitant amounts of fat. While fatty liver or NASH is very common in overweight persons over the age of 30, the syndrome has also been said to occur frequently among children pre-pubescent years and above.

As the name itself suggests, a fatty liver contains an excessive amount of fat. Because of this, normal healthy liver tissue is partly replaced with areas of unhealthy fats. This in turn causes the liver to become slightly enlarged and heavier and gives it a yellow greasy appearance.

The liver is responsible for removing the toxins, dead cells, microorganisms, and fat from the blood stream. However, if you have fatty liver, instead of straining the blood of all harmful elements, it cannot do that anymore. This causes the blood stream to become overloaded with toxins and fat.

The Role of Lecithin in the Liver

Lecithin is a phospholipid that is found in every single living cell. It is composed mainly of three types of phospholipids: phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidylethanol (PE). As a major component of the cell membrane, lecithin acts as an emulsifier, keeping the essential fatty acids apart from other molecules within the cell. This role of lecithin is very important since fatty acids are so delicate that when exposed to oxidation, they may become rancid, causing harm to the body.

Lecithin is also present in bile where it does what it always does – keeping fatty substances. The bile is a substance essential to digestion and produced by the liver to be stored in the gallbladder. When lecithin is doing all it should in the bile, it eases digestion and helps your body absorb nutrients better.

One component of lecithin, choline is an essential nutrient, just as fatty acids are. The body must depend on the foods that we eat in order to get adequate supply of choline. The role of choline in the body may be the key to overcoming fatty liver syndrome. Scientists have found that choline is essential for helping to turn fat into energy within the liver. By taking in more choline, either as a standalone choline supplement or allow your own body to synthesize lecithin supplement to choline, you could help reverse the damage caused by fatty liver syndrome.