Lecithin is parallel with protein, vitamin and called “the third primary nutrient”. Lecithin is an indispensable nutrient element for our body. Therefore, getting adequate lecithin can not only protect the liver, help to recover from diabetes, clear the arteries, extract toxins, but also help prevent dementia and retain youthful vigor.
The effect of lecithin is more reflected in the brain. Lecithin is only 1% of our body weight, but 30% of our brain weight; 70%-80% our brain cells weight. Lecithin were found mostly in human brain and nervous system, bloodstream, immune systems and vital organs like heart, liver, lung, kidney etc. Because it’s huge percentage in our brain, we can easily imagine its significance in function. Lecithin can ensure brain cell membranes’ health, and guarantee brain cells’ health and development. Therefore, for the babies’ brain which are still undergoing several maturational processes, lecithin is one of the most important nutrient. Lecithin can provide enough nutrients to nerve cells, and accelerate the speed of information transmission between cranial nerves, thus keep your brain alive, sharp and be a fast learner.
Although tests show that livers can secrete little bit lecithin that we need, but after people turn 30, getting lecithin is basically rely on the food and supplements you eat. In this case, what type of food contain good amount of lecithin then? Although lots of food contains lecithin, soybeans and yolks are the best. The lecithin in yolks is the best, but the process is complex and the price is too much, so most of the lecithin in market is from soybeans. Because we can only get 2.3kg lecithin from 900kg soybeans and the amount of food we eat everyday is limited, getting lecithin from food only is not good enough but need supplements’ help.
The applicable people for taking lecithin includes people who has high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides and cardiovascular disease, people who want to improve their memories and being protected against Alzheimer's disease, diabetics and women seeking beauty. Especially for pregnant woman, they should pay more attention to the lecithin level in their bodies. When a woman is creating a new life, she needs to produce numerous fresh cells in a short period of time. If she doesn’t have enough lecithin in her body, the lecithin in her amniotic fluid will not be enough either, which may stunt the baby’s growth or even lead to abnormal growth, birth defects, abortion and premature births. Human brain contains approximately 15billion cells, and about 70% of them had been formed when they are still in the maternal. Because lecithin can activate the brain cells, taking enough lecithin during pregnancy is a good way to have a health and smart baby. Therefore, American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulates that lecithin must be added to baby formula.
被譽為與蛋白質、維生素並列的“第三營養素”，卵磷脂是人體不可或缺的營養元素之一。每日攝取足量的卵磷脂，不僅可以保護肝臟，幫助糖尿病的恢復，清潔血管，消除毒素，更能預防老年癡呆症的發生，保持青春活力。
卵磷脂的作用更多的體現在大腦當中。卵磷脂在人體中佔體重的1%左右，但在大腦中卻占到腦重量的30%；而在腦細胞中更占到其乾重的70%～80%。卵磷脂集中存在於腦及神經系統，血液循環系統，免疫系統及心、肝、肺、腎等重要器官。因其在大腦中的重要比例，我們也不難想像到其所起的重要作用.卵磷脂可以保障大腦細胞膜的健康，保護腦細胞健康發育。所以對於大腦正處於發育關鍵時期的胎兒，卵磷脂就是最為關鍵，最重要的營養素。卵磷脂能為拿大神經細胞提供充足的養料，使腦神經之間的信息傳遞速度加快，從而增加大腦的活力，讓人思維敏捷，學知識和接受新生事物的速度變快。
尽管实验证明，生命所需要的卵磷脂少量可以由肝脏分泌，但30岁以后，人体的卵磷脂基本上依赖从食物中摄取和补充。哪些食物中富含卵磷脂呢？雖然很多食物中都有卵磷脂，但營養及含量較完整的還是大豆和蛋黃。雞蛋中的卵磷脂儘管品質最優越，但因為提取工藝複雜且價格高，所以市場上的卵磷脂一般從大豆中提取。因為900公斤黃豆大約只能提取2.3公斤的顆粒卵磷脂，而一天中我們吃的食物有限，所以靠食物獲取卵磷脂是不夠的，還需配合營養產品補充。
至於適用人群，卵磷脂對“三高”和心腦血管疾病患者，欲提高記憶力和預防老年癡呆症者，糖尿病患者，愛美女士等都適用。特別是孕婦更應該注意補充體內的卵磷脂含量。當孕婦在孕育一個新生命時，在短時間內需要新生大量細胞，如果孕婦體內卵磷脂不足，母體內的羊水中卵磷脂含量就相對不足，這會阻礙胎兒細胞的發育，嚴重的可導致發育異常，先天畸形甚至流產和早產。人類腦細胞大約由150億個細胞組成，其中有70%的腦細胞在母體中就已經形成。因為卵磷脂有使腦細胞活化的功能，所以在懷孕期間充分攝取卵磷脂是擁有聰明健康寶寶的方法。因此美国食品与药物管理局（FDA）规定在婴儿奶粉中必须添加卵磷脂。
1996年9月在布鲁塞尔召开的第七届卵磷脂国际会议上医药学家和营养学专家们研讨证实卵磷脂(大豆磷脂)作为营养品在增进健康及预防疾病方面所起到的重要的作用。作為現在市場上的常見卵磷脂補充劑，卵磷脂膠囊能溶解膽固醇，促進細胞的復甦保持活躍，使腦機能活化，並預防老人痴呆症與維生素E 有相乘功效。卵磷脂含磷脂質與膽鹼，是大腦之主要成分，可增強記憶力，補腦及預防老年癡呆之外，對於血管表壁與體液均有潔淨之功效，可軟化血管，降低膽固 醇，預防自律神經失調，動脈硬化及血栓。促進脂肪代謝，降低血脂，預防心血管疾病。
