Last week I gave soy a bad report card. Today I want to talk about the uses and benefits of lecithin. When I use lecithin, I use what’s been extracted from organic, non GMO soybeans. So, although soy in itself is a problem, the lecithin contained in it has medicinal value.
Lecithin contains lots of choline and phosphorous. The molecule is a choline glycerol phosphate. The metabolic properties of lecithin are wonderful for people with both cholesterol and calcium deposits on the walls of their arteries. These calcified plaques can obstruct blood flow and if they break off, can lodge in places you really don’t want them.
Since the phosphorous assists in clearing calcium out of arterial walls where there’s hardening of the arteries, it also has the potential of mobilizing calcium from the bones. Because of this, if a person is dealing with osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, they could lose more bone structure. In cases like these it’s important they buffer the calcium mobilizing effect with ionizable calcium like calcium lactate, and a whole food vitamin C, to drive the calcium into the bones. Ascorbic acid, as I’ve written about in the past, is not true vitamin C.
Lecithin acts as a cholesterol antagonist, fat transporter, and emulsifier. Cholesterol is important to the health and function of every cell of our bodies. When it accumulates where it shouldn’t, and plugs up circulation, something has to be done to free up the proper flow of blood.
Lecithin is used to return cholesterol to the liver for processing, reversing arteriosclerosis, gallbladder symptoms, and joint and muscle problems. This is a wonderful benefit of this element, but if a person with porous bones were to go out and buy soy bean lecithin from a health food store, they could injure themselves by further removing calcium from their bones. This is one of the places where the soy bean can create problems for well meaning people dealing with chronic degenerative issues.
As I mentioned before, the full compliment of vitamin C acts to move calcium into the bones. Vitamin C deficiency is known as scurvy, which involves connective tissues becoming weak and falling apart. Rickets on the other hand, is where vitamin D is missing, creating low serum calcium. Without vitamin C, directing calcium into the bones can become a problem.
As much as vitamin C moves calcium into the bones, vitamin F is responsible for moving calcium from the blood into the muscles. Vitamin F includes the unsaturated fatty acids with two, three, and four double bonds. We find the two and three double bonds in oils from flax seed. The liver is responsible for converting these to the four double bonded fatty acid. This is the one which facilitates movement of calcium into the tissues. When a person is prone to chronic muscle cramps, it can be due to lack of tissue calcium.
A charley horse in the leg isn’t any fun. If the heart cramps up, you may never have fun again. When looking at a tracing of heart sounds showing a missing second sound, that’s evidence of calcium lacking in the heart muscle. Normal heart sounds involve the Lub, followed by the Dub. This is what should be heard: Lub-Dub——Lub-Dub. This is the opening and closing of the valves as the heart contracts and relaxes.
Using a device known as a heart sound recorder we can see what should be heard with a stethoscope. Sometimes a visual is easier to interpret than sound alone. Being able to see a whooshing sound made by a tight heart valve can give a clue on what to do to correct the problem. Being able to graph it and then re-test a month or so later to insure changes are going in the right direction is priceless.
Last weekend we attended a cardiovascular seminar in Denver. The wisdom and information we gained was worthy of implementing with our patients. Besides that, we obtained a Heart Sound Recorder for our office. This will be part of our basic office protocol.
Lecithin contains lots of choline and phosphorous. The molecule is a choline glycerol phosphate. The metabolic properties of lecithin are wonderful for people with both cholesterol and calcium deposits on the walls of their arteries. These calcified plaques can obstruct blood flow and if they break off, can lodge in places you really don’t want them.
Since the phosphorous assists in clearing calcium out of arterial walls where there’s hardening of the arteries, it also has the potential of mobilizing calcium from the bones. Because of this, if a person is dealing with osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, they could lose more bone structure. In cases like these it’s important they buffer the calcium mobilizing effect with ionizable calcium like calcium lactate, and a whole food vitamin C, to drive the calcium into the bones. Ascorbic acid, as I’ve written about in the past, is not true vitamin C.
Lecithin acts as a cholesterol antagonist, fat transporter, and emulsifier. Cholesterol is important to the health and function of every cell of our bodies. When it accumulates where it shouldn’t, and plugs up circulation, something has to be done to free up the proper flow of blood.
Lecithin is used to return cholesterol to the liver for processing, reversing arteriosclerosis, gallbladder symptoms, and joint and muscle problems. This is a wonderful benefit of this element, but if a person with porous bones were to go out and buy soy bean lecithin from a health food store, they could injure themselves by further removing calcium from their bones. This is one of the places where the soy bean can create problems for well meaning people dealing with chronic degenerative issues.
As I mentioned before, the full compliment of vitamin C acts to move calcium into the bones. Vitamin C deficiency is known as scurvy, which involves connective tissues becoming weak and falling apart. Rickets on the other hand, is where vitamin D is missing, creating low serum calcium. Without vitamin C, directing calcium into the bones can become a problem.
As much as vitamin C moves calcium into the bones, vitamin F is responsible for moving calcium from the blood into the muscles. Vitamin F includes the unsaturated fatty acids with two, three, and four double bonds. We find the two and three double bonds in oils from flax seed. The liver is responsible for converting these to the four double bonded fatty acid. This is the one which facilitates movement of calcium into the tissues. When a person is prone to chronic muscle cramps, it can be due to lack of tissue calcium.
A charley horse in the leg isn’t any fun. If the heart cramps up, you may never have fun again. When looking at a tracing of heart sounds showing a missing second sound, that’s evidence of calcium lacking in the heart muscle. Normal heart sounds involve the Lub, followed by the Dub. This is what should be heard: Lub-Dub——Lub-Dub. This is the opening and closing of the valves as the heart contracts and relaxes.
Using a device known as a heart sound recorder we can see what should be heard with a stethoscope. Sometimes a visual is easier to interpret than sound alone. Being able to see a whooshing sound made by a tight heart valve can give a clue on what to do to correct the problem. Being able to graph it and then re-test a month or so later to insure changes are going in the right direction is priceless.
Last weekend we attended a cardiovascular seminar in Denver. The wisdom and information we gained was worthy of implementing with our patients. Besides that, we obtained a Heart Sound Recorder for our office. This will be part of our basic office protocol.
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