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Lose Weight With Lecithin

Metabolism is the key to losing weight. A person with a faster metabolism is able to body to burn fat quicker, which is why most active children don't face weight issues. When we age, however, our metabolism slows down and we find it more difficult to keep the extra pounds off. Is there anything that we can do to put the life back into a sluggish metabolism?

By Aldrich Cusens

Metabolism is the key to losing weight. A person with a faster metabolism is able to body to burn fat quicker, which is why most active children don’t face weight issues.  When we age, however, our metabolism slows down and we find it more difficult to keep the extra pounds off.  Is there anything that we can do to put the life back into a sluggish metabolism?

The liver is the key organ for fat metabolism.  Surprised?  The liver has many functions.  It is the main organ for detoxifying the pollutants and chemicals in the body.  It also serves as glycogen storage, plasma protein synthesis and bile production, which is important in digestion.  Bile, by the way, is also key to metabolizing the fats that are stored in the liver; it converts these fats into energy for the body to use.

The connections between the liver, fat metabolism, and eventual weight loss may seem remote at first.  When you bring lecithin into the fold, however, you’ve found the key ingredient that brings them all together.

Your Liver and Weight Loss

Many adults face an ongoing battle with weight gain that can last an entire lifetime.  We endure yo-yo dieting with weight constantly going up and down.  At the same time, we contend with unrelenting cravings and sluggish metabolisms and in the end, few diet programs will work.

To be successful in weight loss, you need to address the root of the problem, rather than constantly trying to tackle the symptoms.  A sluggish liver and congestion throughout the body will certainly lead to fatigue and malaise, but this is only part of the problem.

Your weight may be attributed to poor liver function.  If your liver is in such poor health as to make it unable to perform its basic functions, it is quite likely that the condition will result in weight gain. Cellulite is a sign of excessive weight due to liver malfunction, as are water retention and extra inches around the abdomen.

Bile’s Role in Losing Weight

Secreting bile is one of the liver’s main functions.  Known also as gall, bile is a complex, bitter tasting, greenish-yellow alkaline fluid.  This fluid contains water, electrolytes, and a host of organic molecules including bile acids, bilirubin, cholesterol and phospholipids (lecithin). Bile is a critical element in digestion and crucial to the metabolism and absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins.  Many of the body’s waste products are also excreted into the bile.

Lecithin is an important element of bile, acting as an emulsifier and antioxidant.  It helps to disperse cholesterol and break it down into essential fatty acids.  Lecithin has a phosphate group that makes it hydrophobic, allowing it to move away from water and the fluids surrounding molecules.  It also has a lipophilic (fat-loving) head that moves toward the fats.

The result is that lecithin helps in stabilizing the fatty acid molecules by forming a semi-permeable, lipophilic and hydrophobic ring around them.  This emulsifying action helps to stabilize the bile and enables the liver to perform its many functions, including the breakdown of cholesterol and the metabolism of fat.

Lecithin For Weight Loss

Over the years, since scientists first discovered the role that lecithin plays in fat and cholesterol metabolism in the liver, many researchers have studied the connection between lecithin and weight loss.  If lecithin really contributes to weight loss, what evidence was there to prove that there is indeed a connection between weight loss and lecithin?

Many of the studies remain unreported, however one investigation has some bearing on lecithin for weight loss. In this study, choline was found to be a component of phosphatidylcholine, one of the many names that scientists use to refer to lecithin.  Choline, a nutrient essential to the human body, has the ability to break up cholesterol into small particles and allowing them to be easily handled by the digestive system.  With a sufficient intake of lecithin, cholesterol is not able to build up within the walls of the veins and arteries.

The effect of lecithin on the liver can increase metabolism and, as a result, decrease extra pounds.  This compound is commonly found in soy products and can also be taken as a supplement.  Try it as an addition to your healthy diet and exercise regime.

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