{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"lecithin","kind":"supplement","name":"lecithin","aliases":["soy lecithin","sunflower lecithin"],"brands_sg":["NOW Foods","Micro Ingredients","NaturesPlus","Swanson Vitamins","Fearn Natural Foods"],"class":"phospholipid","tags":["heart","cognitive"],"use_for":"a choline source · dementia trials showed no clear benefit","use_after":"daily","use_duration":null,"take_with":"water · many foods already contain lecithin","pros":["phosphatidylcholine source — half of us choline intake","choline itself has an ai: 550 mg men, 425 mg women","sg listings run sunflower, egg-yolk and non-gmo forms"],"cons":["12 dementia trials: no clear clinical benefit","over 3,500 mg choline/day: fishy odour, low bp","some choline becomes tmao — linked to higher cvd risk"],"dose_note":"sg listings run about 1,200 mg of lecithin a softgel; lecithin is one of the choline forms sold in supplements and about half of us dietary choline arrives as phosphatidylcholine, but no rda, ul or daily value exists for lecithin itself — the 550 mg men / 425 mg women adequate intake, the 3,500 mg upper limit and the 550 mg daily value are all figures for choline; hsa sets no daily limit for lecithin (tables 4–5 cover vitamins and minerals only) and neither lecithin nor phosphatidylcholine is listed in its oct 2025 prohibited/restricted annex a/b","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"mg","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"general adult","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["dementia or memory loss — trials showed no clear benefit","high choline intakes — fishy body odour, hypotension, liver toxicity","egg or sunflower allergy — sg listings include both sources","not listed in hsa's annex a/b — hsa says that list is not exhaustive"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"ods_choline_lecithin","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): what lecithin is","quote":"Many foods also contain lecithin, a substance rich in phosphatidylcholine that is prepared during commercial purification of phospholipids.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"ods_choline_half","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): share of dietary choline as phosphatidylcholine","quote":"About half the dietary choline consumed in the United States is in the form of phosphatidylcholine.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"ods_choline_forms","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): Dietary Supplements — forms sold","quote":"The forms of choline in dietary supplements include choline bitartrate, phosphatidylcholine, and lecithin.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"ods_choline_ai","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): Table 1, Adequate Intakes for adults","quote":"19+ years: Male 550 mg/day, Female 425 mg/day","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"ods_choline_ul","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): Table 3 adult UL and effects of high intakes","quote":"19+ years: 3,500 mg … High intakes of choline are associated with a fishy body odor, vomiting, excessive sweating and salivation, hypotension, and liver toxicity.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"ods_choline_dv","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): FDA Daily Value for choline","quote":"The DV for choline is 550 mg for adults and children age 4 years and older.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"ods_choline_cochrane","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): Choline and Health — cognitive function, citing the 2003 Cochrane review","quote":"A 2003 Cochrane Review of 12 randomized trials found no clear clinical benefits of lecithin supplementation for treating Alzheimer's disease or Parkinsonian dementia.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"ods_choline_tmao","url":"https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/","label":"NIH ODS — Choline (Health Professional): gut bacteria, TMA and TMAO","quote":"The TMA is then absorbed and converted by the liver into trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a substance that has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"higgins2003","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/12917896","label":"Lecithin for dementia and cognitive impairment (Higgins & Flicker, Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003, CD001015; PMID 12917896) — reviewer's conclusions","quote":"Evidence from randomized trials does not support the use of lecithin in the treatment of patients with dementia … results from the small trials to date do not indicate priority for a large randomized trial.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"higgins2003_results","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/12917896","label":"Higgins & Flicker, Cochrane 2003 — main results (trials and participants)","quote":"Twelve randomized trials have been identified involving patients with Alzheimer's disease (265 patients), Parkinsonian dementia (21 patients) and subjective memory problems (90 patients). No trials reported any clear clinical benefit","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"higgins2003_search","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/12917896","label":"Higgins & Flicker, Cochrane 2003 — search strategy and date","quote":"The Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's Specialized Register was searched on 15 May 2002 using the terms lecithin and phosphaditylcholine.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_hs_guidelines","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-hs-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. 020 (January 2026), s3.1 working definition + clause 4.8","quote":"Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, enzymes, probiotics and other bioactive substances … HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_pr_notlisted","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in HS and TM, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. 001 (Oct 2025), clause 1.3 + Annex A/B — searched, no row for lecithin, phosphatidylcholine or phospholipids","quote":"The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/lecithin","label":"iHerb Singapore — 'Lecithin for Heart Health' category page, default order, 1 - 41 of 41 results","quote":"NOW Foods, Sunflower Lecithin, 1,200 mg, 100 Softgels … NOW Foods, Non-GMO Lecithin … Micro Ingredients, Organic Sunflower Lecithin Powder … NaturesPlus, Egg Yolk Lecithin … Swanson Vitamins, Sunflower Lecithin … Fearn Natural Foods, Lecithin Granules","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-29T16:16:23.779398+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}