Lecithin and Feeling Good
At birth, a newborn begins life with an abundant supply of ‘structural nutrients.’ These are the materials the body uses to build itself, maintain function, and make repairs. A simple example is a chicken’s egg. It contains all the materials needed for a baby chick to grow, organize, and function.
The same applies to a newborn human baby. A healthy infant begins life fully supplied with these structural nutrients. This early abundance supports rapid growth and efficient repair. Minor injuries heal quickly, and cells, organs, and systems function smoothly together.
When supply falls short, the body gradually loses resilience and efficiency. Daily demands and environmental pressures increase the need for them. As shortages deepen, fatigue and inflammation appear, and over time disease may follow.
Not all nutrients serve the same purpose. Some provide energy, while others form the physical components of cells and tissues. The body can tolerate short periods of low fuel, but it cannot maintain itself without adequate building materials. When these run low, growth slows, repairs become incomplete, and function gradually declines - even in people who eat well.
A familiar example is the long-standing advice to eat only egg whites. However, removing the yolk removes one of the richest natural sources of lecithin in the diet. The word lecithin comes from the Greek lekithos, meaning “egg yolk.”
Lecithin is a nutrient that naturally assembles into membranes Membranes are the thin, flexible layers that maintain structure and regulate boundaries. Your skin forms a protective membrane, the lining of your gut is a membrane, and every cell is enclosed by one that keeps it intact and able to function.
When lecithin is abundant, membranes stay strong and flexible. Structure is maintained, and repair happens on time. When lecithin is low, membranes weaken, repair slows, and normal bodily functions begin to decline.
The body also needs a system to direct when and where membranes are built, repaired, and replaced. Two nutrients central to this process are vitamin B12 and folate, which support the body’s ability to organize and renew its structure over time.
A clear example of how these essentials work together is the formation of new red blood cells. Red blood cells must be constantly produced because they only live about 120 days.
Lecithin and its fatty acids act as self-assembling building material. Fatty acids are simple components of fats that naturally arrange themselves into thin layers when surrounded by water. This ability of fatty acids to assemble themselves into membranes is one of the most fundamental processes that makes life possible.
Vitamin B12 and folate serve a different role: they direct when and where this building occurs and guide the process of cell division. If B12 or folate are lacking, new red blood cells won’t be made properly, even when lecithin is available. If lecithin is lacking, the body does not have the building material needed to form membranes, no matter how much direction is present. In either case, oxygen delivery becomes less efficient, leading to fatigue, poor concentration, and reduced tolerance to stress.
Together, lecithin, vitamin B12, and folate function as key structural nutrients, providing both the building material and the coordination needed for ongoing renewal. They are present together in one familiar whole food: egg yolks.
Egg yolks contain them in balanced proportion. Lecithin is present in substantial amounts, while vitamin B12 and folate are present in smaller but essential quantities, together providing what is needed to build and renew living tissues.
Eggs contain everything needed to create a new life. The yolks supply the structural materials, while the whites provide protein and water to support development. Together, they provide exactly what is required inside the protected environment of the egg, without excess or waste.
Regularly eating egg yolks is a great way to obtain a balanced supply of lecithin and vitamin B12. Other rich sources include liver and shellfish, with additional supply from meat, fish, and dairy.
Folate is widely available in green leafy vegetables, legumes, and many plant foods.
Since the body faces continual external demands, a steady dietary supply of these structural nutrients is needed to support ongoing renewal.
Joints are living tissues that depend on continual renewal to remain comfortable and functional. The cells that line joints, maintain cartilage, and produce joint fluid wear down with daily use and must be replaced regularly.
Lecithin provides the membrane material needed for these replacement cells to form stable, functional surfaces. Like all renewing tissues, joints depend on an adequate supply of structural materials and the nutrients that coordinate their timely replacement.
When repair slows, worn or damaged joint cells remain in place longer than they should, and new cells are produced more slowly or incompletely. As membrane-rich tissue thins and renewal fails, joints lose their resilience.
To maintain stability, the body often compensates by hardening what remains, which preserves structure but increases brittleness and pain. Calcium is easy for the body to deposit; membranes are hard to rebuild.
Many people first become aware of this process when they are shown an X-ray and told they are “bone on bone” and that joint replacement is the only option. By that point, visible damage reflects a long period during which renewal could no longer keep pace with repair needs.
Healthy joints also depend on continuous fluid clearance. Excess joint fluid and debris are carried away through lymphatic drainage as repairs are completed. This coordination is also required for the body’s recycling systems, including the process that converts homocysteine back into useful building components.
Homocysteine is a normal byproduct produced during the body’s ongoing work of building and repairing tissues. It is not waste; it is meant to be recycled and reused as part of renewal.
When vitamin B12 and folate are insufficient, this recycling step stalls. In joints and other stressed tissues, this backlog contributes to persistent inflammation, impaired fluid movement, and chronic pain.
The effects of nutrient deficiency are not evenly distributed throughout the body. Systems under the greatest stress and turnover may be the first to show strain when essential materials and repair capacity are limited. Joints are one example, but they are not the only one.
Any tissue exposed to constant stress, external exposure, or rapid cell turnover requires an increased supply of structural nutrients..
Sensory tissues in the eyes, ears, and nose are directly exposed to the outside environment and are designed to handle that exposure through constant cell turnover and renewal. Mucosal surfaces involved in breathing and immune defense are likewise in continual contact with the environment and require ongoing repair and clearance. When the essentials are adequate, these tissues keep pace with damage. When structural supply and repair coordination remain balanced, renewal keeps up with ongoing stress.
When they are not, function often declines early and subtly—through changes in vision, hearing, smell, or increased sensitivity and inflammation in mucosal tissues. Along with the structural essentials, nutrients such as vitamin A, zinc, and copper are especially important for maintaining the health and resilience of these sensory and protective surfaces. Good dietary sources include egg yolks, liver, seafood, dairy, and other whole animal foods.
Mood and emotions can reflect how well the body maintains structure and keeps up with repair.
Because renewal and recycling processes operate throughout the entire body, widespread slowing of repair does not affect only individual tissues—it reduces overall resilience, including the ability to tolerate stress and maintain emotional balance.
When renewal slows and byproducts are not efficiently recycled, physical discomfort increases and stress is harder to manage. Reactions may feel sharper, recovery slower, and emotional balance more difficult to maintain—not because of a primary emotional problem, but because the body itself is under strain. Not understanding the physical cause of that strain can make the experience even more unsettling.
A person deficient in essentials may be driven to eat more in an attempt to meet unmet needs, especially when the available foods are low in them. This can lead to a persistent sense of hunger, preoccupation with food, and cycles of overeating without true restoration, often accompanied by weight gain. The body may be seeking unmet structural needs rather than additional energy. When structural needs begin to be met, that drive often quiets. Food intake becomes more regulated, excess weight may ease without deliberate restriction, and clarity of thought and overall health often improve as the body regains balance.
A healthy person is not living in a state of chronic internal dysfunction. When the body is no longer keeping pace with the work of building, maintaining, and renewing its structure, symptoms begin to emerge. A problem experienced in one area is often the first visible sign of a broader decline. When these essentials are missing from the diet, repair falls behind, the supply of building materials and directing nutrients becomes unbalanced, the balance between damage and renewal is lost, and function degrades.
A useful question to ask is simple: Am I regularly consuming foods that are rich in lecithin, B12, and folate? If the answer is yes and you are not experiencing ongoing symptoms, your body is likely keeping pace with repair and renewal. If the answer is no—or if symptoms are present despite eating what is commonly considered a healthy diet—it suggests that essential structural needs may not be fully met.
To learn more see “Nutrients of the Estuary.”
Albert Wilking
Gentle Membrane Immunity
https://www.vancoction.com/news/gentle-membrane-immunity
Nutrients of the Estuary: Feeding Life
https://www.vancoction.com/news/nutrients
Lecithin and Feeling Good
https://www.vancoction.com/news/lecithin-feeling-good
Balancing Oxygen, Blood Glucose and the Immune System
https://www.vancoction.com/news/balance-oxygen-sugar-immune