If you’re reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists, you’ve probably come across “soy lecithin” more than a few times. It’s actually a very popular item, in the top 10 most used ingredients in processed foods.

But what exactly is it? What does it do? And most importantly, what are its health and nutrition characteristics?

What you need to know:

Lecithins are oily substances that occur naturally in plants (soybeans) and animals (egg yolks).

Soy lecithin (E322) is extracted from soybeans either mechanically or chemically. It’s actually a byproduct of the soybean’s oil.

Some people use it as a supplement, because it has a high value of the nutrient choline. Choline is good for heart health and brain development.

But that’s not the reason soy lecithin is used as an additive in foods. It possesses emulsification properties. This means it can keep a candy bar “together” by making sure that the cocoa and the cocoa butter don’t separate. It is also used in bakery items to keep the dough from sticking and to improve its ability to rise.

Since soybean are one of the cheapest crops in the US (thanks in part to federal subsidies to growers), it makes sense to use a cheap, natural soy derived emulsifier in food processing.

People with soy allergies needn’t worry about products containing soy lecithin, because it is derived from the soybean oil, whereas the allergy itself relates to the soy protein.

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“No additives or preservatives” sounds like a promising claim on a food label. But you’ll be hard pressed to find products in the supermarket that don’t contain at least one food additive. Even organic products use them, and unless you bake your own bread, avoid all processed snacks, and drink nothing but water, you won’t be able to avoid them.

Food additives are natural and artificial substances added to food in order to improve and preserve its flavor and appearance.

Some additives, such as salt used to cure meats, have been around for millennia. In the 20th century, advances in chemical and food engineering brought endless innovations in additives, resulting in the products currently lining supermarket shelves all around the globe.

Below the fold is a rough categorization of additive types. Some additives belong to more than one category. For example, sugar is both a preservative and a sweetener. All additives are safe for consumption, according to the FDA. Consumer groups, though, are concerned about the effects of some artificial additives on human health. Read more…