Getting to Know our Supplements

January 4, 2018

Phosadyl is a foundational supplement that Dr. Lieberman has carried in some form or another for nearly 20 years. This supplement supplies essential phospholipids, which are unique substances that form all cell membranes in humans, as well as the membrane around the nucleus of each cell. Phospholipids are fascinating in their structure: they aren’t true lipid or fat molecules because they have an extra phosphate group replacing one of the fatty acids, but that is what gives them their unique properties. The phosphate head of the phospholipid is hydrophilic or attracted to water, and the fatty acid tail is hydrophobic or repelled by water. In the presence of liquid, which is 90 percent of what we humans are made up of, the phospholipids all naturally line up in a double layer, with all their phosphate heads in one direction and all their fatty acid tails in another, towards the inside of the layer. This double layer of phospholipids is what forms the basis of the cell membrane. We tend to think of our cells as these very distinct little spheres with strong walls around them, but actually human cell membranes are more the consistency of heavy olive oil and are a constantly moving mosaic of phospholipids!

This double layer of phospholipids helps give cell membranes what we call “selective permeability,” meaning that substances beneficial to the cell are able to diffuse through or be actively taken up by the cell membrane, and harmful substances or pathogens are usually not. Many beneficial substances are biochemically suited to make it through both the hydrophilic end of the phospholipid layer and the fatty acid end within the layer. Other beneficial substances such as hormones are actively attached to the cell membranes via receptor sites on the outside of the cell, and still others such as sodium and potassium ions are actively pumped across the cell membrane to control how much fluid is inside the cell. The cell membrane is made more rigid by the presence of cholesterol molecules. But overall, the cell membrane still remains a dynamic solvent surface made up largely of phospholipids.

When we are born, we have abundant essential phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine, which comprises up to 90 percent of the cell membrane. As we age or injury from free radicals or pathogens takes its toll on the cell membrane, that percentage of phosphatidylcholine can decrease down to as low as 10 percent, which is why researchers studied how to make supplements to replace phospholipids. They successfully isolated phospholipids from naturally rich sources like egg yolks and soybean lecithin. Good amounts of phospholipids are also found in sunflower seeds and rapeseeds. Our Phosadyl supplement that we carry is derived from soy lecithin.

Phosadyl supplies 420 mg of that most essential phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine, as well as 100 mg of phosphatidylethanolamine, and 30 mg of phosphatidylinositol. Although many people take soy lecithin as a source of phospholipids, the actual content of essential phospholipids varies in lecithin, so many practitioners, like Dr. Lieberman, prefer standardized supplements.

Uses: Essential phospholipids have been especially helpful in overcoming liver damage and elevated liver enzymes associated with fatty liver. Phospholipid supplements such as Phosadyl, combined with changes in diet and avoiding alcohol, can be surprisingly effective in overcoming elevated liver enzymes and helping to heal the liver. Other uses for phospholipids are to improve cardiovascular problems by reducing the amount of dietary cholesterol that is absorbed by the body, and to supply extra phospholipids for repair from chronic illness or injury. Erectile dysfunction in males has also been helped by phospholipid supplementation. Researchers hoped that phospholipid supplementation could help reverse dementia, since the brain and nervous system are especially rich in phospholipids, but this has not proven to be true, at least not as a single therapy.