What Is Lecithin? Should you use it? If so how? These are 3 questions I receive often and wanted to shed some clarity on.
What The Heck Is Lecithin?
Let’s start with the facts. Lecithin is good for you (if you use the right kind). It’s an emulsifier, which means that it helps bind ingredients together and is also a phospholipid, playing a major role in supporting the absorption of fats and fat-soluble nutrients in the body. On a biological level, lecithin micro-encapsulates fat soluble nutrients and carries those fat-soluble nutrients to the cells throughout your body.
Since cannabinoids are beneficial nutrients that are fat soluble, using lecithin in your cannabutter or cannaoil makes THC and CBD more bioavailable to you, meaning that it helps increase the amount and rate your body processes the cannabinoids. So, although it may seem like it’s making your cannabutter or cannaoil more potent, it’s just helping your body absorb more of the cannabinoids, faster and more efficiently.
Soy vs. Sunflower – What’s The Best Vegan-Approved Lecithin?
Not all lecithin is created equal. When you’re shopping for lecithin powders and oils, you’re going to run across two main options: sunflower and soy. While soy is usually cheaper and more readily available I DO NOT recommend, nor personally use, soy lecithin because it is genetically modified. Organic Sunflower lecithin is a different story. It’s a Non-GMO chemical that is solvent free, inexpensive, and works great! It also comes in several forms, you can find it in liquid, granules, and powder form. I strongly recommend that you DO NOT use the capsules. They have all sorts of other fillers and binders in them. I prefer the liquid ...and a little bit goes a long way.
The reason soy lecithin has such a bad rap isn’t due to soybeans per se. Instead, most people shy away from soy because of all the dubious chemicals farmers spray on these beans. There’s also a big debate over GMOs in current soybean crops.
Could Lecithin Affect An Edible’s Shelf Life?
Another benefit of using lecithin in cannabis edibles is that it improves shelf life. Remember, lecithin will help keep your product’s liquid, cannabinoids and fat molecules “bound together.” Edibles with a more substantial structure will take a longer time to break down but not a long time to digest.
How do You use Lecithin?
So how do you use Lecithin in your infusions? It's super simple! Just add 1 teaspoon of lecithin to 8oz. of butter or your chosen oil (olive and coconut work best) and your good to go.
My recommendations:
Use sunflower lecithin. You should be able to pick some up at your local organic market or health food store. It is also available from online retailers like Amazon (the links below are to the ones I have used and if you click and buy, I make a few cents of each purchase).
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!