Lecithin, PC, GPC and PS Anti-Aging Supplements
Dear Dr. Daniel, I would like to take PC, GPC and PS as part of my anti aging program These products come from soy. Do you see a downside for me? – Jon
Dear Jon: I can’t really evaluate your situation since I am not familiar with your diet, lifestyle, health history or lab reports. That said, phosphatidyl choline glycerylphosphorylcholine and phosphatidyl serine are widely recommended by alternative medical doctors and other health practitioners as anti-aging supplements that can promote and preserve brain function and mental acuity. They are also widely included in nutritional protocols designed for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and for those recovering from damage from stroke.
However, they might not work as well as you might hope. The fact that PC, GPC and PS products almost always derive from soy oil is problematic on a number of levels. First of all, most of the scientific studies proving the efficacy of phosphatidyl serine come from bovine sources, which also contain DHA as part of the structure. Because of the Mad Cow scare, bovine-derived PS isn’t likely to show up in the marketplace soon.
The biggest problem with a vegan version of PS is that plant oils never contain ready-made DHA. Indeed, the entire fatty acid structure of soy-derived PS is different from that of bovine-derived PS. The latter is rich in stearic and oleic acids, while soy PS is rich in linoleic and palmitic acids. Complicating matters further, Dr. Mary Enig, PhD, MACN, has pointed out that the PS naturally formed in the human body consists of 37.5 percent stearic acid and 24.2 percent arachidonic acid. Despite these differences, soy-derived PS has proved helpful to many people.
A fish oil or egg-derived PS, which would naturally contain DHA, would probably perform better in the body and brain than any plant- sourced product. I have heard of at least one company — Enzymotec USA — that hopes to bring such a PS to the market soon. Although a sunflower oil-derived PS would also fail to match the superior fatty acid structure of animal sourced PS, it would offer the advantage of being soy free and thus suitable for the growing numbers of people who are allergic to soy.