>Does anyone know how many capsules of Lecithin are needed to make up a
>tablespoon?  After doing a search, I am even more confused--one person said 3
>and another said 8.  However, the mom that I am working with said she broke
>the capsules open and poured them into a tablespoon --it took 35!  Are their
>different strengths of lecithin available?

I had a couple of moms take the softgels (not capsules) of lecithin over a
period of time to see what dosage they found to be helpful. 3 a day was
enough to prevent the plugged ducts. In looking at the different potencies
of the softgels, which I prefer, there wasn't much difference in them. The
softgels contain liquid lecithin and are available at most pharmacies and
in health food stores.

Lecithin is used by chefs in the granule form to break down fats in their
cooking (this is probably what Dr. L used).  I take it as sort of a
"roto-rooter" for my arteries, to keep everything flowing nicely. I think
that the women who get repeated blocked ducts which are resolved with
lecithin, are those whose fat content of their milk is high. Just guessing.

As with all treatments, everyone is different and no exact level is right
for everyone. Lecithin is a food so it would be ok to have a mom try 3 or 4
and see what level she needs. I'm sure that the tablespoon that Dr.
Lawrence recommends isn't that exact; it was just enough.  Tablespoons just
"happen" to be that size.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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