Phospholipids
Phospholipids are a special class of fats that contain phosphorus and form the main structural components of all cell membranes. About one-third of the total fat in blood serum consists of phospholipids. The most abundant among them is lecithin (phosphatidylcholine), which contains choline phosphate and glycerol—key elements that help maintain healthy cells and lipid transport.
A critical enzyme called lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) acts on phospholipids like lecithin to help remodel lipoproteins—the particles that carry cholesterol and fats through the bloodstream. LCAT transfers fatty acids from lecithin to free cholesterol, a process essential for forming and maintaining HDL, LDL, and VLDL particles. This remodeling supports healthy cholesterol balance and efficient fat metabolism.
A deficiency in LCAT is a rare genetic disorder that disrupts cholesterol processing and lipoprotein remodeling. In such cases, lecithin levels in the blood rise significantly, and the body struggles to clear cholesterol properly. People with LCAT deficiency may develop anemia, protein in the urine, cloudy or white corneas (corneal opacity), and early hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
The Phospholipid test measures the main circulating phospholipids, including lecithin, sphingomyelin, and other lecithin-derived compounds, providing insight into lipid metabolism, cell membrane health, and possible enzymatic dysfunctions affecting cholesterol transport.
Why It Matters:
Phospholipids are essential for the structure of every cell in the body and for proper fat and cholesterol transport. Abnormal levels can point to issues with fat metabolism, liver or pancreatic function, or rare enzyme deficiencies like LCAT deficiency.
What does it mean if your Phospholipids result is too high?
Elevated levels of phospholipids in stool may indicate fat malabsorption, reduced bile salt reabsorption, or increased intestinal cell turnover. Normally, phospholipids are broken down and reabsorbed during digestion. When they appear in higher amounts in stool, it often reflects inefficient fat digestion or damage to the intestinal lining.
High stool phospholipid levels can also be associated with certain metabolic or genetic lipid disorders that affect how the body processes and transports fats.
Possible Causes of Elevated Phospholipids:
-
LCAT deficiency – an enzyme defect that disrupts cholesterol and phospholipid metabolism
-
Tangier disease – a rare disorder affecting HDL (good cholesterol) formation and lipid transport
-
Fish-eye disease – a partial LCAT deficiency leading to lipid accumulation in tissues
-
Hypobetalipoproteinemia – a condition marked by abnormally low LDL levels and altered lipid transport
Clinical Insight:
Persistent elevation of phospholipids in stool may warrant further evaluation of fat digestion, bile acid metabolism, liver and pancreatic function, and intestinal health.
All Your Lab Results.
One Simple Dashboard.
Import, Track, and Share Your Lab Results Easily
Import, Track, and Share Your Lab Results
Import lab results from multiple providers, track changes over time, customize your reference ranges, and get clear explanations for each result. Everything is stored securely, exportable in one organized file, and shareable with your doctor—or anyone you choose.
Cancel or upgrade anytime
What does it mean if your Phospholipids result is too low?
Phospholipids are essential components of cell membranes that help maintain the structure and function of every cell in your digestive tract. They also play a critical role in fat digestion, nutrient absorption, and protecting the intestinal lining from irritation and inflammation.
Low levels of phospholipids in stool may suggest impaired fat digestion or absorption (malabsorption). This can occur when bile acids, pancreatic enzymes, or intestinal cells aren’t working optimally. Since phospholipids are normally broken down and reabsorbed rather than excreted, low stool levels can also indicate reduced mucosal turnover or insufficient dietary fat intake.
Possible Causes of Low Phospholipids
-
Low dietary fat or phospholipid intake (e.g., minimal consumption of eggs, fish, soy, or lecithin-rich foods)
-
Pancreatic enzyme insufficiency, leading to poor lipid digestion
-
Reduced bile flow or bile acid deficiency, which impairs emulsification of fats
-
Gut mucosal atrophy or damage (from chronic inflammation, celiac disease, or nutrient deficiency)
-
Disrupted intestinal microbiota, affecting lipid metabolism and membrane recycling
Potential Symptoms
-
Fatty or pale stools (steatorrhea)
-
Bloating or gas after meals
-
Difficulty digesting fatty foods
-
Fat-soluble vitamin deficiencies (A, D, E, K)
-
Low energy or poor concentration (since phospholipids support brain function)
What You Can Do
-
Support digestion: Discuss with your healthcare provider whether digestive enzymes or bile acid supplements could be beneficial.
-
Include healthy fats: Focus on omega-3–rich fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, avocados, and olive oil to ensure adequate phospholipid and essential fatty acid intake.
-
Optimize gut health: Address any underlying inflammation, dysbiosis, or mucosal damage identified in your GI Effects results.
-
Check liver and pancreatic function: These organs play a direct role in phospholipid production and fat metabolism.
Why It Matters
Phospholipids are more than just fats — they are the building blocks of gut integrity and cell communication. Maintaining balanced levels supports optimal nutrient absorption, microbiome balance, and protection of the intestinal barrier. Persistently low levels may signal deeper issues with digestion, bile flow, or mucosal health that warrant further investigation.
Laboratories
Bring All Your Lab Results Together — In One Place
We accept reports from any lab, so you can easily collect and organize all your health information in one secure spot.
Pricing Table
Gather Your Lab History — and Finally Make Sense of It
Finally, Your Lab Results Organized and Clear
Personal plans
$79/ year
Advanced Plan
Access your lab reports, explanations, and tracking tools.
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track all results with visual tools
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export your full lab history anytime
- Share results securely with anyone
- Receive 5 reports entered for you
- Cancel or upgrade anytime
$250/ once
Unlimited Account
Pay once, access everything—no monthly fees, no limits.
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track all results with visual tools
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export your full lab history anytime
- Share results securely with anyone
- Receive 10 reports entered for you
- No subscriptions. No extra fees.
$45/ month
Pro Monthly
Designed for professionals managing their clients' lab reports
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track lab results for multiple clients
- Customize reference ranges per client
- Export lab histories and reports
- Begin with first report entered by us
- Cancel or upgrade anytime
About membership
What's included in a Healthmatters membership
Import Lab Results from Any Source
See Your Health Timeline
Understand What Your Results Mean
Visualize Your Results
Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Securely Share With Anyone You Trust
Let Your Lab Results Tell the Full Story
Once your results are in one place, see the bigger picture — track trends over time, compare data side by side, export your full history, and share securely with anyone you trust.
Bring all your results together to compare, track progress, export your history, and share securely.
What Healthmatters Members Are Saying
Frequently asked questions
Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
- Individuals who want to track and understand their health over time.
- Health professionals, such as doctors, nutritionists, and wellness coaches, need to manage and interpret lab data for their clients.
With a Healthmatters account, you can:
- Upload lab reports from any lab
- View your data in interactive graphs, tables, and timelines
- Track trends and monitor changes over time
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export and share your full lab history
- Access your results anytime, from any device
Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.
Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 10000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:
- The GI Effects® Comprehensive Stool Profile,
- GI-MAP,
- The NutrEval FMV®,
- The ION Profile,
- Amino Acids Profile,
- Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH),
- Organic Acids Test,
- Organix Comprehensive Profile,
- Toxic Metals,
- Complete Blood Count (CBC),
- Metabolic panel,
- Thyroid panel,
- Lipid Panel,
- Urinalysis,
- And many, many more.
You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
We implement proven measures to keep your data safe.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.