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Is glycerin a carbohydrate ?
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I noticed that a lot of protein bars use glycerine in their products. It appears that they are not listing the glycerine as a carbohydrate. If glycerine is not a carbohydrate, what is it?
Glycerol (1,2,3-propanetriol) is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, syrupy liquid. It is technically an alcohol. One unique property of glycerol is that it is hygroscopic, or in other words, it absorbs water from the air. The glycerol molecule is naturally present in all animal and vegetable fats. This is a function of it being the 3-carbon molecule that hooks 3 fatty acids together to make triglycerides.
Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes, or ketones, or they can also be substances that can be hydrolyzed into such compounds. Carbohydrates in the typical sense contain from 5 to 6 carbon atoms such as fructose and glucose respectively. Glycerol contains 3 carbons. Glycerol can be converted into a 6-carbon sugar however, so you might call it a sugar.
Glycerol is used in bars nowadays to bring down the carbohydrate count on the label, but still add sweetness. The FDA does not require that glycerol be specifically counted on the food label. You will know a bar has quite a bit of glycerol in it when you get that "bite" in the back of your throat when you eat it. Glycerol will raise blood sugar, but only after it has been converted into glucose in the liver. Eventually, the hysteria over sugar will ease and you will see glycerol go down and sugar come back. Mostly because nothing tastes like sugar more than sugar itself. And everyone knows, sugar sells.
soucrce-musclemonthly.com
Originally posted by Pudgy
I noticed that a lot of protein bars use glycerine in their products. It appears that they are not listing the glycerine as a carbohydrate. If glycerine is not a carbohydrate, what is it?
Glycerol (1,2,3-propanetriol) is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, syrupy liquid. It is technically an alcohol. One unique property of glycerol is that it is hygroscopic, or in other words, it absorbs water from the air. The glycerol molecule is naturally present in all animal and vegetable fats. This is a function of it being the 3-carbon molecule that hooks 3 fatty acids together to make triglycerides.
Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes, or ketones, or they can also be substances that can be hydrolyzed into such compounds. Carbohydrates in the typical sense contain from 5 to 6 carbon atoms such as fructose and glucose respectively. Glycerol contains 3 carbons. Glycerol can be converted into a 6-carbon sugar however, so you might call it a sugar.
Glycerol is used in bars nowadays to bring down the carbohydrate count on the label, but still add sweetness. The FDA does not require that glycerol be specifically counted on the food label. You will know a bar has quite a bit of glycerol in it when you get that "bite" in the back of your throat when you eat it. Glycerol will raise blood sugar, but only after it has been converted into glucose in the liver. Eventually, the hysteria over sugar will ease and you will see glycerol go down and sugar come back. Mostly because nothing tastes like sugar more than sugar itself. And everyone knows, sugar sells.
I noticed that a lot of protein bars use glycerine in their products. It appears that they are not listing the glycerine as a carbohydrate. If glycerine is not a carbohydrate, what is it?
Glycerol (1,2,3-propanetriol) is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, syrupy liquid. It is technically an alcohol. One unique property of glycerol is that it is hygroscopic, or in other words, it absorbs water from the air. The glycerol molecule is naturally present in all animal and vegetable fats. This is a function of it being the 3-carbon molecule that hooks 3 fatty acids together to make triglycerides.
Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes, or ketones, or they can also be substances that can be hydrolyzed into such compounds. Carbohydrates in the typical sense contain from 5 to 6 carbon atoms such as fructose and glucose respectively. Glycerol contains 3 carbons. Glycerol can be converted into a 6-carbon sugar however, so you might call it a sugar.
Glycerol is used in bars nowadays to bring down the carbohydrate count on the label, but still add sweetness. The FDA does not require that glycerol be specifically counted on the food label. You will know a bar has quite a bit of glycerol in it when you get that "bite" in the back of your throat when you eat it. Glycerol will raise blood sugar, but only after it has been converted into glucose in the liver. Eventually, the hysteria over sugar will ease and you will see glycerol go down and sugar come back. Mostly because nothing tastes like sugar more than sugar itself. And everyone knows, sugar sells.
I noticed that a lot of protein bars use glycerine in their products. It appears that they are not listing the glycerine as a carbohydrate. If glycerine is not a carbohydrate, what is it?
Glycerol (1,2,3-propanetriol) is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, syrupy liquid. It is technically an alcohol. One unique property of glycerol is that it is hygroscopic, or in other words, it absorbs water from the air. The glycerol molecule is naturally present in all animal and vegetable fats. This is a function of it being the 3-carbon molecule that hooks 3 fatty acids together to make triglycerides.
Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes, or ketones, or they can also be substances that can be hydrolyzed into such compounds. Carbohydrates in the typical sense contain from 5 to 6 carbon atoms such as fructose and glucose respectively. Glycerol contains 3 carbons. Glycerol can be converted into a 6-carbon sugar however, so you might call it a sugar.
Glycerol is used in bars nowadays to bring down the carbohydrate count on the label, but still add sweetness. The FDA does not require that glycerol be specifically counted on the food label. You will know a bar has quite a bit of glycerol in it when you get that "bite" in the back of your throat when you eat it. Glycerol will raise blood sugar, but only after it has been converted into glucose in the liver. Eventually, the hysteria over sugar will ease and you will see glycerol go down and sugar come back. Mostly because nothing tastes like sugar more than sugar itself. And everyone knows, sugar sells.
soucrce-musclemonthly.com
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