Some Potential Bad Health Effects of Glycerol

Glycerol is a liquid that has no color and no odor but is characterized by a sweet taste. In fact, it is sixty percent as sweet table sugar (sucrose). But experts say that it yields lesser amount of calories. It does not raise the amount of glucose in the body as much as sucrose does. According to the low carbohydrate diet advocates, this is a major advantage. Sugar alcohol is how biochemists classify the compound. That is because it contains hydroxyl groups, three of them, and it has been said in organic chemistry that compounds with hydroxyl groups are classified as alcohols.

Suddenly we have lots of supplement products that contain glycerol. There are protein bars and nutrition bars which contain about 20 grams of the compound, perhaps higher in some. This has somehow alerted the experts in food and drug industry. But what really is this substance and how does it affect the health?

Glycerol is what one gets during soap making in a popular process with a less popular name of saponification, which would only interest someone who is adept in the field of chemistry. Nevertheless, saponification is why you are enjoying your soaps and detergents today. This process releases the compound as a by-product. Of course, there are more ways of acquiring the substance. One is biodiesel production.

One of the notable and most important properties of the substance is its water-absorbing or moisture absorbing characteristic. In chemistry terms it is said to be hygroscopic. This property makes it quite useful in many products like food, cosmetics, skin care and medicine. Lotions and creams contain this compound because of its moisture-retaining benefits. Hand-made soaps also contain lots of it. That is why these soaps are to be moisturizing soaps.

Nutrition bars contain certain amounts of the substance to make them soft and chewable, unless buyers fancy rock hard protein bars. These nutrition/protein bars are supposed to be low carbohydrate supplements. But if food and drug experts say that glycerol is a sugar alcohol then it belongs to the carbohydrate group and must be included in the calculation of the total amount of carbohydrate in those supplement bars or any food product for that matter. This creates a controversy because some promoters of these supplement bars argue that the compound should never be classified as a carbohydrate because it differs from most carbohydrates in function and structure.

It only was classified as a carbohydrate because there was nowhere else to place it under. There are three classes of macronutrients namely proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Now, it cannot be placed under proteins because it has no amine group. It cannot be placed under fats because it has no fatty acid molecule. So experts classified it under carbohydrates.

Perhaps the only similarity it shares with other sugars is the sweetness. Other than that there is nothing quite similar between it and other sugars. For instance, the hygroscopic nature is not a property of sugars. Sugars do not absorb water or moisture.

When this sugar alcohol enters the body, there are a few possible pathways. According to some research, it can participate in the synthesis or production of glucose, though it fails to raise blood sugar levels to a considerable degree and it does not stimulate significant insulin production. This is why it is generally difficult to accept for some that it is a carbohydrate. Another path could be that the compound would be incorporated again into fats in the body, since it actually serves as a core molecule of fats, triglycerides. Another possible path would be to the synthesis of phosphoglycerides, which is found in lipid bilayer of cell membranes. Another path would be direct excretion in the urine.

According to some researchers the hygroscopic nature of the compound is beneficial to delay dehydration in athletes during strenuous activity. It is not absolutely clear how the compound affects the body. There is still not enough research that validates whether or not it is bad for the health. Nevertheless, the compound remains to be one of the most important and most versatile industrial chemicals.

Jo is a content writer for