So in my Swami I am told that coconut oil/palm oil are avoids for me however vegetable glycerin is an optional beneficial sweetner...can anyone explain this? I am learning that vegetable glycerin is usually derived from coconut or palm oil?! If there is a different source please educate me, I have been interested in trying this in baking etc. Thanks for any replies.

don t try in baking preferably, cause it tends to smoke up your whole kitchen!!!
I know!!! lol

glycerol is the chemical composition of glycerin, no matter it s source....
so it s fine if in your list

Thanks Lola, what ways have you used it before?

to sweeten my tea or hot chocolate and carob

I don't like vegetable glycerin as a sweetener.  For some reason it just doesn't taste good to me, but luckily Agave is a diamond beneficial for me according to SWAMI so I use that instead.  

Quoted Text

Dr D
Glycerine is the only effective humectant that can be used by non-secretors, since it can be shunted to either fat metabolism or glucose production, depending on metabolic status. Glycerine can be a carb on occasion, a fat precursor on occasion, a phosphoglyceride precursor on occasion, and it can simply pass through the body unused. For non-secretors, this is perfect. Thus, although it is there for moisture retention, it also tends to optimize fat<->carb<->fat conversion which is genetically a problem with non-secretors.

Humectant, now there's a $5 word...had to look that one up!


Does vegetable glycerin contribute its own "taste" or is it fairly neutral as a sweetener?

it is very sweet....
like in all tastes......
taster status does play a roll in anything....
to each, their own!

humectant meaning it keeps things humidified
like in face creams and hand creams
the old bars had VG to not turn dry.....

the reason we find VG in the cosmetics isle at the wfs

Whatever "bad stuff" from coconut or palm oil is refined out of it by the time it's made into vegetable glycerine. It's the same way Type As can have yogurt but not whole milk- something about the processing changes the way the body uses the food, making it better (or worse) for individuals. In this case, the end product, vegetable glycerine, is good for you, even though it may be refined from a source that isn't good for you.

I've never baked with vegetable glycerine, but I have used agave and honey. I find honey to be a much better sweetener in baking; agave tends to lose its sweetness when cooked. Agave sweetened cookies just don't taste sweet, while the honey-sweetened ones taste fine. Either sweetener is good in tea.

I agree about cooking with agave, I have noticed a difference, it's just not very present after baking in taste...thanks for all the responses it helped clear up some curiosities I had.

I have two online sources for vegetable glycerine, both of which are food grade:

This one, https://www.starwest-botanicals.com/category/vegetable-glycerin/, which is not organic and states it's made from palm oil.

And this one, http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkmisc/bulkmisc.php#bu_gly, which is organic but it's made from soy.

Which one would you get?  

Quoted from BHealthy

Which one would you get?  

There isn't a large price differential - unless the shipping is not dramatically different...  I would get the organic.  Dr. D. has stated that the source doesn't make a difference because the proteins have been adequately removed so there isn't a problem...  

I don't know that the non-organic would be a problem, but I'm happy to support organic sources when possible.

Quoted from Lola

Glycerine is the only effective humectant that can be used by non-secretors, since it can be shunted to either fat metabolism or glucose production, depending on metabolic status. Glycerine can be a carb on occasion, a fat precursor on occasion, a phosphoglyceride precursor on occasion, and it can simply pass through the body unused. For non-secretors, this is perfect. Thus, although it is there for moisture retention, it also tends to optimize fat<->carb<->fat conversion which is genetically a problem with non-secretors.

Does vegetable glycerin actually have health benefits though? Or is it just "benign" (i.e. harmless).

Quoted from Christopher1

Does vegetable glycerin actually have health benefits though? Or is it just "benign" (i.e. harmless).

It's in my SWAMI as a superfood.  I don't know why.

Quoted from BHealthy

It's in my SWAMI as a superfood.  I don't know why.

"Thus, although it is there for moisture retention, it also tends to optimize fat<->carb<->fat conversion which is genetically a problem with non-secretors."
-Dr. D

I guess this would explain its "medicinal" effects...

Quoted from Lola

don t try in baking preferably, cause it tends to smoke up your whole kitchen!!! I know!!! lol

I made a chocolate cake in the crock pot for my husband & used veg glycerine with absolutely no problems... Maybe in the oven &/or in cookies it might be a problem? Anyway, the cake was delicious & wonderfully moist

good to know!!

Quoted from ABJoe

There isn't a large price differential - unless the shipping is not dramatically different...  I would get the organic.  

Shipping at MRH was really high: 2.25 pounds of product valued at #27 was $13 shipping!  I will buy it there because I always prefer organic, but I'll wait until I need enough other things to justify the shipping.

Quoted from ruthiegirl

agave tends to lose its sweetness when cooked. Agave sweetened cookies just don't taste sweet, while the honey-sweetened ones taste fine. Either sweetener is good in tea.

I've since discovered that RAW agave works just fine in baking. I buy the "regular" agave at Costco where it's much less expensive, and I  buy raw agave at the HFS for when I want to bake. If there was no price difference, I would only buy the raw kind and save the cabinet space.

I have been wondering where to buy vegetable glycerin in Australia. I still use agave nectar, rice syrup or maple syrup, but for people with food intolerance and possible fructose intolerance, maybe veg glyc would be better for making sweets, cakes, cookies/biscuits?? How do other type O's 'hunter's go with agave (high in fructose) and other sweeteners? esp if one has possible leaky gut syndrome and is trying to improve health? Thankyou.

I finally tracked it down in NZ at a brewers supply shop - maybe that would help you too? I think some health food shops do stock it too
Agave is the last thing to consume with fructose intolerance tbh

I never thought to use VG as a sweetener.  I mix it with my old thin bar soaps to make a liquid soap.  I recently switched to VG electronic cigarettes from Propyl glycol (PG) e-cig because I was getting a negative reaction from PG.  I guess it does make my e-cigs taste sweeter.

Quoted from Possum

I made a chocolate cake in the crock pot for my husband & used veg glycerine with absolutely no problems... Maybe in the oven &/or in cookies it might be a problem? Anyway, the cake was delicious & wonderfully moist

Recently I made gluten-free biscotti with glycerin and it was fine.  

Vegetable glycerine can usually be found in the cosmetic section of health food stores