Voyajer, a VERY detailed and lengthy explanation which contains solid information until we get to this bit...



Lost me, there.

Regardless of your personal leanings, Dr. Atkins and the Atkins Nutritionals Corporation are not the same entity and have different objectives in corporate life. All the manufacturers (including Atkins Nutritionals Corporation) have been taken to task and quite seriously, for taking liberties with the Nutrition Facts labels. The rules are there for consumer protection, and though I don't agree with everything the FDA does (far from it), I also don't think any corporation can make its own laws at will. If change is needed, let them take the high road and not the low road.

I have huge amounts of respect for Dr. A himself, but not necessarily for a corporation that is in a competitive market to sell food bars. I don't mix the two of them up, and don't recommend you do, either. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Regardless of the conclusions you have personally reached based on the sheer volume all the stuff you've quoted in the above posts, "low carb bars" containing large amounts of glycerol have given pause to a large number of people; you shouldn't ignore the solid anecdotal evidence of a large volume of people and invalidate their experience because it is not the same as yours or runs counter to your understanding and conclusions. That's not what these forums are about. Further, I have seen NO solid research by anyone that clearly indicates the short and long term effects of regular, high-volume glycerol metabolism on blood sugar regulation and overall energy metabolism.

Bald statements of opinion and your summary conclusions are NOT presenting a balanced view, it is presenting argument, possibly for the sake of argument. Sheer volume of facts, factoids and your own conclusions isn't going to inform anyone, it's just going to overwhelm.


... and this after you pretty well accused me of nitpicking when I stated ketosis and lipolysis were 2 different processes? ... I may not have specified the portal vein but I clearly indicated enzymatic breakdown was necessary, and it's a VERY short step to glucose from there.

The good Dr. A, in his most recent version of DANDR (I'll say this again), Ok's maltitol specifically as fully deductible. WE both know it's got calories and is a (no question) sugar alcohol, synthetically created, that is broken down at least partially, in the large intestine to an average of 2 cals per gram (or 2 cals of energy from carbohydrate). All previous editions of his DANDR have warned against sugar alcohols specifically. Previous editions have also promoted the use of glycerol/glycerine for serious hypoglycemic episodes (1-2 tablespoons) if needed; the only way THAT would work is if blood sugars are raised; if blood sugars are raised, ketosis (the state of producing ketones as a byproduct of fat metabolism instead of carbohydrate metabolism) halts, even if temporarily.

Nowhere in your lengthy quotes and conclusions have you dealt with these points and I truly would appreciate an understanding of how they fit in your view of synthetic, manufacturered glycerol in large amounts in a low carb bar (vs. the natural backbone of fat molecules) not affecting ketosis in everyone. I don't need a lot of quotes or an explanation of digestion that any good Metabolism 101 text would give me if I care to wade through it. Just those little items I specifically raise, addressed. It's not about the definition of sugar alcohol, or playing verbal ping-pong about definitions and quotes, it's about the effect of glycerol on sufficient people as to be noteworthy.