Does anyone know if diglycerides are bad for you?

Question

They are very prevalent in fat free foods like imitation butters and fat free half and half cream. But now they are beginning to put them in regular foods, too, like Turkey Hill Ice Cream. And we didn't even get the fat free kind. I know what they are but I can't seem to find any information on whether they are bad for us in any way. I know they are derived from vegetable fats but they just seem too good to be true. We love everything that contains them! This can't be good??? Can it???

I follow everything your saying, sciencenut, but I have a question off of your answer. The label on the butter box says that 1 tbl is 100 calories and the label on the promise light (the one with only diglycerides) says that 1 tbl is only 5 calories. If they are both equally fat than how can that be??

Answer 1

I am an MD. Most fats are triglycerides, meaning three fatty acid chains bound by ester linkages to a single glycerol moiety. When you eat these fats, there are pancreatic enzymes that split first one and then another of these fatty acids off of these molecules, which then allows your intestinal brush border cells to absorb them and enter them into your blood stream. The first intermediate of this splitting off process is the creation of one free fatty acid and one so-called diglyceride, because it is now down to just two fatty acid chains instead of the original three.
So is diglyceride harmful? The answer is yes and no. The yes part is that diglyceride is basically fat, and gram for gram it carries all of the calories and all of the same hazards of eating triglyceride, and essentially tastes the same also.
The no part is that diglyceride is basically fat, and gram for gram it carries all of the calories and all of the same benefits of eating triglyceride, and essentially tastes the same also.
The bottom line is that diglyceride IS FAT, regardless of what some food processing big wig corporation has bribed the government into allowing them to say on the label. FAT FREE? In a pig's eye, I say. If you believe diglycerides are fat free, then I have some very good swamp land for sale for you to buy, and maybe a bridge in Brooklyn as well.

Answer 2

Sciencenut's answer is good but he got a little carried away! Diglycerides are not harmful per se. But they are harmful if they make up too much of a % of your diet and if you eat too much of them so that you are ingesting too many calories. There is no evidence that a small amount of diglycerides are harmful.

Part of the answer about the calories is that calories aren't measured well by volume measurements such as tablespoons. They are better measured by weight. Ten grams of fat (i.e. triglycerides) and ten grams of diglycerides have about the same calories. But if you take the fat and whip it up with air so that it is less dense, then it will have the same amount of calories per gram but fewer calories per milliliter or tablespoon.

Also, sciencenut is right that there are some twisted rules about how to measure fats and calories in foods. So to really understand what is going on, you have to read up on the labelling laws.

Answer 3

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axJyd

a triglyceride is a integral thus very important biomolecule. Basically when lipids (Fats) are metabolized they are stored in this triglyceride form. However, triglycerides are not only the storage form of fat, they are also what make up the cell membrane, signaling pathway components, and make up internal membranes of the cell as well..... So triglycerides is not all that BAD, however, a high concentration of them in the blood means you have to much fat that isnt going to useful use (i.e. incorporated into cell membranes, or into biosynthesis of other molecues such as estrogen.). So with that said, a glycerol molecule is what makes up the backbone of these structures, and then 1, 2, or 3 chains of fat come off of this backbone. think of the letter "E" and thats how you can imagine what they look like. i would definitly suggest a quick wikipedia on Lipids to get a basic biological overview if you truely want to understand them at that level. As for the article you read stating that they cause cancer, birth defects, and allergic reactions.... well i would say that is a GROSS MISCONCEPTION. We need fats, as we definitly need mono, di, and triglycerides to maintain biological homeostasis, if one wants to argue that to much fat for women will increase estrogen biosynthesis and thus lead to forms of Brest cancer, than they can make such an assumption but their would be very little research to support it. Just watch your fat intake for proper cardiovascular function, life style, and other issues which is associated with excessive intake of any substance.

Answer 4

like both, fruits: berries, oranges, pears, peaches, dragonfruit, pomegranate.... Vegetables: CUCUMBERS, bok choy, green beans, broccoli,.... My spouse and i guess the two are great.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Does anyone know if diglycerides are bad for you?
They are very prevalent in fat free foods like imitation butters and fat free half and half cream. But now they are beginning to put them in regular foods, too, like Turkey Hill Ice Cream. And we didn't even get the fat free kind. I know what they are but I can't seem to find any...

Answer 6

Triglyceride is a chemical name for fats and oils. Triglycerides is a cousin of triglyceride. They are also harmless in small quantities.

Answer 7

What Is Mono And Diglycerides

Answer 8

So what is a "Small" quantity. Give me a number per what?