No GI Intolerance of Olestra
The association of obesity and heart disease with diets high in fat has led to the recommendation that no more than 30% of daily calories be derived from fat. Difficulties in achieving such a dietary change include the relative lack of availability of palatable foods, especially "snack"foods, which contain an appropriate balance of fat.
Olestra is a sucrose ester formed from long-chain fatty acids that is nonabsorbable; hence, it provides neither calories nor energy but, rather, is used as a fat substitute for its palatability-enhancing characteristics. Media coverage has focused on potential GI intolerance of olestra-substituted foods. This blinded study enrolled a large number of subjects for a trial appropriate to free-living circumstances.
Young adult and adult (n = 1123) persons were invited to a private showing of a movie of their choice, during which they were to consume brand name potato chips (BNPC) or olestra-substituted potato chips (OSPC) and soft drinks in any amount that pleased them. Forty hours after the movie, subjects were interviewed about whether they had sustained any GI symptoms during or since ingesting the chips.
There was an approximately 20% statistically lesser consumption of OSPC than BNPC, perhaps attributable to either the lesser palatability or greater satiety scores of OSPC. Of spontaneously reported GI adverse events, all occurred in the BNPC group. There was no difference in telephone-solicited reports of GI effects between the groups.
The authors conclude that free-choice ingestion of OSPC is not associated with a greater incidence of GI effects than BNPC. Olestra substitution may prove to be a valuable food alteration to provide palatability with reduced fat and caloric content.
Cheskin LJ, et al. JAMA 1998;279: 150-152.
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