Olestra is totally safe for your tummy

[cjs]

In a former life, I had associations with a company that manufactured chips featuring olestra. The first alarming note was sounded when the plans came down to move the listing of olestra from the front of the package to the back. Why alarming? Because while not everyone has/will have a bad reaction to this product, some will. And I believe those people have the right to be made aware that olestra is an ingredient.

So while I also believe in personal responsibility and the need to read labels, I've got another reason to be afraid of another arm of the government cozying up to an industry at the expense of consumers.

But that's just me.

Did you mean oozing up to an industry??...

[Pan]

hsm, I think that many people are concerned with the issue you're discussing. Any reasonable person would want to avoid requiring excessive paperwork and stuff like that which is just a waste of time, and some regulations are themselves excessive or just plain stupid. But when you hear someone ranting against regulations in general, look out! There are government regulations that are essential to protect our health, safety, civil rights, privacy (whatever's left of that), and environment. When the government (especially its enforcement arms and - in some ways worse - the judiciary) becomes merely an extension of polluting, corner-cutting, or/and corrupt corporations, we are all potentially endangered.

[Larry]

I am afraid of the effects of Olestra in ten years or so. This is a camouflaged fat molecule, and would not some of them be prone to build up in your system just as regular fat molecules do, or even become toxic?

[hsm]

hsm, I think that many people are concerned with the issue you're discussing. 

I'm sure that's true, which is a good thing, of course, no kidding. Reminds me of the way-back discussion from an agency guy about Aspertame - claimed he'd studied the molecule and it was harmless. Meanwhile, a girlfriend's doctor tracked her sudden spike in BP to her spike in # of Diet Cokes consumed.

Besides, none of this stuff tastes any good!

Sweet Frikadella...

[tejon]

Definitely not harmless for me. I tried some of the WOW chips, thinking an essentially fat free chip would be the ultimate snack. Following said snack (only a couple handfuls of chips), I had terrible cramping and pain for several hours. I tried some again a few weeks later, to see if perhaps the cramps and pain were coincidental to eating the chips - same results. So I steer very clear of Olestra, since eating it causes me pain.

[ExtraMSG]

http://www.acsh.org/press/editorials/olestra073198.html

http://www.acsh.org/press/releases/olestra.98.html