RE: BIO/LAW: FDA and Olestra

From: hal@finney.org
Date: Sat Feb 17 2001 - 18:37:06 MST


Ben Houston said:
>
> Harvey Newstrom said:
> > But for
> > some reason, consumers of regular chips don't seem to report this
> > phenomenon while consumers of Olestra do.
>
> This is because Olestra is a new product. The media, or the attention of
> the world, is focused on it. They don't care about the old chips - that's
> old news. What is news is that their might be a dangerous side effect thus
> each case is news - is doesn't mean that it is significant.

Plus, Olestra products have a warning on the package about gastrointestinal
upset and "fecal staining". Yum, pass me another handful of potato chips.
This warning will make people more likely to associate any tummy troubles
with the chips than if they had ordinary snacks.

I've had Olestra chips a few times and haven't had any problems (for what
little that means). But in general I've given up on snacking on fat and
sugar substitutes as a weight loss method. It seems like I eventually
compensate for the lower calories by eating more. For me it works better
to moderate my diet and keep my mind on eating lightly and healthily,
rather than pigging out on supposedly "safe" snacks.

Hal



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