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Olestra Eaters, Beware
Feb. 14, 2000 (New York) -- People who eat olestra-containing potato chips and snacks may mistakenly test positive for malabsorption -- a condition marked by the impaired absorption of fat in the body (steatorrhea). Such results may lead to unnecessary medical tests.
Reporting in the Feb. 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, a research team led by Ranga Balasekaran, MD, found that people who regularly consume olestra-containing potato chips may test false-positive for steatorrhea because they too are likely to have high amounts of fat in their feces due to the unique chemical composition of olestra. Balasekaran is a senior gastroenterology fellow at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
The pancreas helps to digest food in the stomach and aids in the absorption of fat from food. When the pancreas is not working properly, malabsorption of fat may occur. "If we don't know if a patient is eating olestra, and we see a huge amount of fat in the stool, then we will think the pancreas is not working properly and we will order expensive and sometimes risky tests," Balasekaran tells WebMD.
Olestra was approved in January 1996 by the FDA for use in place of fats and oils in prepackaged savory snacks. Olestra aims to reduce a food's fat and calories while maintaining its texture. Due to its chemical makeup, olestra is not digested or absorbed by the body. Thus, it may cause abdominal cramping and loose fatty stools.
In the study, 10 healthy volunteers consumed five ounces of traditional potato chips each day on days one through six of the experiment. On days seven through 12, participants consumed five ounces of potato chips containing 40 grams of olestra.
"When participants consumed 40 grams of olestra per day, the excretion of fecal [stool] fat increased to levels observed in patients with steatorrhea caused by the malabsorption syndrome," Balasekaran and colleagues write. "Intake of olestra in any quantity will proportionally elevate measured fecal [stool] fat output and may erroneously suggest malabsorption of dietary fat," they conclude.
Seven grams per day is considered the upper limit of normal for stool fat output, but when participants consumed 40 grams of olestra per day, their stool fat output measured between 14 to 23 grams per day.
"If you are having a fecal [stool] fat test, don't eat olestra products for a week," he advises. Stool fat tests are ordered for diarrhea or weight loss to assure that the pancreas is functioning properly.
"It's important that when you see your doctor for gastrointestinal [stomach-related] symptoms that you tell him or her if you ate or eat olestra-containing products because the doctor may not ask about it," advises Michael F. Jacobsen, PhD, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., in an interview with WebMD.
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