When it's a fake fat called Olestra - a large sucrose polyester molecule that looks like fat, tastes like fat and cooks like fat, but is built to be too awkward for digestion by the normal intestinal enzymes. It just passes right through the body.
Does this mean you can eat any fatty food you like, but without the fat and associated calories? Would this be a dietary nirvana or disaster?
Advocates for olestra (mostly the food industry) say it will help people cut back on fat by providing a wider range of lower fat products. Critiques say that dieters, the group of people most likely to be attracted to use olestra, will compensate by eating more of other real-fat foods.
With more fat substitutes on the market (we'll tell you about other fake fats in a future Q&A), the size of the low-fat food list will increase. Consumption of previously “forbidden” foods may be at the expense of more nutritious unprocessed foods.
An additional problem with olestra is its ability to bind fat-soluble antioxidant vitamins and take them out of the body. This may not be a problem if you eat a wide variety of nutritious foods, but could be if you struggle to eat well.
At present, olestra is not available in Australia. You'll only find it in crisps and crackers in the US. Given the potential problems with its use, we think it should stay there.
