ASSESSMENT OF THE NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS OF OLESTRA, A NONABSORBED FAT REPLACEMENT - INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Olestra is a mixture of polyesters formed from sucrose and fatty acids derived from edible fats and oils. It is not absorbed or digested and can serve as a zero-calorie replacement for dietary fat, Because oles tra is lipophilic and not absorbed, it has the potential to interfere with the absorption of other dietary components, especially lipophilic ones, when it is in the digestive tract with those components. A seri es of studies were conducted in the domestic pig and in healthy adult humans to define the nature and extent of olestra's effect on fat-solu ble vitamins, selected water-soluble micronutrients, and macronutrient s, and to demonstrate that the effects of olestra on the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins can be offset by adding extra amounts of the aff ected vitamins to olestra foods. Before conducting the human and pig s tudies, the intake of olestra from the consumption of snack foods made with olestra was estimated for various subgroups, The potential for o lestra to affect the absorption of nonessential but potentially benefi cial dietary phytochemicals was also assessed. In addition, an assessm ent of how consumption patterns influence the effect of olestra on the absorption of the highly lipophilic carotenoids was made. Finally, th e results from the pig and human studies were used to assess the poten tial for olestra to affect the nutritional status of subgroups of the population who have particularly high nutrient needs or unique dietary patterns that may lead to large olestra-to-nutrient intake ratios.