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The science – fiction fat olestra, sold under the brand name Olien, is a rather mind- boggling example of a substance that was allowed into our food supply by the FDA, with no regard to human health and welfare. Olestra is a synthesized from sucrose (sugar) bonded to fatty acids in a way that makes the molecules too large to be absorbed through the intestinal wall. It supposedly has the same taste and mouthfeel as fat, but since it passes through the GI tract undigested, it doesn’t translate to calories. It also prevents the absorption of vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin A and carotenoids.

Excerpted from page 257 of ‘Death by Supermarket’ by Nancy Deville