Term Papers on Olestra

Term Paper Title	Olestra
# of Words	848
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.39

Olestra

     Evolution has by necessity, allowed the survival of the fittest. Primitive man had
to forage and hunt for food from nature. Therefore, humans developed keen taste
receptors for fat-rich, caloric foods. Because the availability of food was uncertain, those
who had stores of fat in their bodies, would be more able to survive the harsh conditions
of primitive life.
     In modern times, we still have the same though weakened taste receptors of
primitive man. Thus, we still have the affinity for sugar because sugar was hard to come
by in primitive times-all sugar had to be supplemented by plants and fruits. But mostly,
today, the affinity for fat has been responsible for a multi-million dollar diet food
industry. Recently, Procter&Gambol has synthesized a fat which does not behave like
other fats. It is a synthetic substance, because it is not found in nature, called Olestra
(“Olean” commercially).
     Other attempts have been made for the perfect fat substitute, from using apple
sauce in cake batters to prune juice. But never has there been a successful fat-free
substitute which is actually a fat. This synthesized substance, Olestra, is touted to be the
ultimate fat. It has the same richness that characterizes fat, and which satisfies our tongue
receptors. Olestra is also heat-resistant, which means that traditionally fattening
fast-foods and junk foods, can be prepared with fat-free oil.
     The development of Olestra came serendipitously when scientists started to
research different fat forms for infants in 1959. Infants need high fat diets to begin with,
but it was apparent that premature infants had a hard time digesting certain fats so
research was done in finding a fat which could be more easily digested.
     Scientists first experimented with the traditional ester model of a fat. A
combination of an alcohol, sorbitol, and fatty acids. They tried attaching only 1 fatty acid,
and found that the result was well digested. When they tried 2 F.A.’s the resulting
molecule was even better digested and best digested when 3 F.A.’s were used. But when
they tried attaching 4-6 F.A.’s, the structure’s digestibility progressively got worse, until 6
fatty acids were completely indigestible. This sorbitol/acid ester interested scientists, and
they decided to take their research further, and toward a different direction, that of fat
indigestibility. Sorbitol was an expensive commercial food ingredient, so sucrose
polyesters were used instead. In accordance with the triglyceride model, a polyester of
sucrose (C12H22O11) rings bound by alcohol groups with 6-8 fatty acid side chains. This
is known as sucrose polyester.
     The body absorbs triglycerides, but not Olestra though they are both large
molecules. Other triglycerides are cu...

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