September 2001 - Nr. 9
German Nutritionists Oppose Olestra
TWIG - The dieter’s dream of eating junk food without the inevitable bulges will remain a dream in Germany in the foreseeable future. Nutritionists at the Federal Research Agency on Nutrition (Bundesforschungsanstalt fuer Ernaehrung), part of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, are turning thumbs down on olestra, the controversial new fake fat recently approved in the United States for use in snack foods like potato chips, and crackers. The possible health problems and negative effects upon medication that is taken together with olestra-laden food have raised serious concerns among German nutrition specialists and they are unlikely to support its approval in Germany, nutrition physiologist Gerhard Rechkemmer told the German Press Agency. Olestra passes through the digestive track without being absorbed, washing out certain vitamins as it goes. This, according to Rechkemmer, raises questions about what effect olestra might have on fat-soluble medication. It is not certain, he said, whether such medication even ends up where it is supposed to go. The possible occurrence of gas, diarrhea and stomach cramps after eating olestra have also influenced him and his colleagues to oppose olestra in Germany.
