Olestra Linked to Gastrointestinal Disease

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http://www.cspinet.org/new/200307151.html

 

Olestra Linked to Gastrointestinal Disease

 

Cases Highlighted in Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition

 

The fat substitute olestra may cause severe gastrointestinal disease, according

to a letter published in the July issue of the Journal of Pediatric

Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Dr. Tamar Barlam, of the Center for Science in

the Public Interest (CSPI), and Dr. Eric McCloud, of Miller’s Children’s

Hospital in Long Beach, California, described two cases involving previously

healthy children.

One patient, an 11-year-old girl, developed flatulence, cramps, and

foul-smelling diarrhea over a two-week period while eating olestra chips. Those

problems diminished when she stopped eating the chips, but she then developed

rectal bleeding. A colonoscopy revealed ulcerative colitis, for which she was

treated with a steroid, anti-inflammatory medication, and other drugs, according

to the letter.

In the second report, a 13-year-old boy developed abdominal distention and

constipation within hours of eating a few potato chips containing olestra. He

then developed abdominal cramps, severe back pain, explosive diarrhea, and gas.

After the boy lost 23 pounds over the next few months, much of his colon was

removed.

Both children are now doing well.

“It is impossible to determine that olestra was the cause of the problems that

those children suffered,” Barlam said. “But these cases serve as an important

reminder of the lack of available data about potentially severe, but less

frequent, effects of olestra.”

While the symptoms reported in the new report are more serious than the average

reaction to olestra, hundreds of people have reported that they went to the

emergency room for treatment of apparent olestra-related cramps or diarrhea,

according to CSPI. The FDA has received 20,000 adverse-reaction reports related

to olestra. According to CSPI, that is more than the FDA has received for all

other additives in history combined.

Two main producers of olestra-containing chips, Procter and Gamble (Fat Free

Pringles) and Frito-Lay (WOW chips) are still pressuring the FDA to drop its

requirement for a warning notice advising consumers of the possibility of cramps

and loose stools. In 2002, Procter and Gamble sold olestra and its factory to

another company. Sales of olestra have dropped by about two-thirds over the past

several years.

" The new report provides further evidence, if any was needed, that the FDA

should do what Canada, Britain, and other companies have done: ban olestra, "

said Michael F. Jacobson, CSPI executive director. " Allowing it in the food

supply just creates misery for far too many people. Procter and Gamble’s own

clinical studies in the 1990s demonstrated that olestra could cause cramps,

loose stools, and diarrhea. "

People who believe they experienced an adverse reaction to olestra should submit

a report to CSPI at www.cspinet.org/olestraform.

 

 

 

 

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