That article cites no sources, and the FDA has retracted requiring warnings for products containing olestra
According to Wikipedia:
When removing the olestra warning label, the FDA cited a six-week P&G study of more than 3000 people showing the olestra-eating group experienced only a small increase in bowel movement frequency compared to the control group.The FDA concluded that “subjects eating olestra-containing chips were no more likely to report having had loose stools, abdominal cramps, or any other GI symptom compared to subjects eating an equivalent amount of [potato] chips”
I remember Conan O’Brian doing a joke about this. He said something like “Many people reported having explosive diarrhea after eating an entire family sized bag of Doritos with Olestra. Oddly enough, those eating a family sized bag of regular Doritos without Olestra… also experienced explosive diarrhea.”
You’re right it wasn’t a very scholarly article, that article was just the first thing that pops up on a Google search meant for people who weren’t familiar with Olestra, was mostly intended as a joke.
To take it more seriously though, a lot of those studies took place after a formulation change, so the later incarnations may have been better. It’s also possible that some of the reports came from people consuming large amounts of it at once. The studies I saw that didn’t show much difference all had a relatively small amount of chips ingested (see studies cited by article here https://www.acsh.org/news/1996/12/01/whats-the-story-olestra#3), for instance one of these studies was a double blind crossover with only 2 Oz of chips. I’m not aware of studies that would simulate downing a whole can of Pringles with Olestra at once. It was often included in snack foods that people don’t always moderate themselves on. Many of these studies, like the one you cite, were run by the manufacturer so important to be skeptical of the methods. They apparently started to fortify it with fat soluble vitamins to address concerns it could exacerbate deficiencies of those vitamins (besides basic science which should logically suggest this would happen, there’s evidence to back that up as well https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(23)01561-4/fulltext). The principle of every stool softener on the market now is that it’s something your body cannot absorb that will remain in the gi tract, eat enough Olestra or anything like it and it’ll have an impact on your stool consistency, just a matter of dosing. Animal studies also suggested it doesn’t cause weight loss and may even lead to increased weight. In the end it stopped being sold in the US altogether, because why go to all that trouble for something that probably doesn’t have any benefit.
It’s tough though, common symptoms are common. Many side effects you see on medications or things like Olestra may not even have anything to do with the product and were just coincidence or nocebo effect.
I wish I could deny this, but no: I remember spirting a bit out on my parents’ carpet in my late 20s one time when I came down with a sudden case of norovirus.
Another fun fact to go with that is that upon realising that I couldn’t go much more than 5 minutes without peeing pure brown liquid out my ass, I did end up just laying in the bath tub for a few hours and let it trickle out whenever it wanted to.
I just curled up in the fetal position and accepted that this was my life. I’d put the shower on to rinse myself down every now and again.
When I shat my pants at work, I just told my boss that I needed to leave and he said “OK.” You don’t even have to think about the shit in your pants with mutual trust and respect.
Fair, and that would probably work just fine at my current job, but I was working at a gas station and 19 years old. Very seldom would a gas station manager let an employee leave without feeling very entitled to an explanation.
Anybody who hasn’t shit their pants between their teens and their thirties is lying about it
Or never had a run in with Olestra
https://www.cookist.com/olestra-the-embarrassing-story-behind-the-once-famous-fat-substitute/
Damn you fat free Pringles!
Afaik this is just fear mongering
That article cites no sources, and the FDA has retracted requiring warnings for products containing olestra
According to Wikipedia:
Source
Where I originally heard about olestra
I remember Conan O’Brian doing a joke about this. He said something like “Many people reported having explosive diarrhea after eating an entire family sized bag of Doritos with Olestra. Oddly enough, those eating a family sized bag of regular Doritos without Olestra… also experienced explosive diarrhea.”
He said it funnier, but that was the gist of it.
You’re right it wasn’t a very scholarly article, that article was just the first thing that pops up on a Google search meant for people who weren’t familiar with Olestra, was mostly intended as a joke.
To take it more seriously though, a lot of those studies took place after a formulation change, so the later incarnations may have been better. It’s also possible that some of the reports came from people consuming large amounts of it at once. The studies I saw that didn’t show much difference all had a relatively small amount of chips ingested (see studies cited by article here https://www.acsh.org/news/1996/12/01/whats-the-story-olestra#3), for instance one of these studies was a double blind crossover with only 2 Oz of chips. I’m not aware of studies that would simulate downing a whole can of Pringles with Olestra at once. It was often included in snack foods that people don’t always moderate themselves on. Many of these studies, like the one you cite, were run by the manufacturer so important to be skeptical of the methods. They apparently started to fortify it with fat soluble vitamins to address concerns it could exacerbate deficiencies of those vitamins (besides basic science which should logically suggest this would happen, there’s evidence to back that up as well https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(23)01561-4/fulltext). The principle of every stool softener on the market now is that it’s something your body cannot absorb that will remain in the gi tract, eat enough Olestra or anything like it and it’ll have an impact on your stool consistency, just a matter of dosing. Animal studies also suggested it doesn’t cause weight loss and may even lead to increased weight. In the end it stopped being sold in the US altogether, because why go to all that trouble for something that probably doesn’t have any benefit.
It’s tough though, common symptoms are common. Many side effects you see on medications or things like Olestra may not even have anything to do with the product and were just coincidence or nocebo effect.
Last time I had a bag of Wow! chips, I couldn’t stop shitting the rest of the day.
I wish I could deny this, but no: I remember spirting a bit out on my parents’ carpet in my late 20s one time when I came down with a sudden case of norovirus.
Another fun fact to go with that is that upon realising that I couldn’t go much more than 5 minutes without peeing pure brown liquid out my ass, I did end up just laying in the bath tub for a few hours and let it trickle out whenever it wanted to.
I just curled up in the fetal position and accepted that this was my life. I’d put the shower on to rinse myself down every now and again.
I once clocked into work, and promptly shit my pants because I trusted a fart.
I immediately called my manager and just said “hey I just shit my pants, I’m going to go home and clean up”
She was so flabbergasted with my direct honesty, it was beautiful. Own it, people! We’ve all done it and the only embarrassing part comes from within!
When I shat my pants at work, I just told my boss that I needed to leave and he said “OK.” You don’t even have to think about the shit in your pants with mutual trust and respect.
Fair, and that would probably work just fine at my current job, but I was working at a gas station and 19 years old. Very seldom would a gas station manager let an employee leave without feeling very entitled to an explanation.
Of course; I just wanted to share my personal situation and pants-shitting scenario.
I feel sorry for the people who have sneezed when they had diarrhea
I haven’t, because I’m not a drunk and only do the cool drugs
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