Do You Believe?

Do you believe everything you hear on TV? No, I don't mean Ally McBeal! I am talking about the nightly news. You would think (hope) that everything you hear on the news would be correct because, well it's the news. Would Dan Rather lie to us? We watch Ally McBeal and All My Children under the assumption that they are fiction and we enjoy them for their entertainment value. Yet we watch the news to gain information and we certainly don't start out with the assumption that it is fiction. Then again, maybe we should!

Will Olestra make me sick?

Olestra, for those of you who have spent the last couple of years under a rock, and may not know, is a food substance made from soybeans that replaces animal fat in snack foods such as Doritos and Lays potato chips. Thanks in part to Center for Science In the Public Interest (CSPI) Olestra was badmouthed in the press. Olestra happens to be the most tested food substance in the history of food testing. It was tested for 25 years in 150 animal and 98 human studies. 20,000 adults and children tested this substance before it was sold publicly. It cost Frito-Lay $200 million to get it approved. CSPI got an upset stomach over the idea that Olestra was causing every other person who tried it, an upset stomach.

If you believe what you see on TV you might think that a handful of chips made with Olestra would give you severe stomach pains and cancer to boot. It's not true! The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has publicly stated that, While Olestra causes mild gastrointestinal symptoms in a small number of consumers, the frequency is no greater than with regular, full-fat chips. In fact, out of 200,000 bags of fat-free chips sold, 67 people called Frito-Lay with complaints about stomach upset. The FDA also insists that during the 25 years of testing Olestra did not cause vitamin deficiencies or cancer.

The government requires Frito-Lay to place a warning on every bag of chips it sells with Olestra about the possible stomach upset. Ironically, many people who have complained about stomach problems with the Olestra admit that this occurred after they had consumed the entire bag. Imagine that! I once ate an entire bag of regular Doritos for dinner and wonder of wonders I was sicker than my dog after he eats carrots. Did I call Frito-Lay and complain? No. Did I write to my congressman and ask him to pass legislation banning Doritos? No. I simply never ever ate an entire bag of Doritos, in one sitting, again.

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