experiences with Olestra (or lays light/ruffles light chips 0% fat)

I heard about chips made with Olestra oil last week. I don't think they are available here in Germany, or Australia (correct me if i'm wrong). I was just wondering whether you guys had positive or negative experiences with eating them. Do they taste the same as normal? if so why aren't they everywhere? No fat chips sounds so amazing!

Also does anybody know if they are available anywhere in europe?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!!! have a good day!!!

I have no idea if they're available in europe.

I have tried them and they tasted okay.  They left a weird feeling in my mouth afterwards though.  I also heard that Olestra gives you diarrhea as well.  All that to say, I don't eat them any more.

I would do some research on it first:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olestra

I personally prefer baked chips or blue corn chips, but again I don't know if those are available in europe.

I don't see them in the US much anymore either.  They used to have a warning on the bag that said "May cause anal leakage"  I think that discouraged people from buying them. 

*bump*

I bought pringles fat free and they had olestra in the ingredients. I thought it was cool, so I tried them out. They tasted the same as the regular chips. no side effects here.

Uh...kinda gross but I can't eat anything with olestra in it.  About 30 min to an hour later I am in the bathroom with awful stomach cramps, etc.  I am sure you get the picture. 

I think that olestra is only legal in the united states, and maybe some places south of it. I do believe Europe is like Canada and have banned its use.

You definitely don't see it in US as often as you did about seven or eight years ago.  I'd also blame that on the "anal leakage" warnings; I remember being in a phys fit class in college when that came out; professor thought it was hilarious ("so don't get too far from a bathroom after eating this stuff").

Yep Olestra is banned in the UK (and probably EEC) as an unsafe food product - I saw the TV programmes about Anal Leakage - you don't really want to eat that stuff!!

Be glad they don't allow it in your country.  Now the newest mess on the market here in the U.S. is Alli, geez what will people do next?  Here just take this pill and crap your pants while at work trying to get the the bathroom.  Now don't you feel better knowing you won't gain as much from that big mac you just ate.

Sorry, I just hate what these companies are allowed to reduce people to who just try to do it easy instead of long term.  I have never known of any other group of people who want a quick fix and have the FDA help them look like idiots for trying.  There are a lot of people who believe losing weight at any cost is good.  I guess if that is their belief then so be it but I hate it for the people who don't read the package completely and are taken unawares by the blasting leakage possible.  OOps sorry I probably just went too far again huh.;-o

My husband & I shared a small bag of those kinds of chips once, so you can imagine it wasn't much.  We both had upset stomachs that night.

i personally like the olestra stuff lol.  it keeps me from eating too much of stuff that contains it.  and the light lays stuff is yummy so its a good barrier to binging on it LOL.

i guess im just a little odd maybe ....

thanks for all the feed back. I was just curious because i was reading an old article discussing it, then when logging some german light chips, surprised that they had so many more calories than the light version in the cc data base, and then somebody else mentioned it in another thread, all within a couple of days of each other so i decided to ask for some more information.

Given all your stories and info I don't think i would be able to risk it, since I have a kind of tendency towards a weak lower gastro-intenstinal tract anyway.

Josal, i completely agree, i also think all these extreme makeover shows don't help, everybody expects instant results and these kinds of things then encourage people to try stupid drugs to try and loose weight faster.

But anyway aside from greyskies, has anybody had any good (or at least not bad) experiences?

It's now called Olean and the chips are sold as Lay's Light Brand or Doritos Light. They are fabulous. I eat them nearly every day with my Subway sandwich. Only 70 calories per bag and no side-effects. It's hogwash that they cause problems, you would have to eat TONS of it.

http://www.fritolay.com/fl/flstore/cgi-bin/pr oducts_light.htm

drea99

Gotta love ya lady LOL I read your post and started laughing so hard.  Everybody has their limit, glad you know where yours is LOL geez I can just see this person looking at the bag and saying ( you know the little thought bubble above the head thing) "just one more and then it all comes out"!  Geez I should stay out of the message boards this week LOL seems monday has found a different sense of humor in me ROFLMAO ok ok I am going back into my cage.

Have a great week everybody.

Olestra first came out when I was in college.  I had a basic chemistry course at the time, and my professor was on the payroll of the company that makes it.  I'm still amused by the amount of time we spent learning about it, and the amount of time he spent trying to convince us it was perfectly healthy.

Needless to say, I've never had the slightest inclination to try anything marginally related to olestra.  Too much information about food has always been a turn-off for me, and that's exactly what I got from a professor that was trying to push a product.  ;p

pandajenn and drea99, both of you LOL, for different reason though!!!!

I eat lay's light chips that apparently have olestra. I love them! They taste the same as the regular chips but only 1/2 the calories. I don't have any "side effects" when I eat the either.

My opinion.....BAD...BAD...BAD! I got such a bellyache. I only had a little and the after taste is awful!

They were off the market but I just saw them again in the store a few weeks ago.  I tried them a few years back and after eating just a few I became really sick.  The other day when I saw them, I believe they were Lays fat free, I was like oh fat free!  Oh Olestra, no way.  I like the baked Lays!

To the best of my knowledge olestra/olean containing foods were not off the market but rather relaunched. The concerns about Olestra are largely "wive's tales". But if it does affect you, it is indeed and of course best to be avoided.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olestra