It tastes like fat - but won't make you fat

Like so many other significant discoveries, Olestra came aboutby accident.

A Procter & Gamble researcher, exploring how the body absorbsfat, was trying to come up with a product with increased fat contentto nourish premature infants. Instead, he found something that didquite the opposite.

Olestra is a sucrose polyster that can mimic virtually anyedible fat, with one big difference - it passes straight through thebody's digestive system, leaving behind no calories or cholesterol.Indeed, it is believed, it takes some of the body's cholesterol withit.

In short, a dieter's dream.

"From a product development point of view, I'm not amazed bymany …