1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh Clark, 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and there's Jerry. So 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: let's get started. Everybody be quiet and listen. Get ready 4 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: to feel like you're gonna poop your pants, because we're 5 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: gonna talk about a lestra which would make you poop 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: your pants. Yeah. So this one starts back in the fifties. Uh, 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: we can't talk about a lester without mentioning the Seven 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: Country Study, which was very famous in the fifties for 9 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: for fooling science and the world into the notion that 10 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: fats are terrible they will kill you don't eat them. 11 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 1: So all foods started saying, great, we're gonna put out 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: no fat stuff and start pumping in high fruit dose 13 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: corn syrup into our things to create flavor. And the 14 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: world is the worst for it. Right, Yeah, I think 15 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: we need to do is a straight up stuff you 16 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: should know episode about the seven the Seven Country Study. 17 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: Okay for sure, So stop talking about it now. Okay. 18 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: So the upshot of what you just said is that 19 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: we live in we by I think the seventies or eighties, 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: we lived in like a fat free obsessed society, right, 21 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: and the manufacturers of food said, hey, sure, we'll we'll 22 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:18,759 Speaker 1: give it to you. We'll do some of those amazing 23 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 1: things that Chuck just mentioned, and um, we'll give you 24 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: low fat food as much as you can take. And 25 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: by the mid nineties, like the whole thing was at 26 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,759 Speaker 1: its peak. Man, like the you remember, um, healthy Choice. 27 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: I think Healthy Choice is still around. So they came 28 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: out with a line of foods and in healthy Choice, 29 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: just a healthy Choice line of food um made one 30 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: point three billion dollars in sales, Like that's how much 31 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: that People were like, here, take all my money, just 32 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: give me some fat free foods because fat's gonna kill 33 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: me and make me fat. And um, I hate fat. 34 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: Don't you hate fat? Yes, because it's the word fat 35 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: and you don't want to be that word right right. 36 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: Plus also, I think everybody was scared to death. We're 37 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: all going to die of heart attacks if we ate 38 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: like any fat whatsoever. So the solution was fat free 39 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: foods and it was in full swing in the nineties. 40 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: So Um, by this time, I believe it was Procter 41 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: and Gamble that came up with the lestra right, Yeah, 42 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: they came up with that. That's just their trade name 43 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: for UH polyester sucros, and this was developed by them 44 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: in the late sixties, but it took to the nineties 45 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: to really catch hold in full. And this is one 46 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: of those where they it's not like they didn't do 47 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: product research. They did a lot of testing and research, 48 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: and they learned that Olestra would make you poop your pants, 49 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: and they pressed on anyway UH and went forward knowing this, 50 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: which it was an interesting decision to say the least. Yeah, 51 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: like they were searching for a fat substitute for formula 52 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: to to um feed premature infants. Yeah, which is a 53 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: eat start. It is a sweet start, and hopefully they 54 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: realized very quickly that no infant should ever have polyester 55 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: sucros passed through its mouth. It's probably hard to tell 56 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: with babies, Yeah, that's true, UM, but it's not hard 57 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: to tell with adults. And like you said, their their 58 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: product testing showed there are some real problems with the 59 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: lestra When you ate it, um, you would get abdominal cramping, 60 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: you would get flatulent, you would poop your pants. Like 61 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: you said, there were a lot of things that came 62 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: back that that were red flags and should have been 63 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: to Procter and Gamble that that should have told them, like, 64 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: don't put this into food products and then sell them 65 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: to consumers, because this is going to be bad. But 66 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: Procter and Gamble, it's spent you know, hundreds of millions 67 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: of dollars developing this stuff by this time and being 68 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: been in in development for like thirty years. And so 69 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: they said, nope, we're going to do this. We're going 70 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: to go get the FDA to approve it. And the 71 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: FDA said, okay, we'll give you approval, but you have 72 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: to put a warning on any food item, like the 73 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: container of any food item that you sell this stuff in. Yeah, 74 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: and that that label I remember seeing it. It literally 75 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: said it could cause abdom a, dominal cramping and loose stools. Uh. 76 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: They were marketed um for their line for like pringles 77 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: in and free lay as wow. Uh all upper case 78 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: exclamation point. And despite the fact that it said on 79 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,679 Speaker 1: the label like, hey, this will give you diarrhea, people 80 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: are like, well, I get that, but can I eat 81 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: a whole bag of chips and not have any fat? 82 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: And the label said sure? And I think that was 83 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: I think that actually increased the diarrhea and the cramping 84 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: was the fact that people probably overindulged even because they could. Yeah, 85 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: and so we should probably talk real quick about the 86 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: science behind this, right, Yeah, let's do it. So um, 87 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: polyester sucros mimics fat and its taste, its mouth feel, 88 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: it does everything that fat does except get metabolized by body. Right, So, 89 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: like A like a triglystrite, and naturally occurring fat is 90 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: A is a molecule fatty acids surrounded by three chains 91 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: of hydrocarbons. And when you eat that thing, that molecule UM, 92 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: your body metabolizes it by breaking the hydrocarbon chains off 93 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: of it and using that fatty acid either for energy 94 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: or to store later to use his energy as fat. Okay, 95 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:29,359 Speaker 1: that's the naturally occurring stuff. So for polyester sucrose, it 96 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: has a sucrose molecule and it's surrounded by hydrocarbon chains too, 97 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: but there's a lot of them, so much so that 98 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: the parts of your body that normally metabolize fat can't 99 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 1: break through all those hydrocarbon chains. And so that molecule 100 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: of polyester sucrose goes through your body untouched. It comes 101 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: out the other end just like it went in. So 102 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,480 Speaker 1: you get the mouth feel, you get the taste you get, Yeah, 103 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: you get the experience of eating fatty foods with no 104 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: fat and no weight gain whatsoever. Her The problem is 105 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: on the other side, when it does come out, it 106 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: comes out with a lot of poop and a lot 107 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: of cramping. And there's another problem with this whole thing 108 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:37,480 Speaker 1: that we'll talk about right after this. All right, So 109 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: nice job, by the way with the science. Thank you. 110 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: I appreciate that you're welcome, because I was not ready 111 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: any time. Uh So they discovered with olestra, this is great. 112 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: It just comes out the body like it goes in. 113 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: These idiots will still eat it. It It doesn't metabolize. Here's 114 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: here's the big issue with that is the body is 115 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: used to metabolizing fats, but now all of a sudden, 116 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: your body gets confused because it's used to doing things 117 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:08,840 Speaker 1: one way, and all of a sudden your body is like, well, 118 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: wait a minute, maybe maybe I shouldn't metabolize any fats. 119 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: Fool me once, yeah, kind of, And so it messed 120 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: with the body chemistry because it literally confused it in 121 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: these artificial fats. And I think this is true a 122 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: lot of times with artificial ingredients, your body doesn't know 123 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: how to react to that. Uh. And so all of 124 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: a sudden, you're gaining weight even though you're eating fat 125 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: free foods because your body is not metabolizing any fats. 126 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: So when you eat you indulge on that cheese steak, 127 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: it's not getting metabolized no, because so like the polyester 128 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: sucros gets passed through it, your body doesn't absorb it, 129 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: but your body will absorb naturally occurring fats even if 130 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: they're not metabolized. It gets stored for fat later. So 131 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: if your body is not metabolizing either of it, then 132 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: all the fat that's going through is just being packed on. 133 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: People who were eating this fat free fat substitute, we're 134 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: actually gaining weight from recent research shows amazing. Even worse 135 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: than that possibly is that the alestra was like a 136 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: magnet for vitamins and nutrients, So when it passed through 137 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: your digestive system untouched, it actually was taking vitamins and 138 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: nutrients that were already present with it. So you can 139 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: actually develop a vitamin deficiency from eating too much alestra. However, 140 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,439 Speaker 1: despite all of this, I know this is the kicker, uh. 141 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: Initial sales of these chips, just these those wild chips 142 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: was about four hundred million dollars in that year. Uh. 143 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: That was the I believe the first year that Procter 144 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: and Game will debut these chips. Everyone is pooping their pants, 145 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: they're eating I think they found in studies that the 146 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: wild de rito's uh, if you ate sixteen of those chips, uh, 147 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: fifty of the participants. Half the people that ate at 148 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: least steam chips got diarrhea. Right. Uh, So you would 149 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: think they find this out, they make their money, and 150 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:06,960 Speaker 1: then they get out and they're just like, all right, 151 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: we're done with a lester because I don't see a 152 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: lester anymore on any packaging. Right, Yeah, it's gone the 153 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: way of the dinosaur. Is that Is that the case, 154 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: my friend? That is absolutely not the case. No, it's 155 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: just not called o lester anymore. Yeah. Back in two 156 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: thousand two, the FDA said, you know what, we were 157 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: pretty wasted when we made you put that that warning 158 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: label on. We've since entered the program and we want 159 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: to make amends, so you don't have to put the 160 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: warning label on any longer. You can just take that off. Yeah, 161 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: and now you don't see them as well, because that 162 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: got a bad name by association. Now you just see 163 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: them as light chips or fat free uh crackers and 164 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: things like that. Yeah. So they're still using polyester sucros 165 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: in certain products like Lays light potato chips or Ruffles 166 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: light or fat free ritz or fat free wheat thins um, 167 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,199 Speaker 1: but they just don't call it all estra or olean 168 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: or anything like that. It's still the same thing. But 169 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: I think that that Procter and Gamble managed to get 170 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: that label taken off because they successfully argued that the 171 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: results were really no worse than if you ate a 172 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: lot of like high fibers. They're like, I mean, look 173 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: at prune juice. Yeah, I have a special label on that. 174 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: Everybody loves prune juice, but you have no label. Nobody 175 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: likes brune juice. No, what are prunes made from? Are 176 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 1: they dates or um? Uh? I always get those confused, 177 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: the the dehydrated um. You know what I'm talking about? Prunes? Right? 178 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: So what is a prune? Is it a figure? A uh? 179 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: Is a date? A dehydrated version of something. I'm just 180 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:52,679 Speaker 1: enjoying this. I think a prune is a plum? Okay, great, great, Well, 181 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: then a date is a dehydrated fig. My friend, and 182 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: a raisin is a dehydrated grape. That's right, and that 183 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 1: concludes this episode of short Stuff. Okay, well, if you 184 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 1: want to get in touch with let's send us an 185 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: email to Stuff Podcast at how stuff works dot com