In: Chemistry
Olestra cannot be metabolized, thereby adding calories, because...
a) it cannot be reduced due to the aromaticity of the central group. |
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b) it undergoes condensation to form an ester. |
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c) it can't be oxidized since it is a tertiary alcohol. |
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d) it has so many ester units clustered together that it is too crowded to be hydrolyzed. |
Olestra cannot be metabolized because it has so many ester units clustered together that is too crowded to be hydrolyzed. Olestra is mainly a fat substitute. Which is popular under the brand name Olean, it is actually sucrose polyester, a sugar-based compound that is not digested or absorbed by the human body. The olestra molecule is much larger than natural fats and cannot be broken down by normal digestive processes in the small intestine nor by bacterial digestion in the large intestine. It can’t be absorbed across the intestinal wall nor can it be metabolized in any other way. It just passes through from one end of the digestive tract to the other.