Triglycerides, the energy-yielding dietary fats, consist of three fatty acids bonded in the form of esters to a glycerol backbone. Olestra uses sucrose as the backbone in place of glycerol, and it can form esters with up to eight fatty acids. Olestra is a mixture of hexa-, hepta-, and octa-esters of sucrose with various long chain fatty acids. The resulting radial arrangement is too large and irregular to move through the intestinal wall and be absorbed into the bloodstream. Olestra has the same taste and mouthfeel as fat, but it passes through the gastrointestinal tract undigested without contributing calories or nutritive value to the diet.