I Can't Believe It's Not Regular Margarine!

Just in time for all those Memorial Day barbecues and picnics: margarine that can help cut your cholesterol. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a new cholesterol-reducing margarine called Benecol, which is made with a substance found in pine trees. Available next week, it follows on the heels of Take Control, a spread containing a natural soybean extract, which hit the shelves last week. The two new products are among the first of a new series of foods that are designed to act like drugs and promote health or prevent disease. "The studies show that these products may provide cholesterol benefits," says TIME senior health reporter Janice Horowitz. "But as with all new products, it's still too early to know what all the side effects could be."

Indeed, though the last major miracle food product, Procter & Gamble's olestra fat substitute, helped make Frito-Lay's Wow! chips the best-selling new product of 1998, concerns continue over olestra's possible digestive side effects. It's important to remember, says Horowitz, that problems often don't appear in new foods until a lot of pepole have eaten them for prolonged periods. But even if the fallout is minimal, "stuffing yourself with a food product that may lower cholesterol will not grant you optimum health," she says. The best medicine is still the one that most Americans are constantly trying to avoid -- self-discipline. "The best thing for health," says Horowitz, "is to reduce fat intake, generally eat right and exercise."