Calorie-free stevia's 11-year war with FDA

[genieroze]

Calorie-free stevia's 11-year war with FDA


BY ERICA ORDEN
Special to Newsday

May 2, 2006

To many people these days, simply sweetening a cup of coffee is practically akin to picking a poison. Sugar or honey? Too many calories. Equal or Nutrasweet? Too many health risks, especially given recent reports detailing diet soda's dangerously high levels of the cancer-causing compound benzene.

So to the sweet-toothed consumer, the increasingly popular, all natural, calorie-free substance called stevia sounds too good to be true.


And to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it is.

For the past 11 years, while artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Equal and Nutrasweet have dominated the diet-conscious market, the stevia industry and the FDA have been at odds over whether the additive poses health risks.


http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsnutrition4724749may02%2C0%2C4919948.story?coll=ny-health-print

But Rummy had no trouble getting the FDA (F**king Dumb A-holes) to ok that neurotoxin aspartame.

[tuvor]

1. It's available in Canada.

It's not available in the USA?

[bananas]

5. Yes, it is, but it can't be advertised as a sweetener

Quoting the article:

Since 1995, the FDA has banned the use of stevia as a sweetener, approving it only for use as a dietary supplement because "available toxicological information on stevia is inadequate to demonstrate its safety as a food additive or to affirm its status as GRAS ."

But consumers looking for alternatives to sugar and to chemical sweeteners keep snapping it up.

In recent years, the consumption of stevia, which is sold in powder, tablet and liquid form and has a slightly bitter taste, has ballooned. Sales of stevia in the United States reached about $45 million in 2005, up nearly 25 percent from the previous year's sales, according to the Nutrition Business Journal, an industry guide to market research. Once limited to obscure health food stores, stevia can now be found at Trader Joe's stores, Whole Foods and King Kullen stores across Long Island.

[meisje]

2. available at most garden centers in plant form

[msgadget]

3. It really is easier to find now

and you can get it in little packets just like the artificial stuff. I remember having to order it and it came in little cello bags and was kinda scary lookin'. When I first saw the slick new packaging I thought the fight was over. Guess not.

I'm going to look into getting Steaz carried in my local health food store. It's no wonder the mother interviewed at the end of the article loves Splenda, their first ads had KIDS in them and its still referred to as a derivative of sugar.

Thanks for this, genieroze.

[genieroze]

4. I want to get off sugar but Equal gives me migraines and Splenda gives

me an upset stomach. Just for the record MSG gets me severely ill and they sneak that crap in everything.

[Sinti]

8. Both Equal and Splenda are toxic - therefore no health benefit over sugar

Stevia is a plant - kinda sweet, funny aftertaste like the other artificial sweeteners. It's sold in liquid and powder form at the health food or vitamin store. I have to carefully read the labels for MSG, too, makes me itch (even my brain feels like it's itching), gives me a headache and a weird (really bad) feeling generally.

Don't eat the dangerous chemicals, you don't know what they'll do to your body, and your body doesn't know what to do with them. ;)

[genieroze]

10. MSG makes me feel like I ate glass. Over the counter Nuprin can

kill me. The nurse at the ER said it's a pretty common reaction, more so than penicillin which is one of the very few things I'm not allergic to. My brother and two of my kids are allergic though. I have been using organic sugar because I read that processed sugar can trigger asthma. I does seem to help and it does taste better and I use less because it's much sweeter then the white stuff. I try to buy organic because of all the garbage they sneak in foods. I also think organic tastes much better. I just wish it was cheaper.

[lindisfarne]

38. Being from a plant doesn't make something safe - many plants can kill

you pretty quickly (many fungi (e.g., mushrooms) can too. (By the way, there are "dangerous" chemicals (just not synthetic) in many "plants" (e.g., apples contain arsenic) as well as in plants that can kill you.)

If you avoid processed foods, you can easily avoid MSG. (or buy organic)

[msgadget]

9. As you know already, you have to be REALLY careful

these days. Labels will say, 'No Sugar', without the usual artificial sweetner label and you have to read through all that tiny print to find it. You may find stevia requires a little experimentation. Some find it has an aftertaste they can't abide, others compare it to licorice and still others have no quibbles with it whatsoever. I went 'cold turkey' to give up sugar in my coffee and it didn't take as long as I thought - about 1 week - probably because I drink it with whole milk. Best of luck and carry your magnifying glass with you to the grocer's!

[Radio_Lady]

6. Just go to www.stevia.com -- homepage of an Arizona company

that makes "Sweet Leaf" brand.

I've been using it in "powdered" and "liquid" form for the past several months. I've had no problem finding it at "natural" food stores -- in Portland, Oregon -- New Seasons and People's Coop both carry it all the time.

Link here ---> www.stevia.com

It's great. A father and son company with lots to say for itself.

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[kittykitty]

7. Or Swansonsvitamins.com search Stevia. It is so sweet, it will go a long

way!

[IndyOp]

19. I use Sweet Leaf !

It is nice to know that the company is on the up and up and up!

:hi:

[demobabe]

11. Thanks for the link

I've refused to drink diet anything since nearly forever... first it was the pink stuff killing rats, then they came out with Equal and I drank that for a really short period and just felt - stupid. Memory lapses, generally feeling out of it, then went back to regular soda and was fine.

But I had no idea it contained BENZENE! If I recall (and if the diet soda didn't eat permanent holes in my brain), isn't that the same thing Erin Brokovich went after the water companies for having in their water?

I can't believe what is in food nowadays - I walk down the aisles and read the packaging, and it's just horrific what you'll find - even in so called "healthy" foods like granola bars or specialty foods that you would think were of high quality. Partially hydrogenated oils are completely awful and I can feel it any time I eat something with this poisonous fat substitute.

I just wonder how much aggression and health problems are due to diet - and how many DU flamefests? ;)

[pitohui]

12. i'll give you a bump to annoy rumsfeld

but have you actually tried stevia?

it is some nasty

[undergroundpanther]

13. I can get stevia at some"nature stores"

The supply is shaky and when they have it I get it.

I LOVE stevia.
Also sometimes at farmers markets they sell the stevia plant itself in a pot.
I had two stevia plants last year, One warning,they cannot stand cold weather and they need strong sun and go easy on the water. For me, raising them was easy until fall hit and they died on me because I didn't get them inside soon enough. You can apparently pinch off branches and root them that way too.
It was really neat to get a stevia leaf and a mint leaf and eat both together,delicious!!
If someone sells stevia plants,I suggest you get them ASAP! They are awesome plants looks bush like,and the leaves are sweet as anything,
Just a few fresh crushed leaves sweetens a cup of tea perfectly.
Also maybe if you can grow enough plants,dry and powder the leaves, you might be able to make your own sweetener for yourself !!

[NMMNG]

14. Trader Joes sells it sometimes

And a little goes a long way--it's very potent. It does have a bit of an aftertaste (sort of the way saccharin does) but once you get used to it it's not a problem.

[laheina]

15. LOVE it. nt

[pecwae]

16. Buy it at GNC

or other health food stores as a supplement. It does have a bit of an aftertaste. but not unpleasant, just different. I use both powdered and liquid and a drop goes a very long way. You can get seeds and grow it in your herb garden as well. I love it!

[OregonBlue]

17. How many have tried it. I did, it was nothing to write home about.

My mom is a diabetic so I bought 2 different brands in Canada. Hate to say it but it was pretty awful. I guess if you HAD to use it it would be okay but, my mom just learned to take her coffee without anything rather than use it.

Just a warning in case you're expecting a really nummy sweetener.

[soothsayer]

18. if you use too much, it's bitter. I guess I always use too much.

[IndyOp]

20. Try the "Sweet Leaf" brand if you can get ahold of some...

I LOVE it. There isn't too much I can put in my coffee...

[Pacifist Patriot]

23. Agave! Use agave nectar.

[AllieB]

26. If you're diabetic, agave affects the blood sugar

it causes your blood sugar to rise, much like regular table sugar. Artificial sweeteners, along with Stevia, do not.

My husband has to watch his blood sugar, so we use stevia for coffee and baking.

[Pacifist Patriot]

33. It does affect the blood sugar, but it has a lower glycemic index than...

refined sugar. Depending upon the diabetes type and severity it can be used in a diabetic diet, you just have to be careful and work with your healthcare professional. My father-in-law uses it and has still been able to go off meds and control his diabetes completely by diet. I certainly wouldn't recommend a diabetic just switch without looking into it first.

ETA: My mistake for not being clear when I recommended agave. I recommend it instead of nutra sweet for your average Joe or Jane who wants to avoid both sugar and aspartame.

[michael_1166]

21. I tried stevia powder once

and to me it has an absolutely terrible, long-lasting aftertaste I couldn't get out of my mouth for a long time. It might be healthier and not the outright work of the devil like artificial sweeteners (by now we know that aspartame is a nerve poison whitewashed into food additive by Rumsfeld (no wonder it gives you headaches)).
But stevia... no thanks. Unless there is a way to somehow make this stuff more palatable, I better use honey now and then or no sweetener at all.

[LoZoccolo]

22. For coffee, sugar does not have too many calories.

The article kind of runs right past the fact that sugar is only 16 calories per teaspoon.

[Pacifist Patriot]

24. I think it's a plot to poison the masses. I bet Rummy and ilk...

avoid aspartame like the plague.

At any rate, I've used stevia. It's quite easy to find at the natural food stores around here. But I think it tastes awful. Even in small quantities. I think I've got a bunch left over if anyone wants me to send it to them.

I use agave nectar. It's got a few calories but it's got a much lower glycemic index than sugar. And it tastes great.

[OregonBlue]

25. Available everywhere? In a form that can be used for baking too?

Would love to find an alternative for my mom.

[AllieB]

27. Liquid stevia is best for baking, I've found

It's expensive, but more economical. 1/2 tsp is equal in sweetness to 1 cup of sugar. You have to be careful because some brands have a bitter or metallic aftertaste. The Sweet Leaf brand seems to be the best, after experimenting with many brands.

[OregonBlue]

28. I tried the Stevia for my mom but it really wasn't very good.

Was hoping maybe the agave was an alternative but according to folks here it raises blood sugars. Oh well, she's learning to live without sugar and doing pretty well at it. Thanks.

[AllieB]

29. There are other sugar alcohols available, aside from Splenda

I use Splenda occasionally, because there's been a concerted effort by Big Sugar and Nutrasweet to discredit it and label it dangerous. I agree that more research has to be done regarding its toxicity, but it should be fine in small doses.

The SweetLeaf brand of stevia is the best. I've tried other brands and they were bitter or tasted weird. Like your Mom, my husband with the sweet tooth has had to live without refined sugar, and he's doing pretty well.

[OregonBlue]

30. I'll get some SweetLeaf. Thanks!

[Pacifist Patriot]

34. This is an interesting article about it.

http://www.shakeoffthesugar.net/article1042.html

As I've mentioned above, my diabetic father-in-law uses it in his diet but every individual is different. People should also remember that you can't do a 1-1 comparison. A little squirt of agave syrup sweetens a cup of tea/coffee much more efficiently than two tablespoons of sugar.

[Pacifist Patriot]

32. I use agave nectar for anything in which I would use sugar.

Baking with it has not seemed to be a problem. In fact, I've gotten to the point where I really don't have to measure anymore.

I have a great natural food store in town that carries both the dark and light varieties but it is also widely available by order over the internet. Every bottle I have seen has a conversion ratio on the back that tells you how to replace sugar in recipes.

[LostinVA]

31. I weaned myself off all sweeteners, and now drink my tea w/o any

It took me about six months to do it.

My boss uses stevia, however, and she loves it.

[Ravenseye]

35. It was a Nutrasweet Conspiracy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

"In 1991, at the request of an anonymous complainant, the United States Food and Drug Administration labelled stevia as an "unsafe food additive", and restricted its import. The FDA's stated reason was "toxicological information on stevia is inadequate to demonstrate its safety". This ruling was controversial, as stevia proponents pointed out this designation goes against the FDA's guidelines, under which any natural substance used prior to 1958 with no reported adverse effects should be recognized as safe. After stevia was banned, several members of the FDA board left their jobs. They were all hired at the Nutrasweet Company (a Monsanto subsidiary) in higher pay jobs, according to National (government) records. This has been criticized as a legal bribe by Nutrasweet to the FDA, to ban Stevia (then Nutrasweet's main competitor) in the U.S."

[MadHound]

36. Easy solution

Rather than putting substances of unknown content, with unknown health consequence into your morning coffee, use sugar or honey, and for keeping the calories down, skip the candy bar and/or walk a mile.

Balance people, balance in all things.

[roseBudd]

37. I grew it last year it had a weird aftertaste, I use Equal, Linus Pauling

the father of modern chemistry was OK with aspartame. My massage therapist sister not. I listen to to the PHD.