Stevia - The Sweetest Substance on Earth // Dr. Leo Rebello

[Guest guest]

WHY DID FDA BAN USE OF STEVIA? PRESSURE FROM PHARMA LOBBY?

 

Uh-Oh: FDA Now Calls Stevia Unsafe

 

The South American herb stevia, which is used as a natural sweetener, has been called an "unsafe food additive" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

 

The FDA sent a letter to Hain Celestial Group Inc, maker of Celestial Seasonings herbal teas, saying the stevia used in some of their teas may be dangerous to blood sugar and reproductive, cardiovascular, and renal systems.

 

Stevia is several hundred times sweeter than sugar, and has no calories. Though it's approved as a dietary supplement in the United States

, it is not approved as a food additive. A dozen other countries, including Japan, China, and Brazil, have approved the sweetener however.

Beverage giants including Coca-Cola Co. are eyeing stevia as a new low-calorie sweetener, but while the FDA has received requests to use stevia in food, they say " data and information necessary to support the safe use have been lacking. "

 

The Center for Science in the Public Interest also believes that data is lacking to support the safety of stevia in food.

Coca-Cola and Cargill Inc. are working to prove the safety of the herb, but in the meantime, Hain plans to change their stevia-containing teas' labels to state that they are supplements, not foods.

 

Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Warning Letter August 17, 2007

 

 

Reuters September 18, 2007

Mercola:

Stevia is a non-caloric herb native to Paraguay that has been used as a sweetener for over 1,500 years in South America. If anyone is doubting its safety, I would encourage them to consider that fact; it is a MAJOR clue that stevia is safe.

 

Stevia has also been used in Japan since the early 1970s to sweeten pickles and other foods.

In the United States, however, the FDA has turned down at least three industry requests to use stevia in foods.

 

Please understand that Japan is not encumbered by the same conflicts of interest as the United States, and most of their research is not directly financed or greatly influenced by the very industry that is seeking to promote a product. So in this environment stevia has proven to be safe.

What is ironic, of course, is that while the FDA is scrutinizing this naturally sweet herb, they maintain a historically generous attitude toward synthetic chemical sweeteners like aspartame and

sucralose.

To use stevia as a commercial food additive would require years of testing. Even though this sweetener has passed the test of time, it is viewed as dangerous until proven otherwise.

 

Not so with the big-name artificial sweeteners on the market; they are innocent until proven guilty.

 

In the United States, stevia has been the subject of searches and seizures, trade complaints, and embargoes on importation. Many believe that the FDA's actions regarding stevia are nothing more than a restraint to trade designed to benefit the artificial sweetener industry.

 

Stevia is not the only natural sweetener that is being unfairly targeted by the FDA. A pair of entrepreneurs tried unsuccessfully to create a natural sweetener based on a West African berry called Synsepalum Dulcificum

, for instance.

However, in 1974 the FDA ruled that their natural product was a food additive that needed years of testing before it could be used commercially. Now here's the kicker: that very same year, the FDA approved the dangerous artificial sweetener aspartame.

Is Stevia Safe for Everyone?

Unlike aspartame and other artificial sweeteners that have been cited for dangerous toxicities, stevia is a safe, natural alternative that's ideal for those watching their weight and anyone interested in maintaining their health by avoiding sugar.

Some don't like its taste, but other than that it is nearly the ideal sweetener.

It is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar and truly has virtually no calories -- unlike the lies and deceptions with regular artificial sweeteners, which are loaded with other sugars to make them flow better.

 

I want to emphasize, however, that if you have insulin issues, I suggest that you avoid sweeteners altogether (including stevia), as they all can decrease your sensitivity to insulin. So if you struggle with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or extra weight then you have insulin sensitivity issues and would benefit from avoiding sweeteners.

 

But for everyone else, if you are going to sweeten your foods and beverages anyway, I strongly encourage you to consider using stevia.

Stevia can be used in appetizers, beverages, soups, salads, vegetables, desserts -- virtually anything! It is, hands down, the best alternative to sugar you will ever taste.

You Want to Know Something REALLY Interesting?

Re-read my recommendation on stevia in the preceding paragraph and realize that if I sold stevia on my site I would be in direct violation of the "law," which specifically restricts anyone from making ANY claim on the use of stevia as a sweetener. Since I don't sell it, I can tell you what I believe.

It truly is amazing how the food industry has manipulated and distorted the laws to serve THEIR purposes -- not for your protection or benefit.

 

If you are a protein or mixed

nutritional type, be sure to check out Luci Lock's video on how to make a

"yummy scrummy" cream soda using stevia and other nutritious ingredients.Finally, if you would like to know more about the startling truth surrounding artificial sweeteners -- and why I don't recommend them -- I encourage you to read my book Sweet Deception.

[Guest guest]

STEVIA – THE SWEETEST SUBSTANCE ON EARTH

 

By Klaus Ferlow

 

What is stevia (stevia rebaudiana)?

 

It is a small shrub in the chrysanthemum family native to portions of Northeastern Paraguay and adjacent sections of Brazil for over 1500 years used by the Guarani Natives, they called it ka’a he’e (sweet herbs), as a sweetener in yerba mate and medicinal teas for testing such conditions as obesity, high blood pressure, and heart burn. It flourishes in the sandy soil of this elevated terrain and may grow to a height of 80cm = 32” and a width of 45 – 60cam = 18 – 24” when it is fully mature. The whole leaf contains numerous phytonutrients and trace minerals.

 

It is between 250 – 300times sweeter than then ordinary, refined “poisonous” table sugar and does not contain the negative side effects reported by using artificial sweetener such as aspartame, neotame, sold commercially under the names of NutraSweet and Canderel, sucralose, commercially sold as splenda. Other artificial sweeteners on the market are saccharin, cyclamate and acesulframe-k. There is not a single sweetener on the market that can claim, beyond reasonable doubt, to be safe for human consumption. In Japan aspartame has been banned.

 

The benefits of stevia are numerous:

1) helps minimize hunger sensations and cravings for sweets or fatty foods

2) aids digestion, decreases hypertension without effecting normal blood pressure

3) stabilizes blood glucose levels, shortens recovery from cold and flu

4) helps with addictions to tobacco and alcohol

5) sweetens any drink with no calories, no carbohydrates, no tooth decay

6) safe to use by diabetics

7) nourishes the pancreas since it does not raise blood glucose levels

8) use in toothpaste prevents cavities and gum disease due to its antibacterial properties.

9) Stable temperature and can be used in baking and cooking and is an excellent weight loss aid

 

More then 500 different studies have been done on stevia’s effectiveness and safety and it has been used for over thirty years in Japan and Japanese manufacturers have added it on in cola, pickling products, chewing gum, ice cream and a wide variety of other foods. Stevia’s sweet taste has a lower onset and longer duration than sugar. Currently people in Japan consume more stevia then any other country and it accounts for 40% of their sweetener market. Unlike sugar, which damages teeth and gums, stevia has been found to be very beneficial. Researchers at the Hiroshima University School of Dentistry and the Purdue University Research team have discovered that stevia retards plaque on teeth and suppresses antibacterial growth.

 

Because this high intensity sweetener is non-fermentable, non-discolouring, maintains heat stability at 95 degree C and features a lengthy shelf life, it is valued by the food processing industry. Major multinational food companies like Coca Cola and Beatrice foods use stevia extract to sweeten foods for sale in Japan, Brazil, and other countries where it is approved. It is cultivated and used in foods in East Asia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Israel and China which is also the largest exporter of stevia extract and powder.

 

However, in North America, stevia can be only sold as a dietary supplement. The US government especially seems to be protecting the powerful sugar industry against its widespread use.

 

In the early 1990’s the FDA, Food and Drug Administration banned stevia, citing a preliminary mutagenicity study. Later, a follow-up study found flaws in the first study and seriously questioned its result. In 1995, the FDA gave stevia the label of “dietary supplement” which means that is safe enough to be consumed in a capsule and as liquid, but not in food. Proponents feel this partial “about face-saving” was an attempt to strike a compromise between the giant sugar industry and the growing natural food industry. Since then, stevia’s popularity has grown dramatically, as has its safety record and tests. But still the FDA and Health Canada (supposed to be protectors of the consumer, but who protects us from the protectors?) refuse to allow it to be called sweetener for food or a food additive.

 

Interesting enough, Agriculture and Agri-Food has a large research effort aimed at developing an agricultural production system in place for stevia, as it did years ago with industrial hemp. Similar soil and climatic conditions exist in Southern Ontario as that found where stevia originated. The Federal Government research site is located in Delhi, Ontario. The Ontario Ministry of Agricultures, Food and Rural Affairs says stevia could potentially become a viable crop instead of tobacco? for Southern Ontario farmers. It is difficult growing stevia from seeds, however, potted stevia seedlings are readily available from mailorder nurseries. Organic gardeners will appreciate stevia’s insect repellent abilities. The plant’s sweetness seems to provide a kind of natural defense against aphids, grasshoppers and other bugs.

 

Words of Wisdom

 

Sugar is an addiction far stronger than what we see with heroin. It is the basic additive substance from which all other addictions flow. Refined sugar and all refined foods such as polished rice, white flour and the like, are nothing than legalized poisons. Abram Hoffer, MD, Ph.D., FRCP ©

 

References:

The Stevia Cookbook, Ray Sahelian, MD & Donna Gates

Sugar Free Cooking with Stevia, James & Tanya Kirkland

www.holisticmed.com/sweet/

www.stevia.net

 

Klaus Ferlow, herbalist, innovator, educator, researcher and writer.