Sport Something about Stevia

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Since everytime Stevia is mentioned around here people seem to say the same kinds of things. It may very well be a perfectly healthy sweetener, I don't know and thats not my point here so don't take it wrong but somebody always says (and there are websites that say it too) that Stevia is used to sweeten diet Coke in Canada and Japan.

I have been in every part of Canada within the last six months and every can of Diet Coke I have seen is sweetened with Acesulfame and Aspartame same as in USA. I have a friend in Japan who assures me that the ingredients in his Diet Coke as of 1 hour ago are the same as the ingredients in my Diet Coke in Vancouver, BC Canada.

I don't have anything against Stevia at all keep in mind but I do have something against websites that try and convince you that a product is widely used everywhere else and therefore completely safe when it is in fact not widely used. There are Canadian websites that proclaim Stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan and Europe as well and it is just not a fact.

Anyway thats my rant for the day.
 
Who said Stevia was safe? It tastes nasty, and many studies have shown it has all kinds of random detrimental effects.

I'm Canadian, too, and I've never seen it on the ingredients list of any diet soda...was wondering about that myself.

I'll take my Splenda, in small doses, when necessary, thank you very much.
 
[Focus] said:
I'm kinda spent from all the thought I just put into my reply in the meal frequency thread, Nicole, so I'm going to be lazy and say: check out this t-nation thread on sucralose for an interesting (and yes, relevant) read.

I think Stevia's even a banned substance in the UK.
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I'm really tired right now and about to go to bed but I did look at the article. One of the first things the author shrugs off is how the FDA had practically issued war with the substance. He says he has no idea what the "hidden agenda" would be to keep stevia out of the loop as a sweetner acting as though it's all a pipedream. It's obvious that banning stevia is just another way that the american goverment sucks up to big corporations. Much like the cattle industry.

I think I'm about to rant. I'm going to end this right now by saying that I use stevia in all my tea, coffee and foods and have never had any ill side effects. If I so much as eat some hard candy with aspartame I get a terrible migraine and will feel like crap until the next day. MANY people have this reaction. Yet it's an approved substance. My conclusion? Who cares what our government has to say about sweetners because they obviously do have a "hidden agenda".

~Nicole
 
calcium said:
I'm really tired right now and about to go to bed but I did look at the article. One of the first things the author shrugs off is how the FDA had practically issued war with the substance. He says he has no idea what the "hidden agenda" would be to keep stevia out of the loop as a sweetner acting as though it's all a pipedream. It's obvious that banning stevia is just another way that the american goverment sucks up to big corporations. Much like the cattle industry.

I think I'm about to rant. I'm going to end this right now by saying that I use stevia in all my tea, coffee and foods and have never had any ill side effects. If I so much as eat some hard candy with aspartame I get a terrible migraine and will feel like crap until the next day. MANY people have this reaction. Yet it's an approved substance. My conclusion? Who cares what our government has to say about sweetners because they obviously do have a "hidden agenda".

~Nicole
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Well said Nicole, now for my rant ;)
I also get server head aches when i consume products containing large amounts of Aspartame

First off, nearly 5 years ago my Mother decided to quite smoking and eat right and so on. She went completely organic, dumped all sodas,white sugar,artificial sugars and any other crap that was harming her body. Since this time she has used nothing but Stevia exclusively, how many times a day for the past 5 years? EVERY DAY, each and every day she drinks a pitcher of Organic green tea sweetened with Stevia. Any "Harmful" affects on me or her? Or my lousy sister? oh how about My sis entire family including her three kids and her Boyfriend they have all been using it for at least a couple of years. Nope nothing bad ;) just drops in blood pressure, no more tooth decay among the kids, no more hyper activity among the kids when having a sweet drink, and it works great for her Bf who has Type 2 diabetes.

Now that my family history story is out of the way im moving on to the Evidence.

What is it? Stevia comes from a small plant grown throughout Latin America as well in some parts of the southwestern United States. It has been used for 1000's of years throughout Africa,American Indians and other cultures around the globe. It has Many Many times the sweetness of normal sugar yet no calories, and does not rot your teeth.

WHAT does it do?

Well a report from "Hiroshima University School Of Dentistry" stated that stevia Actually suppresses dental bacteria growth rather then feeding it as normal sugars do. Other studies have shown it to have a Beneficial impact on Blood Sugar levels (likely because Stevia does not affect Blood sugar levels at all however your no longer eating regular sugar that does. ) For example one study where Stevia was given To 24 patients who had Hypoglycemia (1). Another study was done on people with Diabetic Patients (2). Actually NO harmful have every been proved beyond speculation and guesses. In fact Japanese and Latin American scientist have discovered other Good attributes of stevia including (but not limited to) Tonic,reduce Mental and physical fatigue,Helps with Digestion, Regulates Blood Pressure, and can assist in weight loss(3)

Did i mention Its chemical structure does not change under heat? As most normal sugars do. And last quite a while 1-3 drops will sweeten an entire cup of most liquids.

Stevia has no calcium cyclamate, no saccharin, no aspartame, and no calories. It is safe for diabetics as it does not Adverse affect blood sugar levels; it does not have the neurological or renal side effects of NutraSweet; and it does not cause cancer or other toxic side effects in laboratory animals.

Their is i will admit, some debate over the health safety of stevia, but the research is so little in comparison to that of Aspartame and other Artificial sweeteners. Not to mention, please someone cite me an Independent study conducted that found anything harmful about the product?

Now i could go on and cite more studys showing the Benefits of stevia and show you the 97 year old i know who has used nothing but stevia almost her entire long life.

Here you want to hear some real evidence against Americas favorite sweetener?


(the above link does not advertise a product nor sell anything, it is an independent news distribution center.)
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1. International congress series International Federation of Diabetes,Buenos Aires, no.209

2. Miguel,O. A new oral Hypoglycemate. Meical review of paraguay 8. No. 5 and 6, p200

3. Kinghorn,A.D. and Soejarto, D.D Current Status of Stevioside as a sweetening agent for human use. Economic and medicinal plant research.
 
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Who said anything about aspartame being okay? I avoid that stuff like the plague..though I've never myself experienced any problems as a result of taking in mass quantities of it, or known anyone who has.

I like Splenda (sucralose) because it's been around for a while, is actually made from sugar, and contains no aspartame. Nicole, what I found pertinent in the article is his statement that most of the studies done on Stevia that conclude it's good stuff was funded by people who are in some way involved in selling the stuff. If it works for you, by all means. I was merely stating my opinion..didn't mean to upset you. :)

Silent, who said anything about aspartame? What's with the spin tactics? I'm reading you saying "Stevia isn't bad because aspartame is the devil!" The majority of independent studies show that Stevia has harmful effects..it's the studies sponsored by people selling Stevia that show it to be beneficial, or okay. Same as with most other sweeteners. The people you cite as having used it for thousands of years also used hallucinogenic drugs and extreme forms of self-mutilation on a regular basis (which I hope we can all agree are bad for you? :p), so that's not exactly a convincing argument for me.

I'll try to dig up some of the studies I've read for ya, but I'm not making stuff up to badmouth your favorite sweetener. I'm just saying that what testing has been done shows some pretty sketchy results that make me unwilling to risk it..even if it didn't taste awful, to me. :p
 
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[Focus] said:
The majority of independent studies show that Stevia has harmful effects..it's the studies sponsored by people selling Stevia that show it to be beneficial, or okay. Same as with most other sweeteners.
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Stevia is An organic compound, meaning it can not be patented therefor their is no single distributor so their are no studies funded by the people who sell it.

None the less show me what you have ;)
 
That's like saying there are no studies on smoking tobacco funded by the people who sell it, because tobacco itself can't be patented. Come on, man. :p

I'll try to find some a little later..gotta update my journal. ^_^
 
Focus - I was comparing aspartame to stevia because the article you sent me was implying that stevia was not approved in America because it may be harmfull. You also pointed out that it may be banned in the UK. I just wanted to show how that's not a good way to assess the quality of a sweetner since there are FDA approved sweetners that are harmful to our bodies (such as aspartame).

For the recond I have nothing against sucralose. I haven't experienced any ill side effects from it. But if I'm going to pick a no calorie sweetner I'm going to pick the one that nature made for us rather than a scientist. Plus, I just like how stevia tastes.

For people who thinks stevia tastes like crap I would like to know: which brands have you tried? Some are full of fillers and are therefore not pure stevia and I would agree that it tastes like crap.

Ok, I have to go workout.

~Nicole
 
Well now..those are definitely some good points. I've only tried NOW and some other brand of Stevia, so I'm really a biased jerk, it's true.

As for FDA approval, I concede, that's not exactly the end-all in what's good for you and what's not. I didn't mean to imply that it's bad 'cause the FDA says so..I was referring to the possible reasons why it wasn't approved, and choosing to overlook corporate shenanigans, which may well be a bigger factor than the research.

As far as nature vs. science..though I generally agree, I'm very leery of herbal "supplements." Too many horror stories. How do we know nature made Stevia as a sweetener and not a well-disguised poison? Scientific testing is the only method available that I would trust to determine the answer. I'm not saying that anecdotal evidence, like what Silent provided regarding his family's (and some cultures') historical use of Stevia without seeming harm, isn't a worthwhile consideration. It's just that a lot of herbs that are sold to people here in North America haven't been properly tested and generally aren't regulated...so the thought of ingesting any of them makes me anxious. I even include common spices in this category..I figure, if it's relatively unknown (and non-essential), why put it in my system? ^_^

Now if only I could learn to do without the occasional sweetener in my oatmeal or protein bars...and somehow learn to like the taste of plain whey, the above statement wouldn't make me a huge hypocrite. :D
 
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I think the idea of worry over an herb is absurd. when In 1998 an extensive study published in the reputable Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that 106,000 people die each year in American hospitals from medication side effects.

Yet you want to worry about an herb that no one has ever reported a death from? In July of 2000 there was a great article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that showed how 225,000 deaths per year from unnecessary surgery,medication errors in hospitals, infections in hospitals,non-error, negative effects of drugs, and other errors in hospitals. Which would make "Science" the 3rd leading cause of death in the US. Though you want to worry over an herb? to me thats just funny. By no means am i saying anything is wrong with Science or anything like that. however in comparison to modern medicine an herb is really quite trivial when talking about the "Safety" of it.
 
(Silent) said:
I think the idea of worry over an herb is absurd. when In 1998 an extensive study published in the reputable Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that 106,000 people die each year in American hospitals from medication side effects.
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How many large-scale studies of that nature have been done on herbal supplements? Chances are many people suffer from health complications and/or death as a result of herb use as well.

(Silent) said:
Yet you want to worry about an herb that no one has ever reported a death from? In July of 2000 there was a great article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that showed how 225,000 deaths per year from unnecessary surgery,medication errors in hospitals, infections in hospitals,non-error, negative effects of drugs, and other errors in hospitals. Which would make "Science" the 3rd leading cause of death in the US. Though you want to worry over an herb? to me thats just funny. By no means am i saying anything is wrong with Science or anything like that. however in comparison to modern medicine an herb is really quite trivial when talking about the "Safety" of it.
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Just because "no one's ever reported a death from it" doesn't make it safe. Has anyone reported a death from aspartame? Many herbs are extremely potent. Their effects are not often trivial by any definition.

And how does human error make science the culprit, Silent? What's the ratio of people who would have died without the intervention of medical science to the number of people who died as a result of human error in the application of science? Whatever it is, and I suspect it's something greater than 10:1, it doesn't change the fact that medical science is not to blame.

I've never had any surgery (except for circumcision..which was involuntary, obviously), taken any medication despite having some good reasons to (other than vaccinations..once again involuntary), or used any herbal supplement other than Stevia itself (a total of three times). Yet here I am, perfectly healthy, despite some very poor treatment of my body. As such, I don't think my view is "absurd." :)

It may be the result of good genetics and egotism, but absurd?
 
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The discussion is not about whether or not modern medicine is affective (no one doubts that) however again we are talking about the safety of Stevia and i am simply comparing.

Focus i can tell you the Chemical make up of quite a number of some common herbs. Herbs are simply foods, usually derived from plants. Your thinking of them as if their something entirely different.

And for the record the death rate for the facts i gave you broke down like this
12,000 - unnecessary surgery
7,000 - medication errors in hospitals
20,000 - other errors in hospitals
80,000 - infections in hospitals
106,000 - non-error, negative effects of drugs
 
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@Silent:

Herb (ûrb, hûrb) , name for any plant that is used medicinally or as a spice and for the useful product of such a plant. Herbs as condiments and seasonings are still important in culinary art; the use of medicinal herbs, however, has waned since the advent of prescription and synthetic medicines, although plants remain a major source of drugs. The term herb is also applied to all herbaceous plants as distinguished from woody plants.

Herb Pronunciation (ûrb, hûrb)

1. A plant whose stem does not produce woody, persistent tissue and generally dies back at the end of each growing season.
2. Any of various often aromatic plants used especially in medicine or as seasoning.

I think we can agree that Stevia itself would probably being classified as a seasoning, but nonetheless, it's a herb. I think you're using the word "herb" where most people would use the word "seasoning" or "spice."

As for your breakdown of the statistics..the fact remains, they're all the result of human error in the development or application of medicine. If you mean to say that comparably, drugs are a more serious concern..I would probably agree, but many drugs are derived from herbs. Also, most drugs go through much more rigorous testing before being available for use than do herbal supplements.

We're getting pretty off-topic here, I'll just leave it at (addressing the original post with): it's up to the consumer to inform him/herself as well as possible and make the final decision as to whether or not to use a substance. Be it a seasoning, herbal supplement, supplement, medicinal herb, or medicine, it's important to learn as much as you can and relate it to your perspective and values rather than just unquestioningly accepting the word of others. :)
 
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stevia

i've been doing a lot of research about stevia and to FOCUS the majority of the studies done show that it is safe. you stated that the majority of the studies stating this advocated stevia usage, so don't you think the same applied for the study of sucralose? the WHO stated that there is no genotoxic affects from using stevia and that in patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes, it actually decreased blood pressure and helped with the delivery of insulin.
 
i use stevia every day in my coffee. i happen to like it. i think it's better than any other sweetener out there and doesn't leave that nasty after taste that the other ones do. but that's just me.
 
Well, According to the National News here in Canada the government is actually going to pony up some cash to thoroughly study Stevia. Turns out it grows quite well in an area of Canada that has traditionally been tobacco farming country and they would like to get those farmers a new cash crop so they are going to put some money into studying the stuff. Maybe they will come up with some definitive answers, or at the least some good research.
 
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