http://www.care2.com/greenliving/stevia-makes-sweet-progress-with-fda-approval.html
Stevia Makes Sweet Progress with FDA Approval
I love tea. And I love a little something sweet in it. Yet I have learned that it’s better to avoid too much sugar. Not so much for the fear of gaining weight (not exactly my problem) but because sugar tends to feed the wrong kind of processes in our body. So I was happy that, quite a few years ago, I found stevia. Stevia is a plant from the Amazone with very sweet leaves. Stevia is much sweeter than sugar, yet it has no calories or any of the other bad effects that sugar has. Stevia is available in drops and as a powder. You can get it in natural food stores as a supplement. Yes, stevia is not supposed to be an alternative for sugar. It can only be sold as a supplement. At least that was the case until the Food and Drug Administration approved stevia for use as an alternative sweetener in food just a few days ago.
This is a very important breakthrough. Lots of people use “light” versions of all kinds of food products. These products are sweetened with artificial sweeteners like aspartame. These artificial sweeteners have been suspect. Some studies seem to indicate that they are carcinogenic. Others suggest that they support rather than fight obesity. Although science may not have given the final verdict on these artificial sweeteners yet, there are good reasons to avoid these as much as possible.
All major food companies are familiar with the possibilities of stevia. However until the recent FDA decision the manufacturers of artificial sweeteners have been successful in blocking the entry of stevia to the sweetener market. They have used a lot of money and bad science to prevent the entry of stevia, which–as a plant–contrary to the artificial sweeteners cannot be patented.
So the new year begins with some sweet progress. Look at the label of your light soft drink in the months ahead. And, in the mean time, do buy some drops to sweeten your tea. Highly recommended.
Jurriaan Kamp is the founder and editor of Ode Magazine, the magazine for intelligent optimists.
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44 comments
add your comment »body ecology is a cool web site. thank you for the info.
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Lakanto is even better than stevia, it tastes better and even bakes like sugar. It's all-natural and safe for diabetics. I love Lakanto. I think you can only buy it online at bodyecology.com, but it's worth it!
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I am so glad that the word about stevia is getting out there, my uncle has diabetes and him and his wife use artificial sweeteners. Uck. Hopefully this can provide an alternative for so many with this illness.
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I already use the stuff. I've got a shaker that I've had for over a year, bought at Kroger in Wheeling, WV. It does taste a lot like artificial sweetner, though. Still, It's good for fighting yeast overgrowth, and can have a laxative effect if enough is used.
Honey is not vegan, and adds calories. Those are my reasons for not using honey. I can't speak for anyone else, though.
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What about honey?
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Just a side note on xylitol, it's toxic to animals. Sugar free gums are a big offender. This ingredient ususally doesn't have the amount listed on the gum, but the average is 0.5-1mg per piece, as little as 0.1mg/kg can be toxic (about one piece of gum can kill a small dog.) It's best not to have this in a household with animals, but if you do, please keep it well out of reach.
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I got a stevia plant in my Environmental Science class when Dr. Dhiir visited - he works with bioengineering and such. The plant's still sitting on my table in it's little lab-box thing... I'm glad that it's been approved, but I'm not using mine.
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stevia has a slight taste to it, though. a company in my country applied for a loan from my dad's bank and we got some samples. i think if you're picky about having your tea taste 'traditionally' maybe you may not like stevia. but, if you actually like the taste, or use it to sweeten bitter drinks like coffee, or are not picky, it's a good alternative. soft drink companies already use it to replace sugar, as they need so much less of it (you need less of stevia to effect the same sweetness level). over here, they're having some trouble with the retail market, who are used to sugar, i guess, but manufacturers are ok with it already.
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I am very pleased to hear this and its a long time in coming to recognise it as a safe sugar. I weaned myeslf off sugar years ago and anything with more sugar than it should have is awful. I dont take in beverages either. Its a great plus for all diabetics and dieters. Now we have to convince the aspartame users NOT to ingest it. Then get to the food and drink manufacturers and plead with them to add Stevia instead of ugh Aspartame so that Dieters and Diabetics can cope and live a better life.
Im an aspartame victim.
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That's great news! I use it in certain things (like tea) and sugar in other things. Just to cut back on sugar, but I can't use all sugar substitutes because they are too expensive.
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