read time: 497 words, about three minutes

Hope you had a fun Halloween and remembered the chant for living a life in balance… “moderation”

Today we wrap it up for sugar and it’s popular alternatives by looking at Stevia (stee-vee-aah).

Stevia is a native Paraguay shrub.
It’s been used, first by Gaurani Indians, then more broadly for over 1,500 years.

The Indians used it as a sweetener, digestive aid, tonic and topical aid for wound healing.

Stevia has 150 to 400 times the sweetness of sugar; no calories; normalizes blood sugar; does not feed yeast; and has been shown to reduce sweet and fatty food cravings. Stevia is also heat stable up to 392 degrees Fahrenheit, so it can be used in baking and cooking.

Stevia is currently used throughout South America and the Far East.
In the US, prior to the 1980’s it was on the FDA “Generally Regarded As Safe” (GRAS) list. It was then removed from the list (around the time Aspartame came out).
In 1991, the FDA all out banned Stevia tagging it an “unsafe food additive”.

The FDA was forced to remove the ban in 1994 with the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. Stevia can now be labeled a dietary supplement, but cannot be sold as a “sweetener”.

It’s unclear why the FDA pulled Stevia off the GRAS list and why they banned it. There were no reports of related problems.

Currently you can buy stevia in a liquefied whole leaf concentrated form or the dried leaves, much like many other herbs. You can also buy stevia tea. And you can also grow your own stevia. I’ve seen plants in the garden section at our local [1] Long’s store and will likely add one to the garden.

[2] The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a little more reluctant about Stevia.
Noting that a derivative of stevia can be converted into a mutagen in a test tube. And that such chemicals can also sometimes cause cancer, David Schardt, associate nutritionist for CSPI said:
“Until we know whether this mutagen is formed in people, stevia cannot be considered safe,”

Schardt further said:

“Although there is no evidence of harm to people, laboratory studies of stevia have found potential cancer and reproductive-health problems. Stevia depressed sperm production in male rats and reduced the number and size of the offspring of female hamsters. Until those concerns are disproven, stevia should not be used by manufacturers in soft drinks, candy, or other foods,”

So at this point, it hasn’t been proven guilty… and it hasn’t been proven innocent.

Neither Canada nor the EU have approved Stevia as a food additive.

That wraps up our little series on sugar and the popular alternatives… but it sure doesn’t end our sweet information. There’s plenty more to come.
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