Facts about Stevia Sweetener

Have you ever wondered about stevia toxicity? Dr. Julian Whitaker claims that the FDA has tried to prohibit the use of a sweetener that is totally safe. He writes that many people use those non-nutritive, no-calorie sweeteners in those little packets—you know what they are—in their coffee and soft drinks instead of refined sugar. These sweeteners contain aspartame which was first approved by the FDA in 1974.

At one point, their approval was rescinded because of studies indicating that the substance caused brain tumors in the (poor little abused—my words, not his) laboratory animals. These studies were never denied and aspartame was approved (in 1983 for soft drinks) in spite of the studies.

According to the National Cancer Institutes, there was a remarkable jump in the incidence of brain tumors in 1983-1987, rising from 2.1% to 8.1% in males and 2.1% to 11.7% in females.

For people who want to avoid calories, there’s no reason to take a chance with aspartame when there’s stevia, a natural herb that’s been used in other countries, such as South America, for centuries. In Japan, for example, it supposedly claims 41% of the sweetener market.

The powdered concentrate is 300% sweeter than sugar, and there have not been any toxicity reports.

Finally, in 2008 the FDA approved the stevia sweetener as a safe for use in foods.

Growing Stevia

According to my research, Stevia rebaudiana is a tender perennial native to the semi-humid subtropical regions of Brazil and Paraguay. It doesn’t like to dry out but it doesn’t like standing water, either.

In North America, it will only survive winters in the warmest areas such as Florida, Mexico and southern California. I don’t believe it will make it here in the mountains of the southern Appalachians, so I’ll bring it indoors before the first frost and see how it does in a sunny window.

Quite early on I did succumb to temptation and nibbled on a leaf. It was incredibly sweet! Too sweet for me, actually. At first I thought, yes, it IS 300 times sweeter than sugar!

But that is the powdered concentrate. The leaves themselves are said to be 10-15 times sweeter that table sugar, and that’s still very sweet.

The various stevia products are described as having a somewhat bitter aftertaste, a characteristic of licorice. I can’t vouch for that, since I haven’t tested it often enough.

The forms of stevia include fresh or dried leaves, liquid extracts, and powdered extracts.

Return to Healthy Eating Guidelines from Stevia Sweetener.