A Better Sweetening Alternative

[Guest guest]

A Better Sweetening Alternative

Extract of Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni

 

Much of this site is devoted to the politics of health --- the

unleashing of forces that inhibit natural, inexpensive, non-

proprietary products from reaching mass markets in favor of more

expensive, proprietary (i.e. patentable), less healthful

alternatives. (Early on, we detailed this phenomenon as it relates

to cancer therapies -- also see our instructive Mother Goose parody

on Kah-Kah Cola.)

 

Stevia is another example of this corrupt, political dynamic.

Stevia is a small green plant (Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni, of the

Asteracaea family), which bears leaves that have a very sweet taste

(unprocessed, about 30 times sweeter than sugar by weight; in

extract form, roughly 300 times sweeter). Because Stevia leaves are

so concentrated and so little is needed to replace sugar -- without

all the calories, one would think that this was an ideal substitute.

If people knew about Stevia -- based only on its merits as a

sweetener, who would ever bother to use sugar --- let alone

Aspartame® (Equal®), cyclamates or saccharin? (Read Dr. Samuel

Epstein on the carcinogenicity of all three of these latter

compounds in his book The Politics of Cancer - Revisited. (p. 640))

That's the problem for these larger industrial concerns. People

wouldn't. In Japan, where the attempt to suppress stevia never

caught hold (since their chemical companies are not major players in

the sugar substitute business) stevia is the sugar replacement of

choice. In fact, as of the year 2000, Japan consumed 90% of the

world's supply of stevia leaves.

Enter the Chemical Industrial Mafia.

 

As the esteemed American herbalist Rob McCaleb (founder of Herb

Research Foundation) has noted in his essay, " Stevia Leaf: Too Good

To Be Legal?, " Stevia has been under almost constant regulatory

assault by industry sycophants in the U.S. since 1987. Although the

passage of the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act of 1994 has

provided some relief, continued harassment of Stevia marketers

prevails, which would explain why so few people know about and use

stevia.

 

 

Other Established Nutritional Benefits

Stevia gets its intense sweetness from a small group of naturally-

occurring glycosides (Steviosides, Rebaudiosides and a Dulcoside).

The ingestion of this small mass of glycosides amounts to virtually

no calorie addition to foods --- the basis for its use as a sugar

substitute. But that is not the only nutritional benefit of stevia.

In its native Paraguay and Brazil, stevia is sold as an aid to those

with diabetes and hypoglycemia -- since researchers have amply

demonstrated that stevia helps regulate blood sugar. Though only

anecdotal, users in the U.S. have reported that a small amount taken

with each meal brings blood glucose levels down to normal within a

short period. (Note: each person responds differently, so no patient

should ever experiment on his or her own and make adjustments to

their drug regimen without the oversight of a competent

practitioner).

Other observed benefits of Stevia include:

Weight Control -- As mentioned, the restricted calories assist with

weight control, but so does the noted reduction in the craving for

sweets and supression of hunger in general. Drinking tea that has a

couple of grams of stevia added about 20 minutes before mealtime

will bring about the observed hunger control for most users.

Preliminary research suggests that stevia may " reset " the hunger

mechanisms in people where the pathway between the hypothalamus and

stomach have been obstructed.

Improved Digestion -- Largely anecdotal, but largely reported.

Increased Energy Levels -- Whether or not this reported phenomenon

is related to an absence of the lethargy that a sizeable infusion of

sucrose brings is unclear, but the frequency of the reports merits

further investigations.

Increased Mental Alertness -- We see this repeatedly on the

internet. Our own staffers have not noticed a substantial

difference, but the claim deserves attention.

Below we provide additional helpful links concerning stevia:

 

Stevia.net -- " All About the Herb That Is Sweeter Than Sugar! "

Introduction to Stevia (Donna Gates)

Nutritional & Medicinal Uses

The Scary Truth about Aspartame (Dr. Julian Whitaker)

Original Stevia Petition to U.S. FDA

by American Herbal Products Association (1991)

Stevioside, 'Naturally!' (Dr. R. Elton Johnson, Jr. --

presentation to The Calorie Control Council

Current Status of Stevia (Mark Gold - 1995)

 

 

Conventional Counter

Arguments / Response

CSPI's " Bittersweet Tale " &

Not Ready for Prime Time

Negative Newsroom Announcment

Body Ecology's Counter to CSPI objections

 

Final Comment: The Role of Simple Sugars

As in all things, Stevia should be used in moderation. The Atkin's

and Zone Diet programs (more so with the former) have some people

convinced that all simple sugars (the monosaccharides fitting the H6-

O12-C6 configuration) are bad. Truth is, simple sugars found in

natural foods -- fruits, vegetables, and grains, are an important

part of a healthy diet. To use Stevia to the exclusion of sugars

from those natural food sources would not be adviseable. Our

society's excessive use of table sugar (sucrose), corn fructose, and

other " high DE " (dextrose equivalent) additives has created the

current imbalance to which Stevia can be a valuable corrective tool.

To make proper use of sugars metabolically (and keep blood

triglycerides in check), you should maintain a regular exercise

regimen -- something quite important that no dietary additive can

replace.

 

http://www.altcancer.com/stevia.htm