Safe Stevia

For many years the FDA has been making a concerted effort to block the general use of stevia as a safe sweetener while it allows carcinogenic aspartame and the highly toxic chlorinated hyrocarbon insecticide substance known as sucralose (Splenda) to be sold in thousands of products and packages.

I suppose you have to wonder whose zooming whom in this scenario.

Aspartame, as we know from the science, can cause reproductive and fetal problems, cardiovascular issues, tumours and more. It does - when exposed to heat (about 85 degrees) disintegrate into formaldehyde-methyl alcohol-and a tumour forming chemical. And you thought this was safe. NOT!

Stevia extract has been used for thousands of years as a sweetener. It's known to be safe (that is, outside the walls of the Rockville Ranch) and it won't give you diabetes {some new studies show that stevia (see related articles in this BLOG)seems to help prevent you from developing diabetes} and protects you from cavities.

Maybe questioning the government's motive is the clue...

FDA warns about herbal tea sweetener risk
Additive used in some Celestial Seasonings drinks raises 'safety concerns'

WASHINGTON - U.S. health regulators warned Hain Celestial Group Inc about a potentially unsafe herb in some of its herbal teas, saying it might be dangerous to blood sugar, reproductive, cardiovascular and renal systems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to Hain dated August 17 calling the herb, a natural sweetener made from a South American herb called stevia, “an unsafe food additive.” The agency released the letter on its Web site on Tuesday.

Stevia is being eyed by big beverage makers looking for new low-calorie sweeteners. In May, Coca-Cola Co and Cargill Inc said they would work together to market the new sweetener, despite lack of FDA approval. Stevia has been approved in a dozen other countries including Japan, China and Brazil.

The FDA letter said that although it has received requests to use stevia in food, “data and information necessary to support the safe use have been lacking.”

It also said “literature reports have raised safety concerns,” including those “about control of blood sugar, and the effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular and renal systems.”

A spokeswoman for Boulder, Colorado-based Hain had no immediate comment.