Hidden Places

for Hobbit - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 02:42

~Link: http://www.stevia.net/

~Link: http://www.stevia.net/safety.htm

If you've ever tasted stevia, you know it's extremely sweet. In fact, this remarkable noncaloric herb, native to Paraguay, has been used as a sweetener and flavor enhancer for centuries. But this innocuous-looking plant has also been a focal point of intrigue in the United States in recent years because of actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The subject of searches and seizures, trade complaints and embargoes on importation, stevia has been handled at times by the FDA as if it were an illegal drug.

Since the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), stevia can be sold legally in the United States, but only as a "dietary supplement." Even so, it can be found in many forms in most health-food stores, and is also incorporated into drinks, teas and other items (all labeled as "dietary supplements"). It cannot, however, be called a "sweetener" or even referred to as "sweet." To do so would render the product "adulterated," according to the FDA, and make it again subject to seizure.

The purpose of our Web site is to provide as much information about stevia as possible, from the scientific studies regarding its safety to the petitions submitted by the Lipton Tea Company and the American Herbal Products Association.

Quotes and comments

"According
to the Herb Research Foundation, numerous scientists, and tens of millions
of consumers throughout the world, especially in Japan, the herb is
safe and intensely sweet, which could make it a popular noncaloric
sweetener."
Rob McCaleb,
president, Herb Research Foundation, Boulder, Colo., USA
"...as a scientist
with over 15 years researching the safety of stevia and of many other plants
used as food or food ingredients, I can assure that our conclusions in
these various studies indicate that stevia is safe for human consumption
as
per intended usage, that is, as a sweetener."
Mauro Alvarez,
Ph.D., Brazil

"The petition cites over 120 articles about
stevia written before 1958, and over 900 articles published to date. In
this well-chronicled history of stevia, no author has ever reported any
adverse human health consequences associated with consumption of stevia
leaf."
Supplement to GRAS affirmation petition
no. 4G0406, submitted by the Thomas J. Lipton Company February 3, 1995
"Stevia leaf is a natural product that
has been used for at least 400 years as a food product, principally as
a sweetener or other flavoring agent.  None of this common usage
in foods has indicated any evidence of a safety problem.  There
are no reports of any government agency in any of the above countries
indicating any public health concern whatsoever in connection with
the use of stevia in foods."

Gras affirmation petition submitted
on behalf of the American Herbal Products Association, April 23, 1992
"...various extract forms of stevia have
been extensively studied and tested.  These tests include acute, sub-acute,
carcinogenic evaluation and mutagenicity studies.  These scientific
data, while not directly relevant or required for exemption under the common
use in food proviso, nevertheless demonstrate cumulatively that there
is no safety problem associated with the use of an extract of stevia. It
appear to be extraordinarily safe."
Introduction to GRAS affirmation petition
submitted by the American Herbal Products Association, April 23,
1992

for Hobbit - Sun, 07/13/2008 - 08:55
HAS ANYONE TRIED STEVIA YET WHO HAS JUST LEANED ABOUT IT? Please share your Thoughts if you have :).

for Hobbit - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 17:00
I buy Sweet Leaf Power...

~Product Link: http://www.buywisdom.com/

I have been using it for about two years and I love it.

This book not only tells you how to cook with it, but tell you all about it.

for Devon_Saunders - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 17:00 I'll have to give it a shot next time I see a grocery store.. thanks for the post!

Live life to its fullest... with open arms, an open heart and most importantly, an open mind...

for cougarbreath - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 09:46 I have never heard of this herb. But guess what I am going to learn about today!

This is just one more thing that the gubmint wants to get it's greedy filthy hands on.

for skeptic - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 10:04 You can by it in packets like Sweet & Low or in a liquid. I have Sweet Leaf and Only Sweet. Got them at the regular grocery store. :)

for Kat - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 10:02 ?

for Hobbit - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 22:25 Here is a on-line store with quite a selection of Stevia choices.

Puritan's Pride,

~link: http://www.puritansale.com/pages/iq.asp?SearchText=stevia&afid=27&safid=...

But Swanson has the best price I could find...
~Link: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SHPSearchResult...

I see Sweet Leaf has tablets now, that is new to me. Stevia is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar so you need much less (I use 1/4 teaspoon of Stevia in my coffee and tea where as I used to take 2 teaspoons of sugar).

Another thing you should be aware, not all Stevia products taste the same; so if one brand does not taste good to you, you may want to try another.

Here is the Label on Stevia Plus from Sweet Leaf:

Here is the Label from Swanson Brand Stevia, (notice honey is added):

for Crickett - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 11:43 Well, I have only seen it in powdered green form, and I have to tell ya..I wish I liked it but I do not..it is not just sweet, like sugar or maltitol..it has a green herby taste to it, that I find offensive.

for cougarbreath - Sun, 06/08/2008 - 10:34 Hmmm, growing your own, now that's the ticket.