Stevia: The Natural, No-Calorie Sweetener

The "Perfect" Dietary Sweetener?

Stevia seems to have it all. At 300 times sweeter than cane sugar, it has only 1/300th the caloric value�virtually zero calories. Health-conscious consumers like that it's all natural�stevia is derived from a perennial shrub, the stevia, that is native to Paraguay. It has been used by natives of South America for hundreds of years, both as a sweetener and for medicinal purposes, without any reported side effects. It has none of the synthetic chemicals associated with artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame K, and sucralose.

But there's one thing stevia doesn't have: the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval to be sold as a sweetener. Anyone who sells stevia cannot use the word "sweet," or any variation thereof when advertising the product. The FDA has mandated that stevia can be sold only as a "dietary supplement for nutritional benefits." But that's just the "official" stance. The FDA cannot dictate what consumers do with the product once they purchase it. And people are buying it in droves, despite the FDA's attempts to ban it.

Stevia and the FDA: What's the Scoop?

In the early 1980s, stevia became popular in the U.S. and was a common ingredient in herbal teas, including Celestial Seasonings. FDA actions between 1988 and 1998 caused companies to remove stevia from food products and led to the current unregulated �dietary supplement� role of this supplement.

The American Herbal Products Association asked the Herbal Research Foundation to prepare a scientific review of the research on stevia for the FDA. A leading authority on natural nonnutritive sweeteners, A. Douglas Kinghorn, Ph.D., penned the safety review, which was scrutinized by plant safety experts. All concluded that the scientific research and past and current use of the herb supported its safe use as a food.

The FDA did not agree, nor did experts from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Dr. George Pauli of the FDA said the safety data in the review was "nowhere near what we expect." So stevia was refused GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status. Passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, however, allowed stevia to be sold legally as a dietary supplement, but still not as a food additive. This position is not unique to the US FDA. Regulatory authorities in Europe and Canada have also delayed approval of stevia pending further safety evaluations. The World Health Organization has also called for more studies, especially on genetic effects, before considering the establishment of an �acceptable daily intake� level.

So, is Stevia Safe?

Despite widespread use of stevia, especially in Japan, there have been no reports of side effects. In Japan, stevia has been used extensively since the government banned most artificial sweeteners for health reasons in the late 1960s. Partisans of stevia say that the Japanese government's National Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted extensive tests and failed to find any toxicity. The results of these tests do not appear to be available to the world scientific community, at least in non-Japanese versions. In the U.S., Dr. Kinghorn's tests show that a lethal dose of stevia is more than two pounds (more than 480 grams) per day. To put that into perspective, Ray Sahelian, M.D., author of The Stevia Cookbook, notes that even if you replaced all of your daily sugar intake (estimated at 100 grams) with stevia, you would consume a mere 0.3 grams per day�far below the amount that Dr. Sahelian believes to be dangerous to humans.

In addition, Dr. Sahelian claims stevia has a positive effect on health: "If stevia is substituted for sugar then the replacement will have a positive indirect effect because people will not be eating sugar." He also notes that stevia, unlike sugar, does not promote tooth decay.

Medicinal Benefits?

Although many users and a few researchers claim stevia can increase glucose tolerance and decrease blood sugar levels, most experts disagree. "Any claims of health benefits including diabetes and hypoglycemia, I think, are completely unfounded," says Rob McCaleb of the Herb Research Foundation. Dr. Sahelian agrees, noting that "the amounts most people will ingest are small, so it's unlikely to have any medicinal effects."

Savoring the Sweetness of Stevia

Stevia's sweetness (a taste described as licorice-like, with a slight aftertaste) resides in its leaves in substances called glycosides. A major glycoside, stevioside, is extracted from the leaves and used in foods, such as teas, cider, baked goods, and cereals. Purists insist that the whole leaf�not not just the stevioside�is the best way to use stevia. They believe nature intended for herbs to be used whole because all of their components work together. Because stevia is available as a dietary supplement, consumers can choose the form of stevia that best suits their needs. It remains to be determined what effect, good or bad, the use of stevia may have on health

Using the Different Forms of Stevia:

• Concentrated liquid � green-black in color; 70 times as sweet as sugar; use to sweeten coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cereal, and baked goods
• Dried crushed leaves � 30 times as sweet as sugar; usually sold in tea-bag like packets; sprinkle on cereal and other foods
• Concentrated powder � an extract of the glycosides; white or cream in color; 300 times as sweet as sugar; suitable to sweeten foods and beverages and for use in some baked goods