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Stevia Sweetener - Is it safe?

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bluestar

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I have just been reading abouth this other type of sweetener. Stevia. Has anyone had of it, or using it?
I would like to know more about it? Some say it is better/safer that splenda. Could they be right? :?
 
bluestar said:
I have just been reading abouth this other type of sweetener. Stevia. Has anyone had of it, or using it?
I would like to know more about it? Some say it is better/safer that splenda. Could they be right? :?
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I just had some in a coffee, tasted good to me. First time I have ever had it so can't comment on it yet.
 
I think I've read previously about some unpleasant side effects - but can't remember where.
 
Hi !

My husband came home with a bottle of AGAVE NECTAR (!) for me. It is of plant origin, organic, low Gi, and natural with nothing added. It looks like runny honey in a squirty bottle and is made by GROOVY FOODS. He got it in Sainsburys.

In coffee, it's fab.

I'd definitely recommend it.

CathyN x
 
I have been using stevia for a while. It has a slight aftertaste, which I find acceptable.

I use a combination of sweeteners when I sweeten things - Splenda (tablets), xylitol, erythritol and use different sweeteners in differnt things.

Stevia is used arund the world, especialy in the far east and south America. It has only just become legal here, the doubts about its safety, I beleive, came from the sugar industry.
 

I use Agave nectar to sweeten yoghurts and it is very tasty. But remember it is very high in sugar, it's better than using cane sugar but it does still contain a very high level of carbohydrate per 100g so use it sparingly
 
I use Stevia tabs and granular I find it fine for cooking and in tea and coffee, at least it is natural and has been used for hundreds of years in south America. I don't trust the other sweeteners to many bad press publications, especially Splender with was found by accident while trying to make a pesticide? I believe the coka cola company are now producing some of their products using it, and it is widely used in Japan.
 
I have used Stevia and it is acceptable to my BGLs but has an aftertaste and doesn't do well in baking. I now use Xylitol granulated and it also doesn't impact my BGLs and holds it's sweetness when used at over 170C. Agave is horrendous for my Blood so threw out a whole bottle of the stuff.
I have the Stevia plant growing in my garden and if I chew on a leaf it is very sweet. Must try it in cooking my rhubarb from the leaf form. The product is readily available in Australia and has passed our food standards testing.
Alison
 
Thanks everyone for your helpful replies. Does anyone know where I can buy the plant from so that I can grow it myself.
 
As far as I'm aware both Stevia and Splenda are very safe
Using either of them is a matter of personal taste. Their flavours are slightly different.
Hana
 
truvia contains polyols...

also the nutrition facts table on the packet lists that it has carbs... but no calories... the Truvia website claims it's perfectly safe for diabetics as the carbs have no effect on blood sugars...

It's the polyol content that worries me... they have a laxative effect if too much is consumed in a day...
 
If I was going to use Stevia as a sweetener then I'd grow my own herb at home and dry the leaves to use in cooking, tea etc that way I know exactly what I'm consuming. I believe the Stevia herb itself is safe but I have no trust in the manufacturing process involved by these large sweetener companies and I do not trust their claims that their product is safe. This is just my personal view based on what I have read and my belief that large companies like this will put profit before customer health.

This might be interesting, taken from Wikipedia:

"Rebiana is the trade name for high-purity rebaudioside A[1], a Steviol glycoside which when used as a non-nutritive sweetener is 200 times sweeter than sugar.[2] It is the primary source of sweetness in the Truvia sweetener brand. According to the Truvia website, Rebiana is derived from Stevia leaves by steeping them in water.[3] The Guardian newspaper provides an alternative view of this claim - "In fact, Coca Cola's patent describes a 42-step procedure to derive Rebiana from the stevia leaves, using such country chemicals as acetone, methanol, acetonitrile, isopropanol, tert-butanol and "mixtures thereof". Whether Truvia can truly be classed "natural" seems, at the least, semantic.""

Someone earlier asked where to get seeds from. There are some available on Ebay, apparently it is very difficult to germinate the seeds so might be better to buy the plant from a garden centre (some online garden nurseries are selling the plant, google).
 
Well according to expert toxicologist Professor Alan Boobis of the Imperial College London who was interviewed on the BBC's Bang Goes The Theory the other week all sweeteners are completely safe and there is not one scrap of evidence that they are not at least when eaten in the small amounts that they are supposed to be used in. check iPlayer link at 23.00 minutes.

The program was all about sugar and is definitely worth a watch if you missed it. It explains amongst other things how liver fat can lead to diabetes.

Series 7, episode 3 Everything you could possibly want to know about sugar on iPlayer now http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... Episode_3/
 
Sid Bonkers said:
...when eaten in the small amounts that they are supposed to be used in. ...
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Ah, there's the rub. There are many people like me who experience a sort of addictive relationship to sweeteners, natural or not, and have great difficulty eating them in the recommended "small amounts".
 
iv been using stevia for 5 years no adverse effects i use the liquid organic version from trader joes a little expensive but worth it
 
SweetLucie said:
Why are people eating sweeteners at all?
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Easy answer - because they want the sweetness. Your post is a bit off topic from the original question which was is stevia safe. Now the question of why people still use sweetners is a good one and think it merits it own thread which I will let you create as it was your question.
 
It's like everything - it depends how much you have. I use Zylitol and, whilst i do not have it in tea or coffee, I have a teaspoon if I have porridge for b/fast which causes no issues at all!
 
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