Does anyone know if Stevia is a safe sugar substitute? It's now being sold in powdered form in my health food store. Previously, they only had it in liquid form, and it was nasty.
Nancy
In Reply to: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Nancy on August 04, 1998 at 18:35:28:
Nancy
I've only used it for a few weeks and I've had no problems.
Steven who posted on the ER4YT board said that he remembered reading something about BP lowering benefits. I love it. I think lemonade sweetened with stevia
is a good substitute for soft drinks.
Tom
In Reply to: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Nancy on August 04, 1998 at 18:35:28:
Dear Nancy,
YES, for all but the sugar & aspartame industries (grin).
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Walt Stoll on August 05, 1998 at 13:39:49:
Walt
Thanks.
Nancy
In Reply to: Re: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Tom on August 04, 1998 at 20:00:18:
Tom
What brand and in what form do you use the Stevia?
In Reply to: Re: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Nancy on August 05, 1998 at 17:38:26:
I use stevia in the powdered format (that's all I could find localy) as the sweetner in homemade bread.
I think Walt's comment that it is safe for everyone but the aspertame etc. manufacturers is right to the point. There have been moves to put strict controls on the use of stevia. I can't help but think Nutrasweet is behind this.
Peter
In Reply to: Re: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Peter Wray on August 06, 1998 at 20:54:06:
Peter
Do you know how much of it is = a tsp. of sugar? It's not all that sweet, is it? And very expensive, too. I use about as much of it as I would of sugar. What brand to you use?
Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Walt Stoll on August 05, 1998 at 13:39:49:
Interesting that the FDA is calling for the destruction of Books on the herbal supplement "Stevia". On May 19, 1198 FDA Compliance Officer James R. Lahar faxed a letter to Stevita, a Texas Import Company , addressing the destruction
of 2,500 books he deemed "offending" at the cost to the company well inexcess of $10,000. The letter further threatens that investigators will conduct a current inventory and "witness the destruction of the cookbooks, literature and other publications for the purpose of verifying compliance" upon visiting Stevita for the fourth time this year!!!
Legal action against the FDA is pending as of June 18, 1998. If you believe that this is a clear violation of our Constitutional First Amendment rights, please let your government representative know your feelings immediately at the website: http://www.steviapetition.org or via phone
calls and letters. Stevia Co. officials and the authors of
the banned books need to know of your support as well.
In Reply to: Re: Is Stevia a safe sweetener? posted by Nancy on August 09, 1998 at 23:56:56:
Nancy,
I have tried several brands and found "Wisdom of the Ancients" to be the best tasting. In fact, the only one I truly enjoy in lemonade.
Every brand has a different ratio to a cup of sugar. This brand is 1/4 tsp of powder or 1/3 tsp of clear liquid to = 1 cup of sugar. I find this to be very accurate. The clear extract also does NOT have an alcohol base as some do. The ONLY time I get a bitter after taste is when I use too much.
A 2oz bottle of liquid or a 1oz bottle of powdered cost $13.98.
Your local health food store should carry it or be able to order. If you prefer mail order you can call 1-800-899-9908. I requested info on their products and they sent me a whole packet of info free.
Hope this helps,
Gail
In Reply to: Re: Stevia..FDA calls for destruction of all books!!! posted by Patricia on August 10, 1998 at 09:28:51:
Thanks, Pat, for the "heads up"!
This is a great example of the lengths that commercial interests will go to avoid compettion AND the pressure they can bring to bear on governmental agencies that are supposed to protect the public from exactly this sort of thing.
Stevia has been used for thousands of years without even one report of damage to anyone. This is not dangerous to anyone except the sugar & aspartame industries.
This is just one more reaming by the system. How many more will it take before people will decide not to take it any more??????????
Walt