The small quiet conspiracy: FDA and Saccharin vrs, Stevia

Not all conspiracies revolve around these huge dramatic events. Quit often they involve the most mundane, everyday, rather ordinary things… take for instance the conspiracy between Aspartame [Sweet `N Low] the FDA and this lowly little obscure plant called Stevia (Stevia Rebaudiana)…
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a9e4ea783801.jpg[/atsimg]
It’s no secret that food products is huge business… think of the millions of dollars that went into the research that ultimately gave us a product like Saccharin? Think of the money it must bring in daily, the tens of thousands of workers involved from its production, packaging to distribution, all to make sure that little pink packet is there on the table for you.
Did you know that back in 1978 the FDA tried to ban saccharin, found in sweet `n low because it was linked to cancer in laboratory animals? It took an act of congress to stop the ban, but the stuff is so bad for your health, (known to cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and worse…) that all products containing saccharin must carry a warning label!

Now imagine if you would a lowly plant that’s sweeter than sugar and almost calorie free! Imagine a plant that that doesn’t cause the after eating spike that so often aggravates diabetes? Imagine a plant whose single leaf is fifteen times sweeter then table sugar; the commercial extract they make from it is an astounding 250 times as sweet! One teaspoon of the stuff is as sweet as three cups of sugar yet has only 8 calories! Imagine a plant that can lower your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and protect against heart disease! Now imagine the nightmares the exec’s of these massive food companies must have at the knowledge that this lowly plant is one you could easily grow yourself?

We all know big business is not to be denied and sure enough the FDA received an “Anonymous” complaint accusing Stevia of causing cancer, a charge that would prove to be false but with some not so little bribes to the right people, got big business what they wanted. In 1991 the FDA banned Stevia as an unsafe food!

This ban did draw protest from those who knew better and the ban was stricken down in 1994 when the Dietary Supplement health and education act forced the FDA to reverse its ruling. FYI now, even Coca-cola will be offering drinks sweetened with Stevia… In real case studies not only did they find nothing wrong with it, turned out Stevia is really good for you! Seems a shame those big businessmen spent all that cash on bribes when they could have brought it to market themselves…

Well that’s the story; you can try growing this native of Brazil and Paraguay yourselves. The seeds are hard to start so buy it as a plant. easy to find on the Internet and your local nursery. Down in the southern US Florida and California they treat it as a perennial, most of the rest of us treat it as an annual. Stevia is sweatiest right when the blossoms come out in late summer early fall. The plant reaches about three feet tall and you dry and powder the leaves and use like you would sugar…

Learn more here

Good post. In the first paragraph you seem to state Aspartame is Sweet-n-Low. Just to clarify: Aspartame is Nutrisweet, saccharine is Sweet-n-Low.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
We all know big business is not to be denied and sure enough the FDA received an “Anonymous” complaint accusing Stevia of causing cancer, a charge that would prove to be false but with some not so little bribes to the right people, got big business what they wanted. In 1991 the FDA banned Stevia as an unsafe food!

Great thread.

S & F

Always good to read your threads.

I'm pretty sure those Fine people over at Monsanto or some-other bloodsuckers are probably squirreled away at some hidden lab busy at work trying to engineer the tiniest most insignificant change so they can turn around and patent the whole thing as their own creation and corner the markets. Taking credit for God/Mother Natures work as their own.

I don't eat sweet food generally, but use Stevia to sweeten my coffee. It's great!

Great thread! It's important to get this information OUT THERE!

Originally posted by Toromos
Good post. In the first paragraph you seem to state Aspartame is Sweet-n-Low. Just to clarify: Aspartame is Nutrisweet, saccharine is Sweet-n-Low.


My most humble apologies but what it comes down to is Aspartame and Saccharine only differ by a couple of molecules... basically it's all the same stuff... still thanks for the correction

reply to post by DaddyBare


Excellent post DaddyBare,

It drives me nuts trying to find things for the kids that don't contain those poisons Aspartame (now rebadged) and all the other artificial poisons posing as sugar.

This is something i'm definitely going to look further into.

It's the first i've ever heard of it, thanks.

reply to post by DaddyBare


DaddyBare, Great Post, S&F!

Looks like someone wants a piece of the pie...

Stevia Firm GLG Says 2009 Revenue Climbs 323%
www.flex-news-food.com...

I found that stevia has that artificial sweetner aftertaste...so if you know anyone that says "I am used to the flavor of Art.Swtnr and cant stand sugar anymore" this is perfect for them. if your like me you try to convince your friends and family not to poison themselves but man do they have excuses! I saw this in Home depot and walmart this year so it is easy to come by and grows like a weed! You can even throw it in a tea ball with your herbs and sweeten your tea up a bit.

reply to post by burntheships


What I find most remarkable is how well this company is doing with this product in such a short time... The FDA only approved Stevia for use in food products two short years ago.

In December 2008, the FDA gave a "no objection" approval for GRAS status to Truvia (developed by Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company) and PureVia (developed by PepsiCo and the Whole Earth Sweetener Company, a subsidiary of Merisant), both of which use rebaudioside A derived from the Stevia plant.

Originally posted by spikey
reply to post by DaddyBare

 

Excellent post DaddyBare,

It drives me nuts trying to find things for the kids that don't contain those poisons Aspartame (now rebadged) and all the other artificial poisons posing as sugar.

This is something i'm definitely going to look further into.

It's the first i've ever heard of it, thanks.

Good for you...
and for those of you who dont know how bad Aspartame really is... know that there are 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption.

Adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame include:

Eye
blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes

Ear
tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment

Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors

Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias

Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure

Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing

Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma

Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS

Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection

Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies

Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

These are not allergies or sensitivities, but diseases and disease syndromes. Aspartame poisoning is commonly misdiagnosed because aspartame symptoms mock textbook ‘disease’ symptoms, such as Grave’s Disease.

I use stevia and enjoy it. Thanks for all the info!

Great info DBear, and more reason to grow my own! Looks like I need to add some more items to the garden.
Keep politics outta my food, industries and corps! Isn't Agave a good alternative too?
Aspartame

spec

I've been using stevia for about three years now. Wish I'd known about it even sooner. When in a Mexican restaurant it's not unusual for a south American waiter, ect to comment about about me using stevia.

One thing I found out is that if you use the liquid form make sure it is alcohol based, not glycerin based. It makes a big difference in taste and potency.

Originally posted by mutantgenius
I found that stevia has that artificial sweetner aftertaste...so if you know anyone that says "I am used to the flavor of Art.Swtnr and cant stand sugar anymore" this is perfect for them. if your like me you try to convince your friends and family not to poison themselves but man do they have excuses! I saw this in Home depot and walmart this year so it is easy to come by and grows like a weed! You can even throw it in a tea ball with your herbs and sweeten your tea up a bit.

It has an aftertaste but it's notwhere near as offensive as artificial sweetners.

I was part of a survey for Purevia, and they sent me loads of the stuff. By itself, it almost has a mild chocolate taste, and in coffee it's great... but mix it with watery drinks or to sweeten citris drinks, it can get a bit wrong.

But by far, with hardly any calories and much more sweeter, it's definitely worth getting.

Quite a few years ago, I had a girlfriend that drank a lot of diet drinks that contained aspartame. She began having MS-type symptoms. I told her that it was caused by what she was ingesting, and after reading some information a friend and I printed out for her, she stopped drinking it. The problem went away. I've tried things with Stevia and I like it a lot better. I hope that it gets substituted for the artificial sweeteners and corn syrup (oops, corn sugar) in the future. Great post. S&F.