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September 07, 2008
Stevia
The supplement Stevia often delivers a non-uniform sweet taste because it is
made from a plant and varies from supplement to supplement.
Stevia sweetened beverages are starting to appear on store shelves. Sweet
Leaf Tea Company (Austin, TX) created it¹s own stevia-based sweetener and
with self affirmed status. And it looks like they have GRAS status now:
http://www.sweetleaf.com/
In addition, Coca-cola plans to roll out products with its own version of a
stevia-based sweetener called Truvia (this has been delayed).
Some consumers prefer stevia because it is considered natural. It is not
without controversy though which stems mainly from from lab studies in rats
indicating that it may be mutagenic (cancer causing) in high doses . On the
flip side, there are several studies where scientists fed rats very large
doses of stevia and found no evidence of toxicity or genetic damage,
And, there are reports indicating that stevia may actually enhance one¹s
health by increasing insulin sensitivity . Stevia has been used as a
sweetener in several other countries for quite some time.
Posted by Lisa at September 7, 2008 11:53 AM
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