A compound that is much sweeter than
table sugar -- without the calories -- is derived from the leaves from the
stevia shrub and has been used for years by South Americans to sweeten their
yerba mate, a beverage similar to tea.
However, stevia, which is sold as a dietary supplement, has not yet been
approved as a sugar substitute by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
according to a report published in the April issue of the Nutrition Action
Healthletter.
Japanese manufacturers have used stevia for over 30 years, but "the FDA has
turned down three industry requests to use stevia in foods in the US," writes
author David Schardt, an associate nutritionist for the Center for Science in
the Public Interest (CSPI), which publishes the Healthletter.
Dr. George Pauli, from the FDA's Office of Pre-Market Approvals, which
regulates food additives, explained to Reuters Health that stevia "hasn't been
tested the way food ingredients are generally tested to give assurance of
safety." He admits that some tests have been done, but they are not "strong
enough to stand behind the safety of the product."
Dan Richard, a representative of Now Foods, one of the largest sellers of
stevia in the country, argues that stevia "has no known side effects" whereas
aspartame -- an FDA-approved sugar substitute -- "has a list of side effects."
Stevia is a "great product (which has) been around for millennia," he said in an
interview with Reuters Health.
Schardt admits that the side effects of stevia are unknown, but there are
concerns about using the product as a sweetener. "Although there is no evidence
of harm to people, laboratory studies of stevia have found potential cancer and
reproductive-health problems," he stated.
The US is not alone in its refusal to approve stevia, writes Schardt.
Neither Canada nor the European Union allow food companies to add the sweetener
to their products. A scientific panel from the European Union, concerned about
the potential toxicity of stevioside -- stevia's main ingredient -- has declared
it is "not acceptable."
Studies done by European scientists show potential infertility problems --
including decreased sperm production and increased testicle cell growth -- in
male rats fed high doses of stevioside. Female hamsters that were fed large
amounts of steviol, a derivative of stevioside, had "fewer and smaller
offspring."
The FDA has also received reports of depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity
resulting from the use of stevia.
The bottom line, according to Schardt, is "if you use stevia sparingly... it
isn't a great threat to you."
The FDA "can't say it's safe or unsafe," Pauli acknowledged, but Schardt
suggests that it might become a public health problem if it were approved as a
sugar substitute.
"If stevia were marketed widely and used in diet sodas, it would be consumed
by millions of people," he writes. "That's why the government needs to require
companies to do more -- and better -- testing," Schardt concludes.
