Is Stevia Safe?

I don't know whether or not I would trust stevia, because not everything that says 'natural' actually is. A lot of extracts have negative effects even when the whole form is fine. However, I'd trust it way before I'd trust any artificial sweetener, or the FDA. The research done on food, drugs, supplements, etc. is so fundamentally flawed. The real research is what's done to us in the time following its approval. We are the guinea pigs. Don't just blindly trust anyone, whether a big company, a government institution, or somebody writing on a blog. Remember to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16).

We use stevia predominately in iced tea where we once used sugar. You have to make sure to not use too much as it has a saccharin like aftertaste if you do. If used right, it is really good once you get used to it. Stevia is used I read somewhere mainstream in Japan and other countries. I don't think the FDA is saying it is not safe, just it hasn't been approved as a sweetener. It is sold as a supplement and used as a sweetener. As far as safety, it's a powdered herb. To me it has to be better than the present chlorinated sugar sweetener the FDA does approve of as a sweetener.

Overall when health canada informs the population that a certain sweetener is not safe, that would influence my choices very much. I go would as far as not ever using it again, depending on what they say and the third party research behind their reason.

I find it so hard to believe what is actually facts about these sweeteners and which is just clever marketing. It is very frustrating!

Stevia is a mint plant. Chew a leaf-it is intensely sweet. Grow it in your window, and brew some leaves with your tea. What I do not know is whether the powdered form has any food value...how do they make it? We use powdered to sweeten tea, hot and iced, club soda lemonade drinks, and other refreshing concoctions.

So you have concerns about the use of something natural, Stevia, but are okay with garbage like Aspartame being used in diet sodas and other food items?

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I wouldn't trus the FDA fir a penny. Why would somebody trust an organisation that declared pesticides as safe to use, That declared aspertame as safe to use, and only declared cigarettes as "drug delivery devices" in 1995 !!! It is plain and simple. the FDA wants everything processed, manufactured or engineered before it reaches the shelves. Now stevia has extract (Truvia and PureVia) has been declared safe to use as a sweetner but not stevia in its natural form. It hase been declared as safe to use on Dec 17 2008. Not surprised about the decision since Coca Cola was pushing behind it. The decision only confirms that corporations decides what's safe or not. Not the FDA. Whatever the decision would have been i'll still be using it in it's original form. Organic powdered stevia leaves eventhough the fda didn't aprove it. I read enough information and clinical studies before the FDA approval to know it is not only safe to use but actually helps regulate your blood sugar levels.

I have cancer. I have been using Stevia for about 6 years now because it doesn't raise your glucose level and I've been told by many holistic doctors that sugar feeds cancer and causes it to grow because it raises the level of sugar in your body. Stevia does none of that. It is a natural,safe plant.

Do you know what is all in those artificial sweetners? Chemicals. Do you know what is in Stevia? It's a plant. You can grow it in your yard. You can easily read the label and see the ingredients ( Stevia extract, Stevia rebaudiana)that is the liquid form and is from the plant itself. In the powder form there is Maltodextrin in it. Which is a sugar. You are better off with the liquid if you are a diabetic not wanting to raise your glucose level.

No, Mike you are so right. You can't trust everything that says "natural". The only way to be sure that what you are using is completely safe is to read the ingredients and know what the harmful chemicals are. Because in the bible God says everything on the earth that he gave us is safe and fulfilling.

this is just my experience, but I've tried stevia over the past week and have had killer headaches. Now, I routinely suffer from headaches so I never made any connection to the stevia. so, once I thought about it, I stopped the stevia and haven't had a headache for a couple of days. to be honest, those, what i think were "stevia" headaches were so severe, I'm going to throw away the rest of the stevia. but, as I said, this is just my experience.

does anyone know what are the side effects if dogs ingest stevia?

I had stevia for the first time yesterday - it was included in my protein shake mix. I had a killer headache the rest of the day. The next morning, I was dizzy on top of my headache. It resolved in the afternoon; but, I'm skeptical that stevia is "good" for you.

@ SnarkyPants:

The article below may surprise you in regard to agave.

It's really just high fructose syrup, just like corn syrup. It's just been marketed as natural and healthy when it's a highly processed fructose product. I used to love agave until I found this out.

http://www.naturalnews.com/024892.html

Seriously, my question is, if the FDA approves sweeteners that are actually just chemicals...but then say a natural plant isn't safe...umm...I dunno sounds like money to me. So they would rather us put chemicals in our bodies that have known side effects than put a plant in our bodies that may or may not be safe according them (because there is not enough evidence that proves they are safe???) what evidence did they have that proved aspertame is safe??? Other countries have banned aspertame!! Come one FDA, you aren't fooling me.

I swear that I've read that native americans used stevia long ago. So it shouldn't be too hard to determine if it's safe or not. Ugh, I quit using aspartame, then sucralose, now I have to worry about stevia being safe? I should just go back to sugar and honey and risk the weight gain and diabetes. I can't take it anymore.

I wouldn't cite the Center for Science in the Public Interest in an argument about a food or additive's relative safety. It is a sham organization and prone to alarmist claims. They strong-armed fast food restaurants into switching to hydrogenated oils a few decades ago, and now they are leading the charge in lawsuits against fast food restaurants for using hydrogenated oils because they contain trans fats. The organization has shown repeatedly over the years that it is agenda driven and will crunch data to suit its message rather than being science-driven.

sobe lifewater headache, just gives me the worst headache ever, migrain, its that stupid fake sweetner.

I have the same problem with nutrasweet, or aspertame, all of the fake sugars cause this

Avoid fake sugars!