Today our food is over-processed and contains artificial ingredients and sweeteners. Reading the ingredients labels on most foods in the supermarkets makes me feel illiterate, Dimonowhat? Polyglycolichuh?
Years ago everything contained sugar. Then saccharin (Sweet’N Low) came into vogue as a “dietetic” alternative to plain cane or beet sugar–remember TaB? Then, when that was found to cause cancer the big switch was to aspartame, (NutraSweet or Equal). In 1999 sucralose was introduced to the market and the Splenda symbol appeared on every processed, low calorie food on the market–my husband, until recently used Splenda in his coffee everyday.
So when I heard that Cargill, the company that in March, CondeNast Portfolio listed as one of “The Toxic Ten” (one of the worst corporate polluters in America) and Coca Cola, who has basically put America on an intravenous (IV) line of high fructose corn syrup, were coming out with a new sweetener, you can bet I was a little skeptical. Like we need another zero-calorie, chemical, no-value sweetener on the market.
Well, this new sweetener is called Truvia. Truvia is made of rebiana, a sweetener derived from the leaves of stevia plant. Native to South and Central America, stevia is grown for its sweet leaves. The stevia extract turns out to be more than 300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia leaves are harvested and dried, and are steeped in fresh water in a process similar to that of making tea. According to Cargill and Coke, Truvia is a natural sweetener. However, what the companies fail to explain is how the steeped leaves then get to the consumer in a bag looking like a table sweetener. It must be processed in some way, no? So I am not sure how natural Truvia really is.
Cargill and Coke are currently waiting FDA approval to sell stevia as a sweetener. It is currently only allowed to be used as a supplement in the U.S. — supplements are not regulated by the FDA, and as such are not widely accepted by the public. Stevia has been used in Japan for over 100 years.
Wanting to know more about Truvia, I jumped on the opportunity to listened in on a “webinar,” (web conference call), with Coke and Cargill last week.
The call included Leslie Curry, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Director for Cargill Food and Ingredient Systems, Zanna McFerson, Business Director for Cargill Health & Nutrition and Dr. Rhona Applebaum, Vice President & Chief Scientific and Regulatory Officer for The Coca-Cola Company. These were basically hired cheerleaders for Truvia.
What did I learn from more than 30 minutes listening in? Almost nothing. Coke and Cargill have done safety studies on the use of rebiana. The companies say that it is safe to eat. I’m dubious. I do not think that any of these tests look at the actual amounts consumers consume. Coke and Cargill have big commercial hopes for Truvia beyond just liquid crack, I mean Coke. Think ice cream, yogurt, cookies, and more — all hitting our sweet tooth cravings. If these wonderful companies have their way, many Americans will be taking in stevia or Truvia in nearly every meal and snack they eat. That impact of that amount of Truvia on the body can not really be determine without many years of studies.
To find out more about stevia, I did some digging on the internet. I was curious as to why stevia was banned in the U.S and Europe as a sweetener but Japan has used it for decades. From my research, it appears that stevia is actually a better substitute from the chemical processed sweetners (asparatame and sucralose) on the market today. More importantly, what I discovered about the politics behind this sugar-substitute was very interesting. In the 1980’s numerous companies in the U.S were interested in using stevia in their products. In 1991, the FDA banned the importation of stevia for use in foods. According to numerous papers that I read, this was at the request of NutraSweet (owned by evil Monsanto who brought us Agent Orange, PCBs, genetically engineered seeds, sacchrin, aspartame, nuclear weapons, and human growth hormones in milk cattle). The power of Monsanto kept stevia out of the country banning it for almost 20 years. By the way, the FDA ignored published studies on the dangers of aspartame prior to its approval by the agency. God bless the United States of Corporate America!
Now I do not trust any of these companies, Monsanto, Cargill or Coke, but from what I have read and heard, Truvia may not be all bad. Cargill and Coke are ramping up farming and production of stevia in South America and China. If Truvia is truly a natural zero calorie sweetener then it could become huge. We could see fields of stevia all over the world. This could be good and bad. It would bring money to some communities that need it, and it could also wreak environmental havoc due to poor farming practices. According to the Truvia website, the plant will not be grown organically. As stated, “While rebiana is natural and comes from a plant, it is not certified or grown organically at this time. That could happen in the future, depending on consumer demand.” The idea is to have an “all-natural” zero-cal sweetener, and they are not growing it organically? I don’t get it. Why not do it right from the beginning? These are two companies that generate billions of dollars of year, and will probably have the exclusive rights to use this “wonder sweetener” and are not going to grow it organically?
Crazy.
Beyond that, this whole thing gets me wondering. If stevia was blocked from our consumption by Monsanto nearly 20 years ago, and its better for us than chemicals like aspartame and saccharine, then what else has have we been denied for the almighty dollar?
To read more of my rants and raves click here.
I am sure that many things have been blocked because of the almighty dollar. I long for the days of just sugar…its simple and while bad for you, at least I knew what it would do to me.
05/28/08 » 6:58 am »
Dear Melissa,
I like your site very much.
I am not an expert on stevia but, others who know more say it is safe, but to find a brand without maltodextrin because maltodextrin has glutamate as in MSG, monosodium glutamate. To me, it tastes like licorice. I use organic evaporated cane sugar. If I were diabetic I would go for the stevia.
Check out this private study on aspartame. Photos are graphic.
Thanks for letting me post.
http://myaspartameexperiment.com
05/28/08 » 7:26 am »
I perfer SweetLeaf Stevia. Two independent groups of scientists have certified that Wisdom Natural Brands’ new SweetLeaf Stevia product is safe for use as a sweetener. Under Food and Drug Administration rules, the company needs to obtain safety certification from one independent group.
For its new sweetener, the company has developed a new process involving use of water and filters to extract the compounds from South American leaves. The sweetener will be sold in powder, tablet and liquid forms.
Truvia grows their Stevia from China and who knows what they’ll mix it with.
I’m sticking with SweetLeaf Stevia. It’s safe for diabetics, certified kosher and not from CHINA!!!
05/28/08 » 9:03 am »
Agave nectar is my sweetener of choice when I need to use one (which isn’t often, since I’m insulin resistant), but I’ve used stevia in the past. I would worry about large corporations getting their hands on this stuff because as you said, they could take over the supply and grow/process it in ways that change it into something that’s not so ‘natural’ anymore. I guess that’s part of the debate about making herbal ’supplements’ widely available and acceptable – how much quality would we lose? In this country, it’s always been all about the $, so it’s definitely a valid worry.
05/28/08 » 9:22 am »
I use agave nectar also, and good organic brown sugar for baking (and maple syrup for stirfrys and pancakes). I definitely like the sweet stuff and always have- my whole family has a sweet tooth, but even so, I find most processed foods and drinks WAY too sweet! My advice is to take a sugar holiday for a week or so, then slowly reintroduce sweeteners back into your diet – you’ll find you need half the amount of sugar you used to and still get a lot of satisfaction from the sweet. You can do the same thing with salt- I only use sea salt and some people say my cooking isn’t salty enough, but find most foods too salty. Another thought is if you start with good quality foods, whole organic grains, fruits and veggies, real chocolate, whole fats, etc. there will be tons of flavor to start with and you won’t need to add a bunch of salt and sugar (though hot sauce, herbs and spices are a big thumbs up!).
05/28/08 » 10:38 am »
I love Stevia. I really like Vanilla Creme Liquid Stevia in my coffee. I think i read on the Truvia website that their Stevia comes from China. I’m not sure I feel comfortable with that. Nice article!
05/28/08 » 2:49 pm »
Here’s a new study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showing the direct and indirect effects of Aspartame on the brain. Add this to the 100s of published studies showing how obviously toxic this stuff is.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3168.....ition-2008
05/30/08 » 8:59 am »
Well to my mind you also should try OnlySweet at least once. Is is available in many grocery stores throughout the US and they also will launch a new blend soon, containing the highest grade Stevia on the market. And moreover they are cheaper than other ones. You can also get it on their website – delivery is qzick and safe. I really love Onlysweet and although I am living in Europe I never fail to keep my personal supply alive. You can use it almost everywhere. When you are used only sugar then maybe you need some days to get used to a (in my mind) little bit different taste than sugar but after that you will love it and you won´t even realize anymore that it tastes different from sugar. And there are really only advantages. It barriers inflammation, lowers blood sugar levels, does not harm teeth in any single way and lowers blood pressure a bit, too. Give it a try – it is worth it! You can use it as often and as much as you like – I am a person of fairly normalm weigt but I lost some 4 Kilograms in the last 3 months – just by reducing the sugar (or much worse: artificial sweetener) intake and NOT by reducing the amount of food or sthg else. I use it with Cornflakes and Milk, Coffee, Tee, Drinks, create my own 100% natural drinks with it, use it with salads (within the dressing) and so on and so on. It is so great – I can´t believe that we waited for so long and that we harmed our bodies for so many years. You also should give the new drink called “Zevia” a try – a dream! The best is you can intake sweetness as much as you want – there are no side effects. Just look at recent study of Cargill – they gave rats 2000 times more Stevia than currently allowed for human for a period of half a year. There were NO effects! Really, I will never go anywhere again without my OnlySweet-
07/02/08 » 3:25 am »
Thanks for your article. When I saw the news about Truvia I was very skeptical.
I have been using Stevia for about 20 years. Originally I was able to get it as a liquid concentrate that was part of a face mask. That was the only way to get it in the country! Since then so many companies sell it. Usually they are organic and small. Personally, I will never buy Truvia. I would rather drink bitter drinks than support these megalithic companies that want to patent the rights to the plants that grow in this Earth!
Please support the smaller companies and keep them going.
I’v also been told that Stevia is antibacterial, and is therefore good for your teeth! I cannot verify that statement.
07/09/08 » 11:07 am »
I just read a headline on the Sustainable Food News website stating that a Stevia supplier says that Truvia is not natural. Now, I am not a subscriber to the SFN so I could not read the article… so I went out to search Truvia… I am very dubious of how natural it is (and why it isn’t organic, if it is natural)… I am thinking that they are taking the “chemical” signature of Stevia and are making a non-plant product… kind of like Splenda where they say it is one molecule removed from sugar… do they go in to the grain of sugar and remove the molecule…. no, I think they take the formula and make it up in a lab… perhaps the component materials are natural so that they can use the word natural and get away with it. I wonder how much Stevia is actually in Truvia?
07/16/08 » 1:14 am »
Hey Everyone,
I am not very blog savvy nor do I keep up with what is going on in the blog world but I caught site of this post and thought I would pass a word or two along.
My sister became very sick a couple years ago and the aftermath was an allergic reaction to many different types of foods, especially perservatives. So being the older sister that I am I spent weeks researching different things she could eat. I came across Stevia and did my own research. I have probably read all the same articles that you all have except I have a doctor as a father so I understand the medical terminology.
I have sampled all of the available stevia products out there and finally came up with my own conncotion. It has a natural fiber and just stevia in it. My family has been using it since my sister got sick 5 years ago and it has changed our lives.
I am in the process of having it packaged so that my father can give it to his patients. Maybe someday you will see it on the shelves next to Truvia but it will probably be awhile because I am a college student and they are a multimillion dollor corportation.
Anyway I just thought you all should know that you are on the right path and I hope you keep fighting the good fight. Americans deserve to know what they are eating and often we are not given that right.
Warmly,
Micaela Weiss
07/22/08 » 12:07 pm »
I tried Truvia and I love it. While I had always known Stevia was naturally derived and doesn’t effect blood sugar levels (I use a ketogenic diet for bodybuilding prep), I still used artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Equal because I found the taste of Stevia so bitter. Truvia seems to be the best of all worlds – the taste of Splenda, the natural plant of Stevia, and the texture of sugar.
07/25/08 » 8:24 am »
Hi,
Love the posting. My company makes Zevia which is a natural alternative to diet soda. Zevia uses PURE stevia. If you want me to send you samples email me at ian at zevia dot com. Stay away from aspartame and spenda! Our goal is to help people KICK THE DIET SODA HABIT 1 person at a time.
Happy to do spaecial coupons for your readers.
Chill and Enjoy!
-Ian
07/30/08 » 8:49 am »
In today’s Wall Street Journal is a story on Pepsi rush to market with their stevia sweetener. Check it out it is called Beverage Wars Take on a New Flavor.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....lenews_wsj
07/31/08 » 5:18 am »
I’ve been a retailer in the Health Food Industry for many years and I have been using and selling Stevia for a long time. It is a safe alternative to many who shy away (with good reason) to other sugar substitutes. By far, the best selling and tasting Stevia is from the KAL Brand. They offer both powder and liquid forms as well as an organic version. When we run out, customers get upset. My sister is a diabetic and uses this as her sweetener of choice. She also uses the KAL Xylitol for baking and their Vanilla Stevia Syrup on pancakes and waffles for her and her kids.
I trust KAL because they serve the healthfood channel only and have been around since 1932. Not only do they have great alternative sweeteners but they are also owned by the Nutraceutical Company. Nutraceutical is one of the largest leaders in this industry and pride themselves on their testing and outstanding GMP (good manufacturing process) ingredients. They have fought the FDA on other issues and continue to provide protection for those in the supplement industry that value quality ingredients meant to help people who use them. They are champions for the underdog (even though they’ve gotten so big) and believe the supplement industry should remain public, unlike those (drug industry/gov’t.) who want to privatize it only so they can profit from it. Anyhow, they are a great company and KAL is a great option when choosing alternative sweeteners.
09/11/08 » 9:29 am »
Stevia seems to be pretty safe, especially compared with aspartame, sucralose, etc.
Click my name to find out more info about truvia, as well as some taste reviews.
10/10/08 » 5:08 pm »
I just picked some up at the grocery store. For years I’ve been eating splenda when I want something sweet, trying to avoid getting adult-onset diabetes. But I can’t be the only one a little wary of splenda, despite how good it tastes in everything.
I’ve not only heard of stevia, but I’ve been (trying to eat) it for years. It’s the only real natural powdered-type sweetener you can get, and a LOT of tea blends have stevia in them. But I don’t like the taste of stevia…except in maybe a few things. It’s too mild, and not the right kind of sweet.
NOW, I’ve also used erythritol by itself. I bought a container of it in search of another substitute. Also TOO bland and a little weird tasting. However, it’s true that erythritol is the one sugar alcohol that won’t give you painful gas and bloating. Still, not great tasting.
On to Truvia: I tried it in tea, and needed about 4 packets to taste any sweetness. Pass. I then tried it in unsweetened yogurt, and it was GREAT. Perhaps, like stevia in herbal tea blends, Truvia goes best with dairy products. I’d be willing to bet it tastes good in hot cocoa and cheesecake, but not coffee. I’ll see…trying it in coffee is next.
My verdict: actually pretty good in dairy products (maybe because of fat content, who knows) – not at all good in tea.
11/03/08 » 12:02 am »
To all who think stevia is bitter, try using less. That’s right, less, maybe even half what you have used. It can get licorice bitter if you use too much. It’s one of the quirks about this leaf.
On safety, the 1980’s study was so poorly done that one scientist claimed that ‘if you followed the test protocol, then water is carcinogenic’. Could you eat 5# of sugar in a day? How about 5# of something 200-300 times as sweet as sugar? Didn’t think so. I use 1/8 of a teaspoon dry stevia for a quart of water and lemon juice. Instant no calorie lemonade anyone? And certainly a lot better tasting than any “diet” variety I have ever tasted. I hate the taste of artificial sweeteners, and I like stevia.
Even better, I find that I tend not to eat so much after using it. It tends to curb my appetite. It gets better. It doesn’t promote tooth decay and might even promote more stable blood sugar levels. And unlike aspartame, it doesn’t break down under heat. Aspartame can break down into aspartic acid and formaldehyde. Self pickling anyone?
The bad is that many companies cut stevia with a filler. I buy pure stevia and use very little. Read the labels. It takes a little getting used to, but it works. If you simply don’t like the taste, try a different brand or go erythritol.
11/10/08 » 10:25 pm »
Wow. Your website is fantastic. It’s the corruption of these Big Corporations that has gotten America where it is today….look at our economy…look at our politicians….look at our health system…our people are dying from “diseases of the affluent” This is ridiculous!!! Freedom in America costs a great price, it costs us our lives….we are being fed B.S. everyday through the media, through the mainstream rivers of toxic chemicals….its pathetic!
I believe these “Top Dogs” are in for a huge judgement, Karma? What goes around comes around and the Judge is waiting to judge…..The injustice that is happening is immense and these companies are soon going to pay for it.
Thanks for your website and for being a searcher of truth (in the food sense) it is greatly appreciated by many.
Now I know I won’t be buying Truvia, its just a scam. They’re just hoping that no one dies from this and when they do, they will conceal it. They will do research and then confirm that it is POISON. After so many people have already been affecting by it…..Then they will say oops, and move on to the next money making scam to fool people with the sneaking marketing techniques that they use…..
it pure CORRUPTION.
I prefer the pure Stevia leaf, organic brands any day. God will judge these men for what they have done.
11/10/08 » 10:34 pm »
Another important thing to remember is that the FDA can’t be trusted. They accept bribes left and right.
11/10/08 » 10:49 pm »
I tried Truvia and after a few days, gas and diarrhea hit me. I’m pretty sure it’s due to the erythritol in it. A little reading up on Wikipedia told me that erythritol is made from glucose by fermentation with a yeast. I am very allergic to several varieties of yeast.
I use stevia by itself all the time with no problem. I think that Truvia is trying to give the impression that it is natural, but it’s highly processed.
11/21/08 » 4:30 pm »
I’ve been using stevia for a couple of years now, ever since a friend put me on to it. It works fine for me; the only hitch has been that I have to go out of my way to buy it at a health foods store, as it’s not available in the regular grocery outlets.
Recently, I spotted Truvia in the local grocery store and bought some, excited to find a stevia product more conveniently available. After getting it home, however, I discovered something I hadn’t noticed in the store: the mention that it was distributed by Cargill — listed on the box in such tiny print that I almost missed it entirely.
After seeing Cargill’s name on it, I re-read the package, and also started doing some Web searching.
Think on this for a moment: The corporate goons who control the sugar industry have managed to keep stevia out of the U.S. food chain because they can’t lock down an exclusive patent on it. Without an exclusive patent, they can’t control the money. And where they can’t control the money, they can’t control the game — I mean, the market.
So forgive me for being cynical, but follow the money. Cargill is finally backing a stevia product because it’s a derivative. And in its modified form, they can take an exclusive patent on, and therefore, have complete control of in the marketplace. Cargill, Monsanto, Dow Chemical, ArcherDanielsMidland — The Four Corp/se/men of the Apocalypse…
12/02/08 » 1:25 am »
I grow my own stevia and use the dried leaves to sweeten teas etc. I’ve even used it to make jams, cutting the honey & or sugar called for in the recipe. The seeds are hard to find and take a while to germinate, but if you’re a gardener give it a try.
12/02/08 » 10:27 pm »
Bought it, tried it (in tea), liked it. Only negative…inconclusive fda testing. I don’t sweeten anything other than tea or coffee. Coffee will be the final test.
12/08/08 » 10:19 pm »
I bought Truvia three days ago when I spotted it in my local grocery store. It looks like sugar and tastes like sugar. But later I saw on the box that it was distributed by Cargill. I started searching for more information online, and do not like what I am finding. This isn’t natural. It is highly processed and possibly grown in China with all the pollution, pesticides, and other chemicals. Lord knows, it may even contain melamine in small quantities. No thanks – I’m going back to organic stevia.
12/18/08 » 8:02 pm »
Since Splenda is made using chlorine, how safe can it really be? And with 1 of the 4 corpsman of the depocolyps at the helm of Truvia, it can only be trouble. I willlook for the natural versions of stevia and try it.
12/20/08 » 6:58 pm »
In the book “Skinny Bitch” there’s some really good info about artificial sweeteners.
12/22/08 » 9:26 pm »
i’d be a little suspicious of anything cargill is involved in – but i’ve also tried stevia and found it has a horrible aftertaste – were they able to do something about that?
12/22/08 » 10:06 pm »
You cn buy Stevia at Trader Joes. It is in packets perferct for your coffee.
12/23/08 » 6:41 pm »
Laura, according to Dr. Mercola, the only Stevia compound which is in Truvia is the rebaudioside A. It is this agent that provides most of the sweet taste. Everything else is man-made. So Truvia will most likely be as dangerous as aspartame and sucralose.
http://darthchaosofrspw.wordpr.....-security/
http://articles.mercola.com/si.....eners.aspx
12/25/08 » 6:43 pm »
Truvia and Purvia are approved by the FDA as new sweeteners and the “inventors” are simultaneously guaranteed profitable effective monopolies by the FDA of a natural sweetener that health conscious consumers have been denied approval of for many years.
This is a complete perversion of the FDA and its standards of identities. I remember we got desisted by Cargill from marketing a healthy version of ketchup in the 70’s because they argued that it did NOT contain sugar. Standard of identities are regulations originally intended to assure that there is a decent percentage of tomatoes in ketchup, beef in beef stew, etc. However, stevia is easy to grow, even in poor soil, and much cheaper to harvest than cane juice, so they HAD to supress it through FDA corruption.
Since more enlightened countries like Japan have stevia in as many as 40% of packaged foods (everthing from ice cream and cookies to spaghetti sauce abd frozen foods), consumer outcry has been growing here at being relegated to “herbal” status by agribusiness lobbyists through the sycophantic FDA, which protects agribusiness, not consumers. In a coup de grace, Cargill and Pepsi did “studies” of an already generally-recognized-as-safe food, and somehow convinced the FDA to call stevia a sweetener, but only if Cargill or Pepsi sell it under “brand” names Truvia or Purvia. This is the single worst perversion of the FDA’s reason for existence I have ever seen.
I grow stevia in my back yard, and throw a few leaves in with my tea leaves for a sweetened mint tea. And yet I and other stevia users will be spammed by agribusiness as promoting a possibly dangerous unregulated substance, which is only a fiction they use to maintain their cleverly won monopoly. If stevia is unsafe, so is tea, lettuce, and any other garden greens.
Even if you just used cost benefit analysis and ignored the Cargill/FDA perversion and monopoly, it’s going to cost consumers more with no additional benefit.
12/26/08 » 8:42 am »
I would REALLY like to see you point out in a post the perversion of the FDA through manipulation of the standards of identities. So far you and other commenters and bloggers have been talking about Truvia vs stevia as a retail sweetener. The real monopolistic (and health threatening) problem is that standard of identities have been perverted by agribusiness to monopolize the THOUSANDS of sweetened products that can include unnatural dangerously prepared sweeteners like corn syrup and now Truvia, but not cheap, healthy stevia.
The FDA’s standards of identity were regulations oringinally written to stop food packers from labeling meat flavored stew as “beef” stew unless it has a minimal percentage of beef, and expanded to require a minimum amount of tomatoes in ketchup, etc.
Agribusiness has perverted the standards of identities to allow only Truvia, corn syrup, or sugar in recipes, excluding stevia solely for monopolistic profit. In the past agribusiness has perverted standards of identity to allow ingredients in cheese “recipes” desserts, and other foods that need not be listed on the label. Agribusiness carefully crafted FDA regulations to require imported cheese to list all THEIR ingredients to make agribusiness versions cheaper and more profitable.
By far the worst perversion of FDA GRAS (generally accepted as safe) regulations and standards of identities is exemplyfied by the quashing of stevia in favor of the more profitable, less naturally processed (thus less safe) monopolistic Truvia.
12/26/08 » 9:01 am »
IS TRUVIA TELLING THE TRUTH? « DC: Freedom & Linux
[...] But something felt fishy, so I jotted down the website and did my research. This is what I found: 1. Ecochick told me that Truvia is manufactured by Cargill and Coca Cola. First warning sign. 2. Dr. Mercola [...]
12/27/08 » 12:04 pm »
I’ve used Stevia in the past. I bought a “spice rack bottle” sized container from Mother’s market…just Stevia, no additives….for about $10. I only needed a touch of the stuff…the size of a sunflower seed..to sweeten my tea. I really liked it. The bottle lasted a couple years. I was interested in the Truvia because it would be nice to have something that can be sprinkled like sugar crystals. The stevia was more like a fine powder, but I think I will still with the truly natural Stevia and forgo the Truvia.
12/27/08 » 4:00 pm »
All you conspiracy theorist crack me up. I’m not a rat, mouse, or whatever all these products are tested on. I’ve been using Splenda since it hit store shelves. Tastes so much like sugar, even family members who swear they would never use a sugar substitute cant tell the difference when they drink my iced tea, which i make with…GASP….Splenda. oh, did I mention I’m healthy as ever and I…….wait for it, hold your breath…..use Splenda in one form or another every day, and know several people who do to. If your that frightened to use a sugar substitute, then don’t use it. Stick with good sugar, unless you think its been tampered with too.
12/30/08 » 8:42 pm »
Dear Liam, yes there are conspiracy theorists out there. But worse, 100% of the posts I’ve seen haven’t even thought through the illegaility of Splenda and Truvia being defined as sweeteners by the FDA, but not stevia. Even you are ignoring the perversion of FDA regulations and standards of identity that FORCE a baker or sauce co-packer or thousands of other co-packers and food processors to use ONLY splenda, corn syrup, sugar, fructose, or Truvia in their recipes, sweeteners that profit a very few organized agribusinesses, at consumer’s expense (unhealthy or overpriced).
Truvia is Cargill’s version of a generally recognized as safe product, that the FDA has granted an effective monopoly to. So, only overpriced splenda or Truvia can go into foods. That’s not a conspiracy theory on my part. That’s the perversion of FDA to protect agribusiness profits at the expense of the consumer.
12/31/08 » 10:09 am »
I have tried stevia straight up, unprocessed and it tastes about the same as truvia you just use a fraction of amount compared to sugar. You can buy it in any health food store or any Trader Joe’s. It does not measure like sugar. So what are these “natural flavors” that they have added? MSG and arsenic are natural flavors neither of which I would want in my food. And they would have to add a considerable amount of these “natural flavors” to get stevia to measure like sugar.
01/01/09 » 8:14 pm »
My wife is diabetic and I could loose a few pounds, but the Stevia we tried, both eye-dropper bottle and Sweetleaf packets had a licorice flavor. Now I don’t have an issue with a mile licorice flavor, but my wife has a longer list of foods (flavors) she doesn’t like, licorice as one of them.
If Truvia and/or Purvia (PepsiCo’s brand) have if fact passed FDA as a “sweetner” I am truly hopeful. Not because a new sugar substitute will soon be on store shelves, but that low calorie foods in stores may soon have this as their sweetening ingredient.
Saccharine’s ability to cause cancer is enough to entice me to put the product back on the shelf.
Aspartame gives me headaches and I can tell when I’ve had some because I get a shorter temper and am more irritable.
Sucralose causes stomach discomfort, almost the level of discomfort an upper GI can give you.
… so the chance to have an option of a sweetener in “diet” products means there may be an option soon which has less adverse effects … something I can actually put in the shopping cart that is low calorie? Bring it on!
01/02/09 » 12:07 am »
I am looking forward to trying this sweetener. Especially since I cannot consume any artificial sweetener without terrible side effects. While I know a lot of people who use Splenda, it actually gives me horrible diarrhea. So I don’t know if that makes me a conspiracy theorist… but food shouldn’t give you problems like that.
01/02/09 » 7:52 pm »
I’ve been using Stevia (mostly Sweetleaf, but also 360 Whole Foods brand, plus others) for over 5 years now. I took the recommendation from a health food book about eliminating sugar from the body. I’ve recommended it to many people and they all have found it to be an excellent sweetner, especially in coffee’s and teas. I even carry a bottle in my purse so I can use it on the go.
Besides being naturally non-caloric, the ultimate benefit of Stevie that other brands simply can not offer, is that it does not raise your blood sugar levels. Therefore, it is safe for diabetics and also for people who are sensitive to sugar and other sweetners. Like many people, I am skeptical about Truvia. I was optimistic at first, feeling like FINALLY someone was ‘getting it’ but alas, to know it’s being produced by these large companies, you have to wonder what they are REALLY doing to process these plants.
However, on the same note, if it can prove to not raise the blood sugar levels like true Stevia, it could end up having a positive impact on a wide range of products that will effect a wider population than just those who are knowledgeable about health foods and supplements. This, I support. Let’s see what happens with this, and what type of information surfaces once the product is out. I’m guessing they have been researching this for quite some time and have hopefully covered all their bases from a consumption stand point. I would love to see more products using true Stevia, because it really is, a good sweetner and should be able to be used in everything!
01/04/09 » 12:05 pm »
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN THIS SWEETNER WILL BE IN STORES THANK YOU MRS SAAR
01/05/09 » 3:03 pm »
I am all for the use of Stevia as a natural sweetner. That said, I am VERY skeptical 1.) about a product produced by a chemical conglomerate like CARGILL 2.) the fact that the crops are produced NON-organic in China and South America (read: pesticides and soil contaminates) 3.) the addition of “Natural Flavors” which are kept secret (adding more suspicions against the “natural” product.
Companies like MONSANTO, CARGILL, COCA-COLA CORP., etc. are just trying to jump on the “green” band-wagon and the public should beware. We saw the results of trusting the FDA with past killers (i.e. sacchrin, melamine, spinach, the list goes on and on.)
So I think we should try cutting down on natural sugar with self-discipline and the use of natural sweeteners like REAL salvia, honey, etc. It’s our own responsibility, not the responsibility of corporate money-grabbers!
01/05/09 » 9:01 pm »
Thank you for the valuable info. I believe that stevia is safe, but I’m not sure about this incarnation of it. However, since I don’t like the taste of regular “supplement” stevia, and usually revert to sugar, it might be worth giving this product a try with my diabetes-prone genes.
I just can’t wait until they can use a natural stevia to sweeten beverages sold in the store. Right now, none of the options are any good!
01/06/09 » 6:42 pm »
I have to comment on this “organic” demand.
In 1800. the carrying load of the entire planet was calculated to be about 1 billion people. Carrying load is how many of a particular organism can stay alive in a contained environment. This took into account current crop yields and available farming land at the time.
In 1850, it was discovered that bird guano was was a great fertilizer and an entire mining industry built up around it over the next 50 years which peaked in the 1900s. With this resource, the carrying capacity of the planet was newly calculated to be about 2 billion people.
The reason that we have 6 billion people alive today is that first pesticides were created as to increase crop yields, and in the 1930s, an improved Haber Process made it possible for ammonium nitrate to be used commercially as a fertilizer which made natural (and ever decreasing stockpiles of) bird guano unnecessary. Ammonium nitrate is fertilizer, the same stuff a few nuts used to blow up the Murrah Federal Building in OK.
Basically, without modern non organic farming techniques, which you hate, the world would have to be completely covered with farms, destroying all of our biodiversity and even then, 2/3rds of the world’s population would starve, and most animal species would be wiped out.
So, in short, I hate you organic freaks. Not one of you understand a basic thing about science and you advocate and 99% of the time, you claim to be champions of nature. If organic farming was the rule and not the exception, the planet would be destroyed. You are a greater tax on the environment than the people you decry as being wasteful and selfish. This would all be apparent to you if you bothered to use the most powerful research tool ever created by mankind, yes, the thing sitting in front of you now, the Internet. That’s why people like me built it, but alas, it’s just being used for pornography and viral marketing. I know how Philo Farnsworth felt now…
And sure Monsanto is evil, and they really are evil, but at least they aren’t trying to simultaneously “save” the world, by advocating a dietary habit that would have left this entire planet as desolate as Easter Island. You have a lifespan of 80 or so years, shut up about the evils of non organic farming. If you’re over 40, you’re alive because of it.
01/07/09 » 10:28 pm »
Sounds to me like, more than anything, Richard Wicks is pissed that McCain lost. “Hate” is such a strong word, so he must just be a grumpy, narrow-minded, hipocritical Republican who’ll kick anybody who’s in his way.
If you hate us organic freaks, what are you even doing at this website?! Mock intelligence is annoying.
Better to be pissed off than pissed on, right, Richard? Get over yourself!
01/08/09 » 3:53 pm »
> Sounds to me like, more than anything, Richard Wicks is pissed that McCain
> lost.
I don’t see how this has to do with anything, but since you brought up politics…
Do you know how McCain voted on the following bills?
* Patriot Act Renewal
* Military Commissions Act
* Nearly all the bills to continue funding the Iraq War
* The $840 billion dollar bailout
He voted in favor of them all.
just like Barak Obama voted in favor of them all.
Obama is McCain, just with more melanin in his skin.
Going further off topic, do you know who *wrote* the Patriot Act? John Edwards – remember him? What finally destroyed him was a sex scandal, not that he wrote one of the most unconstitutional bills ever passed into law in the United States. He was the other “big voice” for “change”.
You see, it’s not just Republicans that are uneducated morons that vote without doing the slightest bit of research, it’s “Democrats” that do as well.
This is why we have effectively a one party system, and the Democrats that were elected in 2006 didn’t stop the war in Iraq, and they won’t make any noise about stopping it until at least 2010 during the election cycle. It’s simply a way to get people to vote for them, they are not sincere about ending it. It’s just like the abortion issue for Republicans, claim you oppose it, get a vote from an ignoramus.
And for the record, I voted for Ron Paul and I also gave him $2300 for his campaign.
Mike Gravel was my second choice. Gravel made a name for himself when he read the Pentagon Papers into the congressional record in 1971. The significance of this act was that before that point, the US government was threatening to prosecute anybody with *treason* for disclosing the contents of the Pentagon Papers, but Gravel read it into the record anyhow, disclosing everything in the papers.
I don’t really hate you, I’m just disgusted by you. “Eco Chick”. I mean, what arrogance coupled with what ignorance. A sure fire way to stay ignorant for life is to be absolutely certain in a cause to the point you don’t even bother to research it.
Edward Bernays exploited that when he got the US public to support the overthrow of the Guatemalan democracy with Operation PBSuccess, in order to keep the United Fruit Company making large profits. He did this by convincing the US public that Guatemala was turning communist.
Bernays further honed his talents on Operation Ajax which overthrew the democracy in Iran in 1953 in order to steal oil. Ajax led to the subsequent creation of the Iranian Revolution which expanded to the Islamic Revolution. This revolution was successful in 1979, and that is when the United States urged Saddam Hussein to attack Iran in a desperate attempt to get it back. This war dragged on for 8 years and absolutely decimated both populations.
I don’t think organic promoters are even 1% as insidious as the likes of Bernays, but their followers are just as ignorant. Try to explain to a typical republican that the reason Osama binLaden exists can be traced back to the US’ overthrow of the democracy in Iran, and all you’ll see is a Republican acting as hostile and as childish toward you, as you are now acting toward me.
But it’s all a waste of time. I could no more change your mind than make you think. It’s up to you and you’re free to believe what you want.
01/09/09 » 2:15 am »
why not update your stevia article to point out that the FDA has granted a monopoly on sweetening packaged foods to Cargill’s Truvia, while denying GRAS status to the actual natural stevia, from which it’s derived, which cannot be patented or profited from unfairly? Why not point out this insanity?
Yours is the only site that shows up on a google search’s first page, and this truth of the perversion of government agencies to rape consumers and prevent free markets is buried at the end of consumer taste tests and rants about the ‘08 presidential election.
You have to read scores of googled websites to get past press announcements or reports based on them to learn Eg., that in1998, two FDA officers forced Oscar Rodes of the Stevita company to burn, yes, burn, thousands of copies of their “Stevia Cookbook”, because the literature suggested that “Stevia could be used as anything else than a dietary supplement” (namely as a sweetener). Anyone who thinks through the FDA’s approval process has to admit that this is a crime against consumers and free markets.
02/01/09 » 1:12 pm »
Truvia vs Splenda - Transformation Forum
[...] want to read a little on the stevia plant here and then find other information as you see fit. http://eco-chick.com/2008/05/2.....verywhere/ By the way, I hope nobody sees this as an advertisement for Truvia. Im in no way on their payroll [...]
02/09/09 » 11:16 am »
We’re (occasionally) alive for eighty years, but a growing number of us sick from the age of five. That’s not “being alive” — many of us can’t get out to play, but spend these lifespans unable to haul ourselves out of a recliner chair. We’re not even sure why we are unwell; we were “good”, and ate up all of our “health food” (meaning artificial sweeteners), for decades.
I say that that is not living. I say that that is people being made sick. Then, we will look fat (but truly be malnourished and swollen), so (in shame and disease), we will go on FDA-recommended and AMA-approved diets of “artificial sweetener” (very dangerous excito-neurotoxins), so, we will go from “feeling strange” to becoming medically disabled (from which this government will save us, via their programs… only). In this state, we will live for a longer time (and use a lot more medicine), so the pharmaceutical companies will get paid… and so on, ad infinitum and ad nauseam.
Heavens know that I’m not looking for trouble, and that I’d give a lot just to not see this reality. It’s simple logic, though; the government gets paid (in diet foods, from the diet industry, and from skyrocketing prescription drug costs) if I’m sick, and they don’t get paid if I’m in good health.
This is the reason you cannot patent an herb: They make you a) healthy, and b) non-dependent upon pharmaceuticals for that state of health. If aspartame and sucralose weren’t being sold as “cures” to our “fatness”, where would the diet and pharmaceutical industries be? (And, therefore, the government?)
Further, do you think this this bad-food-bad-health pandemic is a saddening mystery to the government? Consider the grocery-store, the bank, and the pharmacy (and soon to be Triage) that are all conveniently located inside your local discount “super-store”. Then, tell me how much helpless grieving, and problem-solving, you imagine is taking place within this nation — versus how much Cha-ching-ing is going on in its bank accounts, and brain-stormings as to how to PERPETUATE the situation that uses us as cattle (and cattle as dirt).
Watch some slaughterhouse videos; make an earnest effort to learn about what this “slightly depressing” problem — this “it’s all about the almighty $” — has done, and does. Aren’t we, now, the cattle, chickens, and pigs? (Aren’t the animals treated as less than they are, too?) Isn’t it primarily us, who are now being fattened for the slaughter?
I don’t understand, let alone appreciate, this “conspiracy theorist” phrase. A person is not defined by the fact that she, personally, on her very own, and with no one “brainwashing” her, sees (not “guesses”, and not “believes”) that this problem is the result a group effort; nor is she responsible for the fact that the aim of this group effort is to get paid. How is it that she should be ridiculed for daring to mention it (if she is allowed, at all)?
If you wish to call it a conspiracy, then “I could no more change your mind than make you think. It’s up to you and you’re free to believe what you want.” No matter your personal inclination, what we have here IS a situation in which people are working together in order to realize a common interest.
C’mon, now. If we were healthy, we wouldn’t need diet foods or prescription drugs. Instead, we don’t feel well… so we go to the doctor. There, we are oftenmost told we will be made better, if we swallow these pills, and follow this aspartame- or sucralose-centered diet. Thus, we are fooled; we are further sickened (and betrayed). These are facts, not opinions, and not the shriekings of bored crazy people. (I know I’m not.)
But if we are sharing inclinations: Personally, I abhor the fact that “people like you”, Mr. Wicks, pshaw away the few opportunities there are, that would finally allow your common man a bit of enlightenment and well-being. And if I may spin a “true conspiracy theorist” yarn: It further occurs to me that the fastest way to get money is to endanger someone’s life, while giving them the illusion that they will ensure their safety — and the safety of theories they love — if they pay up. Kind of like a hostage situation.)
Too, one need not be a “crazy liberal conspiracy theorist” (or black or fat or smart or stupid or rich or poor) in order to personally know a couple hundred people who are dangerously “allergic to” (read: most obviously poisoned by) these man-made products “fit for human consumption”, and choose to deeply think about it.
If it’s just all “us crazy tree-huggers” (I’ve heard so many of these things), then what happens when a Caucasian Republican man “notices” what’s going on? Does he then have to change his political stance, get a partial lobotomy, dye his skin — if not castrate himself? (I think he does! For once he learns where his money comes from, he will refuse it, and be more likely to “be” “one of us”. We hope.)
As for the mass-industrialization of the “food industry” being responsible for our huge population… well, yes, at least in-part. A slaughterhouse won’t easily justify its own operating costs at one-sixth the current population.
But now, the population is everyone’s problem, and we need to fix it. It is proposed that we go back to largely eating largely vegetables, because growing plants uses far, far fewer natural resources than “raising” animals for food. (If we ate mostly veggies, mind you, America could also share its food fairly around the world, as would be normal.)
Anyway, it’s not a “theory”, but there may be a “conspiracy”, and the discussion on matter is no mania, but pure logic. We aren’t made of plastic and cyanide, so we shouldn’t eat it.
(And, as has been pointed out, we cannot feed six billion people with the current “farming industry”… so we all need to eat more plants. We’ll feel better, too!)
DON’T EAT THE TRUVIA!
<3,
Jaxxy. =)
02/11/09 » 10:07 am »
Quick apology:
Please, forgive the many typos and spell-checking fubars in my last post! In truth, my vision is very tricky.
You see, my blood-sugar was in the (fasting) 350-550 range for 15 years. “Even” Mayo Clinic “couldn’t” help me (for a hundred thousand dollars), and I was only 25 years old! So, firuring it was all somehow my fault (as they told me; I was “a compulsive liar”), I just tried harder, and drank more diet soda and tea. That blood sugar level is now destroying my retinas.
(A serendipitous illustration, here, ay? Hypotheticals?! I don’t have time for them.)
Jaxxy. =)
02/11/09 » 10:21 am »
Is Truvia available in Canada yet? I have been searching my local supermarkets and can’t find it anywhere.
G
02/25/09 » 8:52 am »
I have seen Truvia in Kroger’s. However, at the same Kroger’s I have also seen what may be actual Stevia sold alongside it. I say “may be actual Stevia” because the product was not labeled a sweetener; instead, it was labeled a “nutritional supplement”. It’s clear that a Stevia product can be labeled a sweetener only if said Stevia product is sold by a multi-billion-dollar corporation.
02/25/09 » 10:24 am »
You people have no idea what you are talking about when you try and compare natural to organic. They are NOT the same thing! Organic is a way of growing a plant without using pesticides. Natural means that the food was not made of any man-made ingredients. If something is natural it does not mean that is organic and if something is organic it does not mean that it is natural. Know your facts and know what you are eating before deciding what is better for you!
02/27/09 » 11:26 am »
I agree with a few others here: Use SweetLeaf Stevia from Wisdom Brands or grow your own. I wouldn’t dare trust ANYTHING grown in China for the benefit of two of the largest, greediest corporations in the world.
How many people have died in China and been sickened in the US from eating food stuffs that were made and/or mixed in China OR made with ingredients FROM China. Be safe….. Truvia is just the greedy corporate version of getting in on the Stevia boom……. they don’t care about your health, they care about your MONEY. http://www.sweetleaf.com/
I’ve had personal dealings with Wisdom Brands, and they are very honest about their product, it’s origins and their intent on it being safe and healthy to consume.
03/01/09 » 1:06 am »
This is the first time I visited this site but it wont be the last. I’ve been ranting for years about artifical sweetners, corporate america, and the almighty dollar. I agree with many here. Grow your own or order from organic companies that are reputable. I definatly wouldn’t trust these greedy corporations.
05/13/09 » 9:16 am »
I can’t use Stevia becuase I’m intensly allergic to it. Keep in mind that the Stevia plant is a close relative of Ragweed and as such a percentage of the population is going to be allergic to it just as they’re allergic to the Ragweed pollen.
But beyond that I can’t see myself trusting Monsanto and like minded companies such as Cargill to provide the public with a non GMO Stevia product. I’d bet money I don’t have that they’re fast at work hybridizing Stevia as I type this. In another five years I doubt there’ll be a non GMO Stevia plant left in the world; that is the way Monsanto and Co tend to roll. So my take on Coke and Stevia is that it’s the beginning of the end for organic non GMO Stevia.
01/07/10 » 8:06 pm »
I heard the natural flavors in truvia is MSG. If you want cancer and over weight problems, eat it.
As for me i’ll stick to my agave or 100% stevia.
01/12/10 » 8:57 am »
What do you people get from bashing companies like Cargill, Monsanto etc.? Have you ever considered the good that comes from their research & development? Have you considered that we’d all be paying a whole lot more for our food, & there would be a lot more hungry people globally if it wasn’t for the production increase developments that innovations like GMO’s have provided?
Ask yourself truthfully, just what is one thing that they have done/produced/developed that has negatively impacted you personally?
Thought so…
06/22/10 » 11:43 pm »
I’m still dealing with the negative impacts of aspartame, even though i quit drinking the crap 2 years ago after drinking diet coke and other diet sodas for over 13 years. In the last 3 years before quitting, the symptoms started building and building (memory loss, disorientation, extreme fatigue, both mental and physical, limb numbness, fuzzy vision, migraines, muscle weakness, pins and needles in limbs and face, and so on and so forth)… and when i did some research and decided to quit aspartame cold turkey, 90% of my symptoms disappeared in about 1-2 weeks, tapering off more over time. I’m still dealing with about 5-10%… and I have flare ups if i so much as chew a piece of gum sweetened with aspartame. How I do miss my diet soda though… I caved last night and bought some diet Rootbeer sweetened with Truvia. It was like a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I was in heaven! I’m still very skeptical about artificial sweeteners considering my ordeal with aspartame, but I may occasionally buy a truvia sweetened soda for a treat maybe every few months.
07/06/10 » 7:08 pm »