Stevia the Holy Grail of Sweeteners?

Yes, Stevia is derived from a plant, but so was ephedra (ma huang) — which contributed to heart valve problems.

Yes it is GRAS (generally recognized as safe), but so is Aspartame.

This article comes from a very food industry perspective. And, for them, Stevia may really be the Holy Grail of sweeteners. They can market it as “all natural”, zero calorie, and the latest greatest thing.

From a consumer perspective, though, we have to wait and see. Just like Aspartame when it came out to save the day, and hydrogenated oils when they came out to save your heart (so eat, eat, eat the margarine), we will not know if Stevia is safe until it has been on the shelf long enough to see its effects.

The GRAS status from the FDA does not protect you. Your best solution is to do what you know is right — eat food — because brown sugar will not collapse your heart valves like ephedra, honey will not break down in your body to formic acid and formaldehyde like Nutrasweet.

Let others be the test animals. We should withhold judgement and usage, until we’ve seen it work for 50 years or so.