Artificial Sweeteners vs. Stevia

Artificial Sweeteners vs. Stevia: Which is the better no Calorie Sweetener?

One is an artificial substance created with chemicals, the other is sweeter than sugar it self. Both have zero calories. One of them is completely natural and another is a chemical concoction or even altered from of refined sugar. One is legal for sale and to be used as a food additive and one has been banned as a food additive by the FDA.

Artificial sweeteners are chemically processed sugar substitutes that are approved by the FDA despite numerous studies suggesting the harmful side effects of using these products; include turning into formaldehyde when broken down in our system; while stevia is a natural substance containing no calories, is 10 to 15 times sweeter than sugar, and some studies suggest that it may also improve diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension yet is banned as a food additive by the FDA. Stevia can be sold as supplement or supplement additive however since supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA the same way foods are.

So why would the FDA ban stevia as a food additive but allow harmful artificial sweeteners to be sold and used as food additive? I consulted the FDA’s website and found letter after letter of complaint sent to the FDA asking for explanation of why possibly cancer causing artificial sweeteners are allowed but not stevia. The only explanation I could find was that stevia was under review for toxicity despite the fact that it has been used for centuries around the world and is legal and widely used in many other countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Canada.

Some have suggested this ban is due to the governments tie with the artificial sweetener industry, which was originally banned in 1911 but was lifted between world wars to combat the sugar shortage to keep people at home happy, despite know that it does in-fact cause cancer in animals. With the popular use of artificial sweeteners in everything from sugar free gum to diet soda’s, some have suggested that there is corporate influence for keeping artificial sweeteners on the market and keeping stevia banned as a food additive.

So what is so great about stevia beside the fact that it doesn’t have any of the harmful qualities as artificial sweeteners? Not only does it have zero calories, is sweeter than sugar, is all natural, is safe for people with diabetes and hypoglycemia, it doesn’t cause your blood glucose to fluctuate which helps prevent heart disease and diabetes, there are over 200 studies proving it’s safety-despite what the FDA may say-and it can even be used to make sugar free honey when fed to honey bees. That’s pretty amazing if you ask me. Most importantly you can cook with stevia like regular sugar but in much smaller amounts and there are lots of stevia recipes to take the guesswork out of the conversion.

The only positive to artificial sweeteners I can find is that they have no calories. That’s it. The rest of the information I found was either playing down the results of studies showing that they are unsafe for human consumption or information from studies showing that they are unsafe for human consumptions and dates of banning and lifting of those bans of these artificial substances.

The best thing you can do is do your own research, and if you’re lucky enough to find stevia labeled as a supplement in a store try it, keeping in mind a little goes a long way. With obesity and diabetes on the rise, it’s smart to limit sugar in your diet for better health and stevia is the best way to satisfy your sweet-tooth naturally while cutting back on sugar.