This is an e-mail I received yesterday. I have never heard of Stevia and being a Splenda user I found this interesting. I am still researching this. I can only find FDA reports about it being unsafe but that doesn't surprise me.

I posted the whole e-mail in case anyone does know about Stevia and the harmful effects of Splenda or so anyone else who wants to research this can do so.

Sadie

Thought you might like to see this. . part of an email I received from Mitch. Mitch and my friend Bob have longed said that Splenda
was unhealthy - it has chlorine and affects the thymus among other
things- evidently never tested on humans, just approved because it is a
cane sugar. .

Bob and Mitch were motivated to research stevia further after a comment
from one of our other friends who has a high position in the health
industry- she noted that our young people were killing themselves with artificial sweeteners and that migraines and ADHD were visible early consequences. . .cancers and formaldehyde poisoning are quite common. . by the way, the sugar industry ( which advocates Splenda) seems to be almost as powerful as the petroleum industry. . . and Splenda is being adopted by school cafeterias concerned about youth obesity

Stevia is very, very popular in Japan

email excerpt:

While the American public has waited in vain for a
safe artificial sweetener to be developed, citizens of
certain other countries have for years -- in some
cases, for centuries -- enjoyed a safe, natural
sweetener that is virtually calorie-free and to which
many other health benefits have been attributed. This
miracle sweetener is a South American herb called
Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni -- commonly known simply as
stevia, estimated to be some 150 to 400 times sweeter
than sugar.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration since the
mid-1980s has labeled stevia an "unsafe food additive"
and gone to extensive lengths to keep it off the U.S.
market -- including initiating a search-and-seizure
campaign and full-fledged "import alert."

To judge from the extensive measures the FDA has
employed to keep Americans in the dark about stevia,
one might assume it was some type of dangerous
narcotic. But, in fact, no ill effects have ever been
attributed to it, although it has been used by
millions of people around the world, in some locales
for hundreds of years.

So adamant has the FDA remained on the subject,
that even though stevia can now be legally marketed as
a dietary supplement under legislation enacted in
1994, any mention of its possible use as a sweetener
or tea is still strictly prohibited.

Now that stevia has been designated as "unsafe"
-- almost certainly to benefit the politically
powerful sweetener industry -- the agency has insisted
on stonewalling any and all evidence to the contrary.
Once the FDA makes a decision, neither practical
experience nor scientific research is likely to bring
about a reversal of its position..

As Rob McCaleb, president and founder of the Herb
Research Foundation, puts it: "Sweetness is big money.
Nobody wants to see something cheap and easy to grow
on the market competing with the things they worked so
hard to get approved."

Copies of the documents referred to on these
pages should be available to anyone who wishes to make
a Freedom of Information Act request to the FDA. For
more information on making a FOIA request, check out
the FDA Web site at: www.fda.gov

[quote="sadie53"]Bob and Mitch were motivated to research stevia further after a comment
from one of our other friends who has a high position in the health
industry- she noted that our young people were killing themselves with artificial sweeteners and that migraines and ADHD were visible early consequences. . .cancers and formaldehyde poisoning are quite common. . by the way, the sugar industry ( which advocates Splenda) seems to be almost as powerful as the petroleum industry. .

Big Tobacco had to do something with those fields, plant sugar cane

Today the news about aspartame has become more of a problem for the artificial sweetener group. In tests on lab rats out of 100 rats tested, 39 fed normal diets developed cancerous tumors. Out of 100 rats fed a normal diet PLUS aspartame the number went up to 55. That is almost a 1/3rd increase. When it was first approved in 1982, it was hastily put on the market to replace saccarine, which was found to cause an increased # of tumors in rats.

One doctor says that artificial sweeteners change a sweet tooth into a fang. The real way to cut down on sugar intake is to read labels and choose products that don't add sugar to their products. Some spaghetti sauces have more sugar in them than chocolate fudge.

Be consumer wise and cut back on sugar. Notice when you shop that everywhere sugar is presented to you as a choice, at the start of each isle etc. Replace sugar with fruit choices, and only eat your fruits first thing in the morning alone ,so you can increase your blood sugar levels from fasting all night. Don't eat fruits or drink juices for the rest of the day.

Eat plenty of salads with meals, and don't mix carbs. and proteins. This creates imbalances in your digestion and glucose levels in your bloodstream. Fish but no rice, rice but no fish, Burgers without bread or fries, or fries and bread without burgers. This will also curb your craving for sugar. The key to good health is proper diet and lifestyle.

Prevention is worth all the cures in the world. Stay away from ALL artificial products.

http://brentjohnsontruth.com/
There is a 21 minute show attached to this site.

February 10, 2006
Aspartame: 21st century poison

Just about every diet drink uses it. Almost all the sugar-free foods include it. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continues to make obscene profits due to his stake in a company that produces, manufactures and distributes it.

I am referring to aspartame, the chief ingredient in NutraSweet and Equal.

However, it seems that aspartame may be the root cause of numerous diseases, conditions and syndromes, including in part, multiple sclerosis, various neurological disorders, and brain damage. Numerous credible reports have shown a general deterioration of physical health, apparently due to over-consumption of diet sodas and other foods containing aspartame.

I have used stevia for years. It is readily available as a *nutritional supplement*. The local Co-op carries it. Its highly concentrated, and a drop is like sweet enough to make a cake! But once ya get used to using oh-so-little of it, its a fine sweetner.

BTW I can't swear to it, but Outside, I don't believe sugar grows in the US, except maybe Hawaii. THe US has to Banana Republic it in other countries. *S*

Alk-2 words - sugar beets. I've heard that when you grow tobacco it ruins the fields for growing anything else for many years.

That I do believe is true. I heard that somewhere too, that its a very aggressive crop and really screws up the soil.

It was on Modern Marvels. Believe it or not it was actually interesting.

Why do you think it is addictive?

Artificial sweetners contradict the effects of other Perscription medications as well.

And, if the Former Pinko Commies in Russia can grow Sugarcane in the Ukraine then why can't the Geat democracy do it in the Carolinas, and Georgia?