Drawbacks of Stevia

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http://www.steviacafe.net/dangers-of-stevia

What Skeptics Say About the Dangers of Stevia

Scientists studying the potential toxicology and toxicity of stevia have several main concerns:

Energy Metabolism: Large amounts of stevioside can potentially interfere with absorption of carbohydrates in animals. It can further disrupt the metabolising/conversion of food into energy.

Cancer: Steviol has successfully been converted into a mutagenic compound, which may promote cancer by causing genetic mutation of a cell’s DNA. The catch? Scientists don’t yet know if this will happen in human cells.

Reproductive problems: European scientists cite potential adverse side effects to the male reproductive system. When fed high doses of stevioside for nearly two years, sperm production in male rats was noticeably reduced and the weight of seminal vesciles declined. Likewise, when female hamsters were fed large amounts of a stevioside derivative called steviol, their offspring were found to be fewer and smaller. Again, it should be noted that this has been neither tested nor proven in humans.

http://www.glycemic-index.org/dangers-of-stevia.html

Dangers of Stevia

Unlike with other well known sweeteners in the market, dangers of stevia are not certain and the results of studies aimed to provide evidence are not conclusive.

Potential Dangers of Stevia:

Please note that any reported risk of this additive come up in case of regular over consumption. So it totally depends on how much you consume every day. If there are any potential dangers of stevia, you can possibly avoid them by moderate consumption. But moderation is not what most people will understand and they will probably indulge on stevia in their very sweet drinks and foods.

• Stevia may lower your blood glucose so you may want to be careful if you are a diabetic and watch your blood sugar levels after using this additive.

• Cancer risk is a possibility, without enough evidence to back up the claims. Toxicity trials by the Japanese constantly resulted in negative results. However one of the studies claimed that extreme use of stevia can cause DNA mutation, which may be linked to cancer. Genetic mutation was done with animals, and we don't know if this will be the case with humans.

• Energy metabolism problem is seen more in children. In large amounts, stevia may block the carb absorption and this leads to inadequate amount of energy being produced or converted in the body, and it shows in the form of weakness and fatigue.

• Reproductive problems were observed as the sperm cell production was significantly reduced in male hamsters with high doses of stevia, this may not be the same for humans.

• Obesity: It can contribute to weight gain rather than helping you lose weight. Think about it, stevia is a substance 300 times sweeter than sugar and like sugar or sweeteners, it is not going to help you get rid of your sweet tooth or your habit of eating sweets. It may potentially boost your appetite and you will only crave for more sugar throughout the day.

• Gas, nausea, numbness, bloating, dizziness are among the mild side effects of stevia reported, but they are of short duration.