OT: FDA Approves Stevia!

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Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000626_stevia_Truvia_FDA.html

FDA Approves Stevia, Ends the Era of Oppression of this Herbal Sweetener

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted GRAS approval for a

natural, zero-calorie sweetener it once sought to wipe out from the

U.S. marketplace. Following political pressure from powerful consumer

product corporations (Coca-Cola and Pepsi, primarily), the FDA has

once again fallen in step with the interests of Big Business and

legalized a food and beverage ingredient that it once aggressively

oppressed.

In this case, however, the approval of this ingredient happens to be

in the best interests of consumers. Why? Because it will largely

replace aspartame, an artificial sweetener chemical linked to numerous

neurological disorders, including headaches, eye disorders and other

problems.

It will also unleash a wave of stevia-sweetened products for

consumers, and that's good news for diabetics or anyone seeking

healthier products sweetened with an herbal extract rather than a

synthetic chemical.

I publicly predicted this FDA decision just two weeks ago an article

containing thirty-one predictions for 2009

(http://www.naturalnews.com/024976.html). The FDA's approval of stevia

is prediction #8, for those keeping track. (Interestingly, at least

two of the top 13 predictions for 2009 have already come true in the

last month of 2008!)

The circumstances surrounding this FDA approval of stevia reveal yet

again the true loyalties of the agency. When stevia threatened the

profits of aspartame, it was routinely suppressed by the agency. FDA

thugs seized imports of stevia at the border, destroyed millions of

dollars in stevia products, threatened companies with fines for daring

to sell stevia, and even ordered one company to destroy its recipe

books that mentioned stevia in dessert recipes. But now, when

Coca-Cola and Pepsi want stevia approved, the FDA suddenly reverses

its oppression and decides to legalize the herb.

Again, this is a rare case where the FDA's decision benefits

consumers, but the circumstances behind the decision were in no way

motivated by consumer interest. They were motivated by corporate profits.

Betty i's victory

What's so profitable about stevia? Well, thanks to the efforts of

Betty i and others who have been warning about the dangers of

aspartame, word has spread across the 'net to the point where informed

consumers no longer want to consume aspartame at all. In other words,

the aspartame opponents succeeded in destroying the consumer

acceptability of aspartame! And that led the big players (Coke, Pepsi,

etc.) to look for something that would be more acceptable to consumers.

That search led them to stevia. And once Big Business got behind the

herb, it was only a matter of time before the FDA caved in to

commercial interests and legalized the herb.

Realize this crucial point: The FDA's decisions these days are based

entirely on corporate profits and have absolutely nothing to do with

science, safety or consumer interests. Remember, it was just a few

days ago that the FDA declared infants, children and even pregnant

women could now eat essentially unlimited quantities of mercury in

fish, without any negative health consequences whatsoever! This is the

same agency that says children can " safely " eat melamine, bisphenol-A,

MSG, sodium nitrite and all sorts of other dangerous, toxic substances

that harm human health.

So don't be fooled for a minute into thinking that the FDA's approval

of stevia has anything to do with serving the People.

Stevia victory!

Nevertheless, this approval of stevia stands as a major consumer

victory. And I want to take a minute to applaud three people who

deserve big-time credit for spreading the word about aspartame,

thereby creating demand for stevia that has finally led to its approval:

Dr. Betty i (http://www.mpwhi.com/main.htm)

Jeff Rense (www.Rense.com)

Dr. Blaylock (www.BlaylockMD.com)

There are many others, of course, and even NaturalNews may deserve

some credit (I've been promoting stevia for ten years now), but the

main credit goes to Dr. Betty i who has fought aspartame for

well over a decade.

In fact, the approval of stevia is paving the way for the banning of

aspartame! And I predict aspartame will eventually be banned or

removed from the GRAS list, but that would have never happened unless

an alternative were available. Stevia is that alternative.

Is Cargill's stevia really safe?

There is some speculation that the patented stevia being used by

Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other big businesses is in some way less natural

than the traditional stevia we've been buying at health food stores

for years. Some have wondered how their patented stevia (Truvia) could

actually be patented unless there were some synthetic molecules in it.

It's a reasonable question, but at the moment, I'm not aware of any

evidence of Truvia being adulterated or synthesized in any way at all.

In fact, I personally welcome the ingredient and applaud Cargill for

pressuring the FDA into getting this GRAS approved. There is no

evidence I'm aware of that their stevia is genetically modified or

altered in any way. Of course, if such evidence emerges, I'll make it

available here on NaturalNews, but at the moment I'm supporting this

Truvia ingredient and would even consume it myself. That's always

subject to change if new information emerges, of course.

Sherry Weiss Poall, who works for the RF Binder public relations

agency that serves Cargill, has been distributing safety research data

about Truvia since July, 2008, but since those studies were paid for

by Cargill, many people might dismiss their objectivity.

In any case, I believe that the natural health community should

cautiously embrace this ingredient for the time being. It is, after

all, a hugely positive move for the food and beverage industry to be

able to ditch aspartame and shift to an herbal sweetener. If anything,

this is a monumental victory for natural health over synthetic

chemicals. It's a victory that took over a decade to become a reality,

but it has finally arrived in the United States thanks to this late

decision by a reluctant FDA.

Watch for stevia-sweetened products to appear on store shelves

everywhere. You'll also see lots of formulations that will combine

stevia with other sweeteners to provide higher sweetness with fewer

overall calories (and a lower glycemic index).

Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000626_stevia_Truvia_FDA.html