Why the FDA Stevia Approval Was Delayed (And Where Aspartame Comes Into Play)

FDA Stevia is a natural sweetener that has been used in Japan for decades. It has a slightly strange aftertaste, and can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar.

What Studies Have Shown About Stevia

There have been countless studies conducted to test the safety of Stevia.

What are the results?

After a dosage equivalent to over 100x an average human diet, the hamsters in a research study performed at the Chulalongkorn University Primate Research Center in Bangkok said that "no growth or hormone abnormalities were found in hamsters of either sex".

And this certainly isn't the only study that has been done. As I mentioned earlier, Stevia has been used for decades in Japan, and along with this large amount of use has come many studies on the subject.

All un-biased studies have shown that Stevia is safe for you to eat, and even has been shown to reduce breast and skin cancer.

So why has it taken so long to become approved by the FDA in the United States? The answer is related to the artificial sweetener, Aspartame.

What Studies Have Shown About Aspartame

According to a study titled "The Bressler Report", Aspartame has been proven to trigger brain tumors, mammary tumors, pancreatic tumors, ovarian tumors, pituitary adenomas, uterine tumors, miscarriages and even more.

Obviously, this is not a safe product.

Many of the studies supporting Aspartame were conducted poorly at best, and many simply to check for short term (4 day studies) tooth decay, rather than long term health effects.

There really is no real scientific evidence supporting any studies that put Aspartame in a good light. Any studies that do support Aspartame have been rejected by the scientific community (Well, the scientific community that is outside of the FDA).

An "Unfortunate Coincidence"

So how on earth did Aspartame get approved then?

Well before 1983, the product had been completely rejected. That was until Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes approved the product for use in soft drinks.

And then 2 months later, he resigned from his job at the FDA. Probably for retirement, right?

But wait a second, only a few months after his resignation from the FDA he joined the Public Relations firm that supported Nutrasweet (Aspartame) under the pay of $1,000 a day.

That doesn't sound suspicious at all...right?

I'm not going to point at any fingers here, I'll just let you come to your own conclusion on this one. I hope we are on the same page though.

Why Did It Take Until 2008 For FDA Stevia Approval In The United States?

As you saw from the case above, the FDA is far from being unaffected by economic and political bias.

Stevia is not only a healthy sweetener, but it is cheap to produce.

Of course, for other Artificial Sweeteners (Such as Splenda or Nutrasweet), having a healthy, cheap competitor on the market really isn't good for business.

So in order to protect their own assets ($), the sale of Stevia in the United States had to be prevented.

And it was. And money was thrown in every direction (except towards Stevia manufacturers, and the public's health). That is, until 2007 when Coca-Cola decided that they would like to create a product that uses Stevia and Erythritol as a sweetener.

And by such a fluke, only a year later Stevia is approved for use in the United States! I find it very suspicious, now that a big soft drink company wants to support Stevia, the product gets approved for consumption.

Another "Coincidence"?

Once again, you can be the judge of that.

Just keep all of this in mind the next time you try to gauge the credibility of the FDA. Some of the decisions they have made are good decisions, but after the events that have taken place here, I would find myself very hard pressed to take their word alone without doing my own research to back up their claims.

And I encourage you to as well!

If You Haven't Done So Already:...

... To Learn How To Eat Whatever you Want, Worry-Free (and Sugar-Free!)

Return from FDA Stevia to Sugar Free Recipes