Following up to the piece the other day about the safety of artificial sweeteners, time to cover another sweetener that comes from a plant and has made some serious waves in the nutrition market, as it’s commonly pitched as the "natural sweetener."  It’s Stevia.

Is IT the answer to shedding body fat healthfully?

Is it a safe alternative to Splenda and Equal?

OF COURSE — it’s natural!  

Hope you didn’t fall for that, did you? 

There a lot of "natural" herbs and other ingredients that we should probably stay away from.

Let’s find out the truth.

Stevia is a relatively new comer in terms of popularity, even though it’s been used for 100′s of years.  It’s exploded in the last few years as consumers are looking for a "natural" calorie free alternative to artificial sweeteners.

Stevia fits that bill.  Stevia’s real name is Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) and it is an herb native to Paraguay and Brazil.  

But, while it has been used for 100′s of year now, it has always been labeled a "dietary supplement" since it didn’t have the OK from the FDA as a food ingredient.

There were some concerns with Stevia after early studies suggested there may be some concern with its use with fertility and reproductive development and even genetic mutations!  Lo and behold, more recent data submitted to the FDA regarding the safety of a Stevia extract, known as Reb A, granted this particular extract GRAS status (generally recognized as safe).  This was in December 2008/

However, the FDA still maintained the position about calling Stevia at dietary supplement with this statement "Reb A is different than whole leaf stevia or other stevia extracts, which can only be sold as dietary supplements."  They continued "Nobody has provided the FDA with evidence that whole-leaf stevia is safe."

In fact, one consumer advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) stands by their position that Reb A GRAS status was granted too early, suggesting not enough supportive safety data is available.

As usual, there are of course two sides to each story.  Let’s look at the pros and cons of this ingredient.

Pros:

• Stevia is about 250-300 times sweeter than sugar
• Stevia is stable to heat, making it safe for cooking
• Stevia is calorie free
• Stevia doesn’t promote dental caries like sugar

Cons:

• It has a bitter taste that some may not enjoy, also making it difficult to include in large quantities (in baking, for example).
• It’s more expensive than most other sweeteners
• Data is mixed here – some show DNA damage with high doses of stevia intake, others show no effect at all.

From what we know now, the FDA considers Reb A safe…

If searching for this in the store, look for either "Truvia" and "PureVia" — the consumer names for the Stevia extract.

Or, you can maybe find a stevia plant, like I did, at our local farmers market. 

What do you think?  Is Stevia the next big thing in terms of sugar replacements?

I get one question more than any other.

“What supplements do I need?”

It doesn’t matter if it’s a 15 year old young athlete trying to put on some muscle, a working mom who is trying to shed those last 10 lbs, or a 60 year old grandpa who is looking to improve his health …

And my answer is always the same – let’s first look at your diet before assessing if you should be taking a supplement(s).  Most are overrated, but there are some that have merit for sure.  

And one vitamin that continues to dominate the science and media is vitamin D –the “Sunshine Vitamin.” 

Not long ago it was thought of as more of a “helper” nutrient – helping the body better utilize its calcium for strong bones.

But the game has changed. Experts now realize that vitamin D has a positive effect on many different functions in the body:

•    muscle strength
•    bone health
•    potentially reducing the risk of type 1 and 2 diabetes
•    obesity
•    cancer prevention
•    Alzheimer's
•    arthritis
•    decreasing falls with elderly
•    other inflammatory issues

And more and more research is showing that a good majority of the population is deficient – here are just some prevalence numbers from several studies:

• 74% of premenopausal women
• 60% of elderly
• 50% of pregnant women
• 42% of children are deficient!

The first step is to get your levels tested – ask for your doctor to test 25-hydroxyvitamin D .  The blood values should be between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year-round.

In fact, I’m headed to the doctor later this month and will ask them to test my levels.  I’ll keep you posted on my results.  

So if it’s so important, where do we get it?

We can make vitamin D from sunlight.  But most "shun the sun" – by either rarely venturing outdoors, or slathering themselves with 4000 SPF suntan lotion so it's like a suit of armor.

And some other foods provide D too, but it’s difficult to get through foods — milk is fortified, canned and wild salmon are good options, sardines, anchovies, egg yolks, liver, and only a few other foods provide decent quantities Vitamin D.  Unfortunately most don't eat or drink many of those options above.

So what should we do?  

1. Go to the doctor and have your levels tested. 
2. Include some of those foods above for quality sources of D, along with other nutrients.
3. Get out in the sun a bit – just 10 minutes each day seems to be sufficient.
4. Add a quality vitamin D supplement – experts seem to agree that 1000 IU’s of Vitamin D3 each day is a good start. Of course talk to your health care provider and follow their specific recommendations.

Heck, even Ella takes 400 IU’s every single day … and she’s just 7 months old!

So to answer the “what supplement should I take” question — this is one supplement that I feel should be on everyone’s shelf.  
 
For more information on dietary supplements, check out this interview with Hector Lopez, MD

And this interview with Dr. Douglas MacKay covers the critical information about the health benefits of omega-3 fats