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Is Stevia Good For You?

How much of this natural sweetener can be considered safe?

March 5, 2011 |
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Supplementary Info

Is Stevia Good For You?, 3.3 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

Sources Cited

Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2010 Feb;61(1):1-10. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) a bio-sweetener: a review. Goyal SK, Samsher, Goyal RK.

Mutagenesis. 1996 Nov;11(6):573-9. Evaluation of the genotoxicity of stevioside and steviol using six in vitro and one in vivo mutagenicity assays. Matsui M, Matsui K, Kawasaki Y, Oda Y, Noguchi T, Kitagawa Y, Sawada M, Hayashi M, Nohmi T, Yoshihira K, Ishidate M Jr, Sofuni T.

World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2009;(952):1-208, 1 p following 208.Evaluation of certain food additives.Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.

Acknowledgements

Image thanks to carlo_mastrogiacomo.

Transcript

The jury is finally in on Stevia The reason it’s been such a long time coming is that research out of Japan in the 90s found that steviosides, the active ingredient in stevia, appeared totally harmless, but in the guts of rats intestinal bacteria transformed steviosides into something called steviol, which is toxic, causing a big spike in mutagenic DNA damage. So the question was do we have those same rat bacteria in our guts, and it turns out we do. So we know that when we eat stevia, mutagenic compounds are produced in our colons and absorbed into our bloodstream. The only remaining question was how much.
The World Health Organization just released their latest evaluation of food additives, and they consider up to 4 mg/kg of body weight safe. So that’s 1.8 mg per pound, so if you multiply your weight in pounds times 1.8, that’s how many milligrams of stevia compounds you should stay under. The problem is the American sweet tooth. We’re supposed to stay under 4, but if we sweetened everything with stevia we could exceed that safety limit, at least in the United States. But, as long as you only drink like two stevia-sweetened beverages a day, it can be considered, harmless.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. And check out theother “HHH” videos (Harmful, Harmless, or Helpful?). Also, there are over a thousand subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them as well!

Also, be sure to check out my associated blog posts: Vitamin B12: how much, how often?, Kiwi Fruit for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Is Caffeinated Tea Really Dehydrating?,Soymilk: shake it up!, and Is There a Safe, Low-Calorie Sweetener?

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

    Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. And check out the other “HHH” videos (Harmful, Harmless, or Helpful?). Also, there are over a thousand subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them as well!

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/melaniep/ MelanieP

    1. Have there been any other studies other than the one mentioned in the video? To be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen any negative effects of stevia and I’m concerned because I use it quite often for sweetening my tea – and I drink a lot of tea. :)
    2. If you stay under the amount mentioned in the video, does that mean it’s harmless or simply within safe levels?
    3. How does the amount you mentioned in the video translate into daily allowance when using liquid stevia? (a typical variety available, such as NuNaturals organic liquid)

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/jmf/ jmf

    I also use a lot of Stevia, and have for MANY years! I don’t like the flavor of my local water and add it to every glass I drink! What I have done to myself??

  • Michael Greger M.D.

    Also be sure to check out my associated blog post Vitamin B12: how much, how often?!

  • Michael Greger M.D.

    Also be sure to check out my associated blog post Vitamin B12: how much, how often?!

  • Rj Dredge

    Is there any studies comparing stevia to sugar regarding health issues?

  • Linda

    I grow stevia on my patio, and use the leaves & stems in smoothies.  Do you have an opinion on whether unprocessed stevia plant parts would cause similar changes at similar levels?

    • Dazia

      THIS is what I have been asking! If any one knows, please tell us! I don’t like using processed crap any more. I’ve never used stevia as a flavouring, so I want to get the plant. My friend purchased one a few weeks back and it seemed like such a good idea. I’ve been doing research and every other article is either it’s good for you, it’s bad for you. No one can decide and I can’t get a finalized answer lol.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tawnya.veg Tawnya Veg

    Wow, this is scarry….I use tons of it! :/

  • Martie

    I’d like to see some more information to this segment. What does this bacteria in the gut do? I use stevia and well over 4.5 grams per day. What is the alternative? What about growing your own? Can you follow up please with more info?

  • http://www.facebook.com/DD.LoveDove Didi Nour

    that’s about harm, what about nutritionscale with other sweeteners?

  • Erin

    Wow, this is news. Is there an assessment of Lakanto, another reportedly non-glycemic sweetener?

  • http://www.facebook.com/jdmumma JD Mumma

    Are you aware that the study you refer to may have been funded by the Artificial Sweetern Industrial Complex corporations?
    Can you please update your video to include recent studies that show stevia has does not have “mutagenic compounds are produced in our stomach”?

  • Linda G

    I was told by a chemist that processed anything is a problem. If you use Stevia it should be in pure form. It is not the Stevia plant it is the chemicals and other ingredients used in the processing .

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