I may have to start taking back what I said about FDA corruption. Maybe not, but I think their finally approving Stevia for use as a sweetener is a huge step for the giant Big Brother.

After all, they insisted on approving all those chemical based sweeteners despite proven health risks associated with them. Where as Stevia only had one study show that it COULD affect fertility- but the amount required to even come close to the amount in humans that they gave to lab rats for the experiment would require us chugging the liquid form.  The average cup of tea or coffee only requires 1-3 drops of Stevia Clear for adequate sweetness.

I’m not going to get into the health benefits of Stevia today- that’ll be for another post. I was planning on it anyway, since I’ve loved Stevia for years.

I just wanted to reminisce a little. About 10 years ago, there was a fizzy fruit drink/soda that was sold at Wal-Mart that was sweetened with Stevia. It was pulled from the shelves within weeks because of that self-same FDA. I was horribly depressed about it, despite the fact that it was too sweet and had to be watered down.

Actually, this is what worries me about the companies putting out the new Stevia sweetened products. Notice how every time they switch to “diet” this, and “1/3 less sugar” that, that it’s SWEETER than the original counterpart? Yes, because they haven’t figured out that it was simply too sweet to begin with. They overcompensate. It’s bad.

Here’s hoping that they product test on people who are already fans of Stevia as well as fans of the original and diet versions of their products.  Overcompensating with Stevia won’t be a health risk like it is with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners- but if they drive off those who already appreciate Stevia, then the products are doomed to fail.

In the mean time, check out a company who got it right! Remember, Stevia was already allowed in tea based products because it’s an herb. It wasn’t listed as a sweetener, and so was allowed in the products:

That’s right, Celestial Seasonings. Their Zingers to Go are yummy, and so much healthier than Crystal Light or Kool-aid, or any of the other individual flavor packets currently on the market. In fact, I wrote a full review of Celestial Seasoning’s Zinger’s to Go almost a year ago.

Still, I’m very much looking forward to the influx of new products using this South American herb- I just want them to get it right!