Things that make you go hmm…Kraft Touts Wonders of Stevia for the New Crystal Light.
As I was a Crystal Light junkie in the 80’s (before understanding the dangers of aspartame), my curiosity prompted me to read more. Could Kraft really be producing a ‘healthy’ version of my once favorite drink?
Kraft is not using pure stevia, they are using Cargill’s Truvia, a brand of stevia.
Ok, so what is Truvia? It is a blend of rebiana (extract form stevia leaves), erythritol (sugar alcohol) and natural flavors. It is currently used in Vitamin Water, All Sport and some Odwalla juices. Apparently, Truvia now accounts for approximately 5% of the artificial sweetener market.
Like many sugar substitutes, there doesn’t seem to be any conclusive evidence supporting the safety of Truvia. However, it was approved as a food ingredient by the FDA in 2008.
I gave up Crystal Light back in 1989. Despite this new ingredient, I will be sticking to fresh lemon with my water. With the hundreds of gallons of Crystal Light (and aspartame) I consumed in the 80′s, my body has accumulated more than it share of ‘questionable’ artificial sweeteners.
Truvia does not come straight from the stevia plant. It contains Rebiana, which is produced by the action of chemicals and stringent alcohols, including ethanol and methanol, on various stevia glycosides. It is not an ingredient in the stevia plant, nor is it found in nature. Rebaudioside A (Reb A) is one of the 11 glycoside compounds naturally in the stevia leaf, and is produced by the action of the leaves. However, there is only 9/10 of 1% Rebiana in Truvia. The other 99.1% is erythritol, a sugar alcohol, derived from sugar extracted from corn that is 30% GMOs. Somehow cargill found a way to market their erythritol product as a stevia one. I have read of a good number of people who are convinced they had reactions to Truvia–reactions that seem rather typical of sugar alcohols.
http://healthpersonal.blogspot.com/2008/1/anyone-else-tried-truvia.html
http://side-effects.owndoc.com/truvia-side-effects.html
http://healthpersonal.blogspot.com/2010/02/truvia-post-draws-50-comments.html