Reply to "The Dirty Little Secret of Sugar-Free Products"
March 9, 2010 in Diabetes Management, Weight Management by Joyce Bunderson
On Monday, March 1, 2010 Elaine Magee RD, MPH wrote about, “The Dirty Little Secret of Sugar-Free Products” – an article focused on sugar alcohols. You can read the article at this url: http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-recipe-doctor/2010/03/dirty-little-secret-of-sugar-free.html
I wanted to make a comment, but there was no place to make a comment; so I'm writing my open letter comment here.
I agree with Ms. Magee regarding the effects of most of the sugar alcohols. I have a fairly dependable and violent reaction to sorbitol and xylitol; two of the sugar alcohols listed by Magee. I have no plans to discover if the others cause the same problem. I don’t eat many processed foods so I haven’t had a reaction for a couple of years. I also have been diagnosed as having Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), decades ago. Magee used the term ‘discomfort;’ I assure you that I, personally, would upgrade the term to ‘pain.’
I want to discuss erythritol, a sugar alcohol that was not mentioned in the article; erythritol is technically a sugar alcohol. I hope that you will let your readers know that although erythritol is a sugar alcohol it is absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine, then most of it is excreted in the urine. Generally, erythritol does not enter the large intestine, which is where the problems that Magee wrote about happen. If you consume an extremely large dose in a short period of time, you could have ‘the problem.’ As I’m sure you are aware, last year well-researched Truvia and Purvia both were released by very large companies; both products contain erythritol.
Because of the lack of the gastric distress problems, I developed an all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener, containing erythritol and other natural fruit extracts, for my husband, Victor to use to sweeten his diabetic life. My product does not contain stevia, like Truvia and Purvia. There are now hundreds of people using this sweetener (Dr. Grandma’s Delight) with no reported problems. Many have been using it for several years. All the fruit extracts in Dr. Grandma’s Delight are on the FDA GRAS List - just click on the link above and read more about Delight at the bottom of the page. It’s very nice for diabetics and those striving to cut back on sugar and other caloric sweeteners.
Sincerely,
Joyce Bunderson MPH, PhD, RD
President, Dr. Grandma’s
African violet doing a nice job, while waiting for spring.
yoda said on March 9, 2010
I use SweetLeaf stevia, a much more pure stevia product than Truvia or PureVia, which really are not stevia products. SweetLeaf does not contain any sugar alcohols or any forms of sugar like other stevia brands. It also hs 0calories, 0 carbs ,and a 0 GI (and 0 chemicals). I use SweetLeaf for really anything I want to sweeten!
Joyce Bunderson (Dr. Grandma) said on March 9, 2010
Dear Yoda,
You’re right, I am interchanging the form used in soda pop ‘ (Reb-A) with the Stevia Leaf (stevia). The reason Coke and Pepsi are using Reb-A (an extract of stevia) is that there is research that shows problems with Stevia Leaf. I think that the best short report about Stevia is in the Nutrition Action Newsletter, which they are so kind to publish on line at http://www.cspinet.org/nah/4_00/stevia.html. I especially like the part that explains how it has been safely used in other countries in small amounts; and how we Americans, do so many things in excess. The reason that I created my sweetener is that I can cook and bake with it and make larger recipes. In addition, I wanted to use ingredients that were FDA GRAS Listed (Generally Recognized AS Safe). If you’re not using too much Stevia, I’m sure that you’re just fine.
Best wishes for a great day,
Joyce
yoda said on March 12, 2010
Fyi, SweetLeaf is GRAS.
Joyce Bunderson (Dr. Grandma) said on March 13, 2010
Dear Yoda,
From the SweetLeaf website at stevia.com; on their home page, http://www.stevia.com/Stevia_Article.aspx?Id=2269. I’ve copied right from their page:
In September of 1995, the FDA revised its import alert to allow Stevia and its extracts to be imported as a food supplement but not as a sweetener. Yet, it defines Stevia as an unapproved food additive, not affirmed as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) in the United States. The following is a portion of this revised alert:
“If Stevia is to be used in a dietary supplement for a technical effect, such as use as a sweetener or flavoring agent, and is labeled as such, it is considered an unsafe food additive. However, in the absence of labeling specifying that stevia is being or will be used for technical effect, use of stevia as a dietary ingredient in a dietary supplement is not subject to the food additive provisions of FD & C ACT.”
Best wishes for a great day,
Joyce
yoda said on March 16, 2010
I mean SweetLeaf stevia, a specific stevia brand is GRAS. It was the first stevia product to receive GRAS status on March 5, 2008 as much as 9 months before Truvia and PureVia. According to FDA attorneys, SweetLeaf Stevia is the only food and beverage ingredient in the US to receive TWO GRAS certifications AND an FDA “No Questions” letter for the same product.
Not all stevia brands are GRAS, but there are about 5 or so that are GRAS.
(Most of the information on the internet regarding stevia is inaccurate).
Joyce Bunderson (Dr. Grandma) said on March 16, 2010
Dear Yoda,
Since I don’t use stevia I’m not up on the hundreds of brands of products that use stevia. The critical difference between the products that are GRAS and those that are not, seems to be based upon the extraction. Extracting Rebiana or Reb A yields a product that is GRAS. Whole leaf stevia has not been approved by the FDA. Some health organizations feel that the FDA yielded too quickly to pressure from Pepsico and Coke to pass Reb A; others feel that all is well. But it looks like the bottom line at this time is: If your particular brand is an extract of stevia, it is like the Reb A that Pepsi and Coke are using; it is considered GRAS by the FDA. Reb A is different from whole-leaf stevia (which can only be legally sold as a dietary supplement in the U.S.)
When you say that not all stevia brands are GRAS, that is because some are whole-leaf and some are extracting only the approved Reb A portion of the leaf.
I really do wish it were an easier issue. I personally believe that if you use the whole-leaf kind sparingly, it will probably not be harmful – just my personal opinion.
Hope this helps.
Good thoughts – have a great day,
Joyce
Loyd Auerbach said on April 1, 2010
I just want to add that I’ve been using Dr. Grandma’s Delight sweetener for about two years. As a former sugar lover (and diagnosed with Type II Diabetes in 2007) who disliked non-sugar sweeteners I’d tried, I was determined to find something that tasted good as well as had no bad effects.
While I rarely had “the problem” when using xylitol, once I tasted your sweetener I knew I’d found my solution. To me, it’s as good in taste as the organic sugar I used to use (and my wife and friends agree), and I’ve not experienced any adverse reactions.
Just wish it was more affordable in small packets to carry with me. I’ve been using another brand of erythritol in packets, but it doesn’t taste as good.
Joyce Bunderson (Dr. Grandma) said on April 1, 2010
Dear Loyd,
Thank you so much for the very nice comment. I’m really glad that you enjoy Dr. Grandma’s Delight. I think I should have really named it Dr. Grandpa’s Delight, because it was developed for him, when he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Dr. Grandpa (Vic) has such a sweet tooth, it really makes his life more enjoyable to have a good, clean-tasting sweetener – one that doesn’t cause ‘the problem’.
Loyd, I really hope that we can get our sales up, so that we can do a bigger run of the individual packets – that will enable us to drive the price down on the individual packets.
Thanks again for the nice note. Good Health Can Be Yummy!
Best wishes for a great day,
Joyce