Extracts from the stevia plant have been used by many cultures as a natural sweetener. Stevia is also used as an herbal remedy for high blood pressure. Controversial laboratory studies in the 1990s brought the safety of stevia into question. Stevia is now generally considered to be safe when consumed in small amounts. Nonetheless, some doctors recommend that pregnant women stay away from stevia due its potential health risks.
Nausea and Weakness
There is a small chance that you may experience nausea or weakness when first starting to use stevia. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center describes a case report of patients using stevia in which a small number of people developed nausea, weakness, abdnominal fullness and muscle pain after using stevia. These mild side effects went away within one week of continued stevia use.
Cancer
Limited evidence from laboratory animals shows that stevia may cause cancer. These studies, published in 1993 in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives" have helped to fuel a lot of controversy around the safety of the stevia plant. When mice eat stevia, they metabolize part of the stevia plant into a small amount of a cancer-causing chemical that, in theory, can cause cancer. The Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center regards the cancer risks from stevia as very low.
Hormonal Problems
Scientific studies described by the Center for Science in the Public Interest as well as SteviaSideEffects.org show that stevia might have some negative effects on the male reproductive system. The Center for Science in the Public Interest explains that when male rats are fed large doses of stevia their sperm production is decreased and their seminal vesicles get smaller. Another study described by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and SteviaSideEffects.org showed that when pregnant female hamsters are given an extract of stevia, they have smaller litters and their offspring are notably smaller. Whether or not stevia has any impact on human reproductive health remains to be determined.
References
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: Stevia A Bittersweet Tale
- University of Nebraska: Stevia
- MayoClinic.com: Is the artificial sweetener stevia available in the United States?
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Stevia
- SteviaSideEffects.org
- "Environmental Health Perspectives": Mutagenicity and human chromosomal effect of stevioside, a sweetener from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, M Suttajit et al., October 1993
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