Catnip for split ends?

[ktani]

Stevia has mixed reviews on safety.

This is one of the best articles I found on it.
"Be careful when reading research on stevia. Some studies use different types of plants, different extraction methods and different parts of the plants than others, making it difficult to compare data across studies. ... For the time being, the FDA says “stay away from stevia in foods, except Rebiana.” As for the healing powers of stevia, consider all the hype at this time. There just aren’t that many convincing studies that stevia improve diabetes, hypertension or other illnesses."
http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelo...ia-extract.htm

I would be cautious about using it as a cosmetic in quantity.

This was written before the FDA approved the purified form as a GRAS sweetener only in 2008.
"Contraindications Pregnant women should not consume this herb. ... Usage in large quantities is discouraged. There have been some studies showing that steviol at high dosages may possess weak mutagenic activity ...."
http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69386.cfm

[Rigani]

"Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy." Paracelsus

There are so many studies about stevia ... I don't know which one I should trust, the one by Monsato says stevia is bad (want to sell their aspartame) or the one by the WHO (old one from the 60s), saying stevia is harmless. In the European Union stevia is not permitted.

But one thing is clear, sure and proved: the leaves are not toxic. Really. Stevia has not been tested with humans, only with mice and rats. You would have to eat more than the half of your own body weight stevia leaves to harm your body (eventually) in the way it caused harm in the animal experiments. (Source: Ralf Pude from the Institute of Economic Plants Science of the University of Bonn)

We were talking about stevia for external use only, so we don't eat our hair treatment, do we? lol

@wahmof9: Sorry, but I don't know, I haven't tried it yet.

[ktani]

"Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy." Paracelsus

There are so many studies about stevia ... I don't know which one I should trust, the one by Monsato says stevia is bad (want to sell their aspartame) or the one by the WHO (old one from the 60s), saying stevia is harmless. In the European Union stevia is not permitted.

But one thing is clear, sure and proved: the leaves are not toxic. Really. Stevia has not been tested with humans, only with mice and rats. You would have to eat more than the half of your own body weight stevia leaves to harm your body (eventually) in the way it caused harm in the animal experiments. (Source: Ralf Pude from the Institute of Economic Plants Science of the University of Bonn)

We were talking about stevia for external use only, so we don't eat our hair treatment, do we? lol

@wahmof9: Sorry, but I don't know, I haven't tried it yet.

As I said, the information is mixed. There have been reports here of internal use side effects from the external use of natural products.

People do not eat their shampoos or conditioners or deoderants either but many people are reluctant to use certain cosmetics because of certain ingredients.

Skin absorption can be a factor with cosmetic use. There is a big difference between using a product internally or externally that is considered safe at certain levels and questionable when used in quantity and frequently.

[Rigani]

You're absolutely right ktani, I only wanted to say it's not extremely risky. Of course everyone should be careful about "new" herbs (especially when they're allergic to other herbs) and give it a try carefully and low-dosed.

And of course skin absorbs several substances, you're right.

So @ all: please take care

[ktani]

You're absolutely right ktani, I only wanted to say it's not extremely risky. Of course everyone should be careful about "new" herbs (especially when they're allergic to other herbs) and give it a try carefully and low-dosed.

And of course skin absorbs several substances, you're right.

So @ all: please take care

That was my only point.

People should always patch test anything new they try as a cosmetic in any case, for allergies or sensitivity.

The real problem, as I see it, is that many people see natural products as safe at any quantity. Such products need to be researched as rigorously as any conventional product.

[ktani]

In the European Union stevia is not permitted.

I can certainly understand why all of this is confusing. The protein powder I have ussed for the past few years to make protein shakes to drink is sweetened with stevia leaf. It is made here in Canada. I am not going to add stevia leaf to any cosmetics though.

2009
"Stevioside import ban
Stevioside is a very strong sweetener, made from the stevia plant. It is 250 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose and has been used for a number of years as a sweetener in South America, Asia, Japan and China. But stevia and stevioside and food products containing them are not allowed to be sold in the UK or the rest of the EU."
http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/...ed_restricted/

[wahmof9]

I use stevia all the time and it has been used for a long time in South America...the European Union does not allow a lot of stuff that are natural....

My aunt is blind and needs melatonin to sleep...but I have to send it to her.

Moreover, Strevia can be no worse than refined sugar or certainly Nutrasweet, splenda or other...

One other thing the FDA is money hungry and they cannot make money of natural products...they are the one that said Nutrasweet was safe (wrong), Viaoxx was safe (wrong again), DES was safe for pregnant women (wrong again)....so whether it is FDA approved or not makes no difference to me..

Medications kill more people every year that the whole Vietnam war together.....herbal remedies worldwide have way less than 500 cases....

Thank you Ktani for the info.

[wahmof9]

"Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy." Paracelsus

There are so many studies about stevia ... I don't know which one I should trust, the one by Monsato says stevia is bad (want to sell their aspartame) or the one by the WHO (old one from the 60s), saying stevia is harmless. In the European Union stevia is not permitted.

But one thing is clear, sure and proved: the leaves are not toxic. Really. Stevia has not been tested with humans, only with mice and rats. You would have to eat more than the half of your own body weight stevia leaves to harm your body (eventually) in the way it caused harm in the animal experiments. (Source: Ralf Pude from the Institute of Economic Plants Science of the University of Bonn)

We were talking about stevia for external use only, so we don't eat our hair treatment, do we? lol

@wahmof9: Sorry, but I don't know, I haven't tried it yet.

So very true!

[detritus]

So very true!

You know this is true of herbs too, right? There are a lot of herbs that aren't safe and were deemed unsafe after they had been used for a long time: ephedra, licorice root, St. John's wort, digitalis.. If anything, herbal remedies have more potential to be unsafe because there hasn't been enough research on them. The research hasn't been done because of money and corporate interests, but that doesn't change the fact that they are unstudied.

[wahmof9]

You know this is true of herbs too, right? There are a lot of herbs that aren't safe and were deemed unsafe after they had been used for a long time: ephedra, licorice root, St. John's wort, digitalis.. If anything, herbal remedies have more potential to be unsafe because there hasn't been enough research on them. The research hasn't been done because of money and corporate interests, but that doesn't change the fact that they are unstudied.

Actually there are studies all over the world just not in the US.

Ephedra was not unsafe per say it was used unsafely by the people using it....all those cases were user error yet it was pulled off the market...Vioxx has taken many more lives and yet it is on the market because over 15,000 lives were not enough to remove it...

On the other hand ALL drugs have to be toxic and kill....

43% of ALL drugs cause cancer in animals yet they are still on the market.

Here are some "fun" facts:

It is true cancer mortality rates have remained relatively unchanged from 1975 to 2003. However, in the same time period the incidence of cancer had risen dramatically affecting 1.3 million people annually. Today nearly 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will develop cancer in their lifetime. This translates to 56% more cancers in men and 22% more in women in a single generation!
Christopher Murray M.D. and Ph.D., Director of WHO's Global Program on Evidence for Health Policy said:

Basically, you die earlier and spend more time disabled if you are an American rather than a member of most other advanced countries.

It costs $300 million to bring a drug to market.
The first step of the FDA approval process is that ALL drugs must pass an LD-50. This means that the said drug must be able to kill 50% of its lab animals and then go on to kill all of them for

a lethal dose test.

IF a drug cannot pass that test it is said to be a Natural Remedy and falls under the DSHEA of 1994 - Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. In the U.S., over 3 million pounds of antibiotics are used every year on humans. That amounts to 10 teaspoons of pure antibiotic for every man, woman and child per year.
Most medication are synthesized from chemicals in labs, however some include biological agents as diverse as whale sperm and human blood parts.
Every body of water tested contains measurable drug residues.
In 1995 JAMA - the Journal of the American Medical Association - noted that:

"Over one million patients are injured in U.S. hospitals each year and approximately 280,000 die annually as a result of these injuries."

Iatrogenic deaths - doctor caused - in the U.S. account for 783,936 deaths each year. It is evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of deathand injury. The facts bear this out. In 2001, heart disease annual death rate was 699,697 . In 2001, the annual cancer death rate was 553,251