Many people are searching for a healthy alternative to sugar or artificial sweeteners, without completely depriving their sweet tooth. Well, there is a seemingly perfect alternative, but the competition is stiff. Most of you can easily name the most popular artificial sugar alternative on the market.

Aspartame, also known by the trade names Nutrasweet or Equal, is the most prevalent “non-sugar” sweetener on the U.S market today. It is found in everything from diet soft drinks, sugarless candies, gums and mints, to sugar-free yogurt. Regular readers of this column may remember an article where we discussed the very real health dangers aspartame consumption poses.

Little has changed since then. More recent research repeatedly shows that aspartame breaks down into methanol (wood alcohol– the toxic type), which is then broken down in the body into formaldehyde (embalming fluid). Formaldehyde causes gradual and eventually severe damage to the nervous system, brain, and immune system, is carcinogenic and causes genetic damage even at extremely low doses.

Since 1997 there have been increasing reports from aspartame users of toxicity reactions such as seizures, eye damage and vision loss, confusion, severe migraines, depression, anxiety attacks, multiple sclerosis symptoms, and numbness and tingling in the extremities. These reactions are reported to the FDA every year. As a matter of fact, aspartame is responsible for as much as 80% of the adverse food reactions reported to the FDA. If any other product had such a track record it would be yanked off the shelves. Unfortunately multi-million dollar chemical companies seem to have a lot of “pull” with the FDA.

Dr. Ralph Walton, Chairman of The Center for Behavioral Medicine, Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine, performed an analysis of 164 scientific studies. Of those studies, 74 were sponsored by the aspartame industry, and 90 were funded without industry money. Of the 74 industry-sponsored studies, all claimed that no problems were found with aspartame.

Of the 90 non-industry sponsored studies 83 (92%) found one or more problems with aspartame. Of the 7 studies which did not find problems, 6 were conducted by the FDA itself.

I’m no visionary, but I predict that aspartame, and it’s trade named products, Nutrasweet and Equal, will eventually be taken off the market due to the health dangers they pose to consumers. Unfortunately, I also predict that this will only happen when a suitable chemical alternative can be produced and introduced into our food supply.

For those of you taking my advice to steer clear of these toxic chemicals there’s good news. There is currently a natural alternative that is completely safe and tastes great. It’s called stevia, and it comes from a plant called Stevia rebaudiana. Stevia is a plant that was native to Paraguay, but is now widely cultivated in Mexico, Canada and China.

Stevioside is the main constituent that gives stevia its sweetness. It is 300-400 times sweeter than table sugar. In addition, there are seven other sweet compounds found in the plant. The compounds are safe and work remarkably well, providing the perfect alternative for those wishing to watch their calorie intake, or diabetics searching for a safe alternative.

Over the past 50 years there have been over 900 stevia articles and studies published, and remarkably no author has ever reported any adverse human health consequences. Some studies have also documented significant benefit in blood sugar metabolism when taking stevia. Several studies have found that diabetics had a 35% drop in blood sugar levels six to eight hours after taking stevia extract. Other studies have shown that it inhibits the growth of bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease.

This is amazing, since in the mid-1980’s, the FDA labeled stevia an “unsafe food additive.” There appears to be no scientific basis for this conclusion, but in spite of this, the FDA has gone to extensive lengths to keep the natural product off the U.S. market. At one point FDA officials were seizing stevia stocks, and actually ordered books and cookbooks about stevia to be destroyed. (After civil liberties groups screamed, they dropped the “bookburning” requirements)

Since changes in supplement laws took effect in 1994, you can now buy stevia in health food stores, but it must be labeled a supplement, not a sweetener. Any mention on the bottle of its use as a sweetener is still strictly prohibited.

In Japan, stevia is responsible for well over 41% of the sweetener market, and is used in packet form, as well as in foods such as ice cream, candies, soft drinks, and breads. It enjoys this popularity since it is safe, even beneficial. Unlike aspartame, it is stable in foods, and you can even cook or bake with it.

It seems that the biggest problem with stevia is a political one. According to Rob McCaleb, president and founder of the Herb Research Foundation, “Sweetness is big money. Nobody wants to see something cheap and easy to grow on the market competing with the things they worked so hard to get approved.”

I try not to get “political” in my discussions about health issues, but this one simply doesn’t seem to have another angle. You can get stevia at your local health food store. It comes in powdered form, as a brown liquid extract, and as a more refined clear liquid extract. The first two will add a slight flavor to some foods. If you want a nearly flavorless sweetener try the clear extract. The liquid extracts may be pricey, but they go a very long way. As always, use all sweeteners sparingly, and follow directions on the label.

*Editors Note: As of 2010 Stevia is has become available as a sugar substitute and is now widely available under the brand name “Truvia.”