Comments on: Are There Side Effects of Truvia & PureVia as a Natural Sugar Substitute

By: JoAnn McManus

JoAnn McManus — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:45:16 +0000

I get terrible gas and violent diarrhea from stevia and sucralose. Even if I have just one serving I get the above symptoms. Aspartame will do the same to me if I have too much, but not as bad. I know other people that this happens to. There should be a warning on the label so that it can be read and not in tiny print so you miss it. Manufacturers are even putting it in canned fruits and it is also in the new Tropicana 50 orage juice. A packet of sugar has only 15 calories and 4 grams of carbs. So, why are we eating those poisons? I call them poisons because anything that disrupts the stomach and colon have to be bad for you.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Wed, 25 May 2011 22:34:56 +0000

Something else to note about Truvia is that it’s mostly comprised of a sugar alcohol called erythritol (3 of its 3.5 total grams per packet serving). I’ve never had an allergy to any sugar substitutes including sucralose, aspertame, and stevia, but I developed a host of miserable symptoms from using Truvia including a very itchy rash, an ongoing jittery/disconnected feeling, anxiety, severe sleep deprivation, insatiable carb cravings, nausea after eating, dry mouth, soreness in my neck and back, etc. It took me about 3 weeks to pinpoint the cause of all the symptoms; over the course of which I saw an allergy specialist, and mis-identified a host of other would-be causes including dryer sheets, antibiotics, etc.

I think part of the reason the cause eluded me for so long is because the timing of the reaction is somewhat delayed. I don’t develop the symptoms until a few days after I have ingested the product, and the symptoms continue to last long after I stop ingesting it (it’s been 4 days since I’ve had any Truvia and I’m still exhibiting symptoms). I don’t know whether my allergy is to the rebiana or the erythritol or both, but my advice to people who want to try it is to try it just once and then closely monitor themselves for up to a week after.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:08:34 +0000

I buy sweetleaf at Publix. It is not next to the artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Equal like other Stevia products, such as Stevia in the raw, truvia, or purvia. At my Publix grocery they put the sweetleaf with the natural herbal teas across the aisle. I don’t work for sweetleaf, I am a stay at home mom who only buys organic foods and was looking for a no calorie safe way to sweeten my family’s tea and coffee.

By: Jacy

Jacy — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 22:52:48 +0000

Many people that have been using stevia for quite some years now are interested in pointing out that Purevia and Truvia are not the same as all natural stevia that is made by many health food companies. No, I don’t represent any of these companies though I happen to support the NOW brand simply because it is a local business located in the town I grew up in. The reason that we are worried about the Pepsi and Coke versions claiming to be the same as stevia is that they seem to have side effects while the all natural stevia does not. For this reason it is a concern that stevia based sweeteners will quickly run their fad-ish course and then disappear from the market leaving real stevia with a bad name. Meanwhile, the true all-natural stevia could be a useful tool in this country’s losing battle with type II diabetes. I understand that the quick to accuse is part of your persona, but would appreciate you getting the story correct when putting seemingly factual based stories online. Thank you.

By: elena

elena — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:18:46 +0000

I am curious about the difference between Pure Via Stevia packets (that contain Dextrose) and others (like Trader Joe’s) that contain Maltodextrin and Silica. Can anyone explain?

By: Natural Girl

Natural Girl — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:14:26 +0000

Good information. Just to clear up some of the concerns about possible side effects, recent human studies on safety, metabolism and intake support the safety of stevia sweeteners. Since joining the Calorie Control Council, a non-profit trade association that represents the light food and beverage industry, I’ve spent a lot of time researching low-calorie sweeteners like stevia. Most reproductive and fertility rate concerns regarding stevia are based on older animal studies that are now considered inconclusive and controversial. For example, the rodents involved in the studies were administered doses of stevia that were far in excess of the amounts normally taken by human beings. Scientists around the world agree stevia sweeteners are safe for use in food and beverages. For more information, visit http://www.steviabenefits.org and http://www.caloriecontrol.org.

By: Suzan

Suzan — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:06:12 +0000

I purchased ten Sobe 0 calerie “Life Water” drinks when it was on sale 10/10.00 at KMart. I loved the clean clear taste without that awful “diet” after taste. However, after drinking only a couple of them I noteced I was having awful bouts of neausea, random diarreah, and light headedness. I had been drinking them for a week and it dawned on me I may be having a reaction to the sweetener and that is what brought me here. All of my symptoms went away when I stopped drinking the “Life Water” with the Pure via sweetener in them for 36 hours. Like you had turned it off with a switch. So sad too, they are really delicious. By the way, read the lable on those “all natural” vitamin water combinations. Some of those Zobe 0 calorie had a “natural” occuring caffeine in them also, in very fine print.

By: lauren

lauren — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:59:20 +0000

Trader Joe’s sells pure stevia packets and larger plastic containers for baking needs.

By: yoda

yoda — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:28:16 +0000

I use SweetLeaf brand of stevia…I love that it is a rather pure stevia extract with 0caloreis, 0 carbs, and a 0 glycemic index! BTW, SweetLeaf stevia can be found at my local grocer…but in the natural food section. Anywho, I love it smoothies, use it in baking chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies cranberry orange muffins, and peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins and I enjoy experimenting with their flavored liquids!

By: Ken Savage

Ken Savage — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:10:35 +0000

No but when most of us goto the market to buy food they are the only one’s we see there. That’s why I only included them in this article. Why? Do you represent SweetLeaf in some way? Feel free to send me a sample and I’d love to include it in my day and write a review on it here.