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Stevia Gets FDA Approval as Natural Sweetener | Diet and Health News

FDA gives Stevia green-light as natural food and tabletop sweetener; Coke and Pepsi will be the first to introduce Stevia-sweetened soft drinks

Stevia-fans in the U.S. can finally rejoice: Last night, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) officially approved the use of stevia as a food-grade sweetener - paving the way for everything from stevia-sweetened soft drinks to stevia-based tabletop sweeteners.

Until now, stevia was not approved as a food sweetener in the U.S. — forcing stevia manufacturers to market and sell the natural sweetener derived from the leaves of the rebaudioside Aplant as a supplement, rather than a sweetener. However, last night’s announcement by the FDA now gives food manufacturers the “all clear” to start using stevia as a zero-calorie, natural sweetener.

Pepsi and Coke Ready to Introduce Stevia Sweeteners

Both Coca Cola and Pespi already have stevia-sweetened products waiting in wings, and yesterday’s announcement means consumers who are looking for alternatives to artificially-sweetened zero-calorie soft drinks and beverages will have a number of alternatives come the first of the year. PepsiCo will market their stevia sweetener under the brand PureVia and Coke’s rival stevia-sweetener is called Truevia.

If you’re a cola fan, you may still have to wait a few months for Stevia-sweetened cola, since the sweetener tends to work best with citrus-type beverages. Soft drink manufacturers are still trying to figure out how to make a Stevia-sweetened cola product that tastes comparable to colas sweetened with cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

What Is Stevia?

Stevia is a shrub in the chrysanthemum family that is native to northeastern Paraguay. First discovered by natives of Paraguay, the plant has been grown, harvested and used in South America to sweeten foods and beverages for more than 200 years. The stevia leaf is a good source of natural, zero-calorie sweetness. Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) and is heat stable — meaning you can cook with it without altering it’s flavor or properties.

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MRSA: Is Antibiotic Resistant Staph Lurking At Your Gym?

MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, killed more people last year than the AIDS virus. Find out the symptoms and treatment of MRSA infection and how to protect yourself at the gym from this “super bug.”

It’s silent, invisible and potentially deadly.

And it could be hiding out at your gym, health club or local fitness center.

It’s known as MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (also called “staph”) and it has public health officials worried.  Once limited to people with compromised immune systems and people in health care facilities like hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis facilities, epidemiologists have grown increasingly concerned about a new phenomenon: MRSA that has spread outside of health care facilities and seems to infect normally healthy individuals.

Of particular concern is whether MRSA can be spread on surfaces in common shared facilities like public restrooms, schools, dorm rooms and yes … gyms.

What Is MRSA and Why Is It So Dangerous?

So what exactly is MRSA?

MRSA is what’s often referred to in the media as a “super-bug” — a strain of bacteria that can resist the effects of antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria have become increasingly common over the past several decades. While some mutations that result in antibiotic resistance happen as part of natural cell reproduction,  there is increasing evidence that over-prescription or improper use of antibiotics has accelerated the development of “super bugs.” Indeed, researchers believe that the development of the MRSA bacteria likely was accelerated by overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. 

It’s important to understand that Staphylococcus aureus  is a common micro-organism that is typically present in the nose and on the skin of one third of all people. 

There mere presence of the bacterium does not ensure infection, and in many cases, people come in contact with Staphylococcus aureus on a daily basis.

About 20% of people are long-term carriers of Staphylococcus aureus and may show no symptoms. However, if infection does takes hold it can result in everything from mild skin infections like pimples or impetigo, to more serious conditions like pneumonia, meningitis, Toxic shock syndrome (TSS), or septicemia. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the leading causes of post surgical wound infection in hospitals.

The problem with Staphylococcus aureus is that it’s particularly adaptable to antibiotics. In fact, it was the first bacteria to be found to be penicillin-resistant.  It showed resistant to penicillin in 1947 — a mere four years after penicillin became widely available. Since then, the bacterium has continued to evolve resistance to each new class of  antibiotics — most recently Methicillin.  

Cases of Staph MRSA Growing: MRSA Statistics and Facts

The statistics around MRSA are sobering.

A 2007 study from US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, estimates than cases of MRSA treated in hospitals had more more than doubled in the past six years, from 127,000 in 1999 to 278,000 in 2005, and deaths increased from 11,000 to 17,000.

Even more alarming to health care professionals in the emergence of something known as CA-MRSA (Community-Acquired MRSA) which is spread not in healthcare facilities among the immuno-compromised, but within larger communities of otherwise healthy individuals, including within correctional facilities, newborn nurseries, among military recruits, and even athletic teams.

This has focused additional attention around whether gym equipment and surfaces in fitness and health centers are providing a perfect environment for breeding and spreading MRSA among otherwise healthy individuals.

But how much of a risk is MRSA to the average gym-goer and fitness buff? And should you really be worried?

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Lose Belly Fat and Save More than Just Your Six Pack

A new study shows belly fat linked to increased risk of dementia

If you thought the only reason to keep your belly fat to a minimum was to show your abs off at the beach, a new study suggests that keeping abdominal fat under control might help keep your brain healthier as well.

The study of more than 6,000 people, published last week in the journal Neurology, found that the more belly fat the subjects had in their mid-40s, the more likely it was that they would show signs of dementia as they grew older.

Symptoms of dementia can include forgetfulness, confusion, reduced problem-solving capabilities and even difficulty speaking.

The study also found that the research subjects with the biggest guts displayed three-times the risk of developing dementia later in life versus their leaner counterparts.

“Considering that 50 percent of adults in this country have an unhealthy amount of abdominal fat, this is a disturbing finding,” said study author Rachel A. Whitmer, PhD, a Research Scientist of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Interestingly, having a large abdomen increased the risk of dementia regardless of whether the participants were of normal weight overall, overweight, or obese, and regardless of existing health conditions, including diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. 

An abstract of the study, “Central obesity and increased risk of dementia more than three decades later“ is available online at the journal’s website.

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Keep Those Swimmers Happy: Folate May Help Encourage Healthy Male Sperm

Maybe Popeye only had half of the picture.

New research from the University of California - Berkeley, indicates that eating folate-rich foods, like spinach and other dark, leafy vegetables, might decrease the risk of birth defects not just in women, but in men as well.

“Recent studies have suggested that paternal diet affects sperm count and motility, which is important for conception, but this new study takes it further to say that male diet may be important for healthy offspring as well,” said study coordinator Suzanne Young, a researcher at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. “Our study is the first to look at the effects of diet on chromosomal abnormalities in sperm. These abnormalities would cause either miscarriages or children with genetic syndromes if the sperm fertilized an egg.” 

The researchers are careful to point out that there is only a link between increased folate consumption among males and decreased birth defects in their female partners, not a causal relationship. 

What’s the difference?

Links only demonstrate that something about the research subjects’ diet (which in this case contained higher folate levels) had an impact on decreased birth defects. More controlled studies are necessary to isolate whether folate, or other factors, may have contributed to the improvements in sperm health. Furthermore, to determine with certainty whether folate operates in a similar way in the broader population, researchers are recommending that the study be conducted with a larger group.  

That said, ongoing research suggests that a diverse diet, which includes a wide-range of vegetables (including spinach) has positive health benefits. Good sources of folate include spinach, leafy vegetables, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kidney beans, and orange juice.

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