Truvia: Dangerous Natural Sweetener?

If it's hot in natural health news, Dr. Ginger is on the case.

In this edition of "Healthy Steps with Dr. Ginger," she discusses what's happening in the world of natural health.

Emerging Evidence Suggests Truvia May Be Dangerous

While Truvia has been marketed as a safe natural alternative to artificial sweeteners, emerging evidence suggests this may not actually be the case.

If that isn't interesting enough, some of this evidence comes from a sixth grader named Simon D. Kaschock-Marenda. He's currently in ninth grade, but his sixth-grade science project involving fruit flies spurred more research into the safety of sweeteners.

In Simon's project, fruit flies that were given Truvia died within five days, while flies that were fed other sweeteners lasted between 39 and 51 days.

The issue, to some extent, seems to stem from erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol. However, there may be a GMO component that is causing the early deaths as well. More studies need to be done to determine the real threat.

Many small companies are using organic erythritol, which is still an excellent alternative to sugar.

Foods Banned in Other Countries Still Allowed in the U.S.

Just as we have concerns about food and food practices coming out of foreign countries such as China, other countries have that same concern about the food coming out of the U.S.

For instance, many countries will not allow farm-raised salmon to be imported. These salmon are raised on unnatural GMO grains, antibiotics and other chemicals, including an additive that helps the farmed salmon retain its "pink" coloring.

Mt. Dew and other citrus flavored sodas and drinks contain BVO (Brominated Vegetable Oil), which is a synthetic chemical used as a flame-retardant. If that wasn't scary enough, the effects can be many... and quite dangerous. The chemical bio-accumulates in human tissue and breast milk, and can cause issues such as birth defects, mental disorders, growth problems, organ system damage and may even be linked to cancer. It also acts is an endocrine disruptor, which basically means that it makes your bodily systems go haywire.

The FDA initially considered BVO to be safe, but now they classify it as an "interim food additive," which is a nice way of saying it's reserved for "questionable substances in food."

Europe and Japan have banned it, which gives you an idea of how dangerous it is. You definitely need to think about the effects of BVO when consuming beverages that contain it.

Another food banned in the European Union is genetically modified Hawaiian papaya.

Tune in to Dr. Ginger, Andrea and Lisa as they explore these topics and offer solutions for keeping you and your family members safe and healthy.