http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1192
not funded by stevia industry: Prof Jan M.C. Geuns: Murray 2005.08.02

"Stevioside is also completely safe for diabetics (type 1 and 2). In many
type 2 diabetes patients, stevioside is able to lower blood glucose level in
a glucose concentration dependent way: i.e. it does not affect fasting
glucose levels, but only high glucose levels (eg. above 8 mM)"

From: "jan" <jan.geuns@...>
To: "'Rich Murray'" <rmforall@...>
Subject: FW: brief: Stevia (stevioside) is safe: Prof. Jan M.C. Geuns:
Murray 2005.07.06 2005.08.01
Date: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 2:02 AM

Dear Rich,

My most recent review on the safety of stevioside dates from a symposium
that we organised last year 2004 in April at the KULeuven University. The
proceedings can be purchased at www.euprint.be and cost 100 euro.

For the moment I'm writing 2 papers describing the metabolism of stevioside
in human volunteers. From the results it is clearly demonstrated that there
is no danger at all consuming stevioside.
This is certainly true for all those with normo- and hypertension.
We are planning research with people with
hypotension (only the money is the problem).

Stevioside is also completely safe for diabetics (type 1 and 2). In many
type 2 diabetes patients, stevioside is able to lower blood glucose level in
a glucose concentration dependent way: i.e. it does not affect fasting
glucose levels, but only high glucose levels (eg. above 8 mM). This means
that stevioside does not possess
the annoying property of many drugs used in diabetes and that provoke
hypoglucaecia (at the end patients are fluctuating between hyper- and
hypotension). Stevioside does not provoke this! Still more reseach is
required by JEFCA on this topic as well.

For all the research on stevioside we urgently need 600,000 euro. We are
only a very small laboratory without money, but working hard in the field of
stevioside. Serious people who want to support our research are always
welcome to do so!

As suggested by Rich that we might receive money from the stevia industry
is not correct. The laboratory received only a small amount of money from 2
companies that were interested in a safe sweetener, but not producing
stevioside themselves.

After a long discussion after the organisation of the symposium in 2004,
only 2 stevia companies agreed to pay part of the costs of the symposium.

The research that we did on stevia has been paid by the University KULeuven
and the FWO (Funds for Scientific Research of Flanders). The Stevia
companies are not prepared to pay the 600,000 euro required to do the
additional research required by JEFCA!

Moreover, our research has been published in International Scientific
Journals with international referees.

Moreover, the review that I have written about the safety of stevioside,
includes the research of different research groups from all over the world!

About the taste of stevia leaves: it is good in eg. tea. Stevioside has not
the best taste. The taste of rebaudiosde A is much better, or mixtures of
rebaudioside A and stevioside.

With best regards, J. Geuns

For information on stevia: see our website under "Stevia Center"

Prof. Dr. Jan M.C. GEUNS
Lab. Functional Biology KULeuven Kasteelpark Arenberg 31
3001 Heverlee - Belgium Tel.: +32-16-321510 Fax: +32-16-321509
e-mail: Jan.Geuns@...
Visit our website: www.kuleuven.be/bio/biofys

-----Original Message-----
From: Rich Murray [mailto:rmforall@...]
Sent: dinsdag 2 augustus 2005 7:32
To: Jan.Geuns@...
Subject: brief: Stevia (stevioside) is safe: Prof. Jan M.C. Geuns: Murray
2005.07.06 2005.08.01

2005.08.01 I think it would be helpful for diabetics to have conscientious
reviews of mainstream scientific evidence for the value and safety of
stevia, for decades a major sweetener in Japan.

We have to consider that Jan M.C. Geuns might be offering biased
information, since he probably receives funding from the stevia industry.

This possibly of vested interest disinformation is always a concern for
evaluating any information about any medical issue, including any posts by
any alleged "person" to any group on the Net.

So, it is important to support each other in checking to see if there is the
same consensus of information from several sources that we are fairly sure
are not controlled by vested interests.

I am not in any way paid or supported by the stevia industry, except that
Prof. Guens has me on his email information list, at my request. If I were
to receive such support from any vested interest, I would always disclose it
in every relevant post. I believe this is an ethical principle that will
eventually be widely accepted.

Anyone who searches my posts on UseNet and other archives since 1996 will
find abundant evidence that I always provide conscientious information that
is polite, referenced to specific sources, and aimed at being helpful, along
with my
full personal identity and contact information.

For a few months in early 2002, I experimented with using a false identity
JoelSol@... to gain access to the HealthFraud List, where I felt
I had been unfairly banned from posting. Since then, I always use my actual
identity, as that is the best way to establish credibility. I was amused
that "Joel Sol", who was gruff, succinct, and made lots of curious typos and
jangled syntax, was more popular than my real personality. I sometimes use
the email address rmforalla when I am travelling with a laptop computer for
a few weeks.

I don't recall ever finding a post in which someone reported actual symptoms
from stevia, although many do not like the flavor. I have been using stevia
as a simple green powder, sold at $ 2/ounce, for a year in my tea, and have
always liked the taste.

I do not react at all to up to three packets of Equal aspartame, except for
a slight stimulation the first hour or so, with mild tinnitus, milder than
caffeine tea, and much milder than coffee. I took it a few times as an
experiment in April 2005.

Then, I also found that I do not get headache or hangover symptoms from 1 to
5 ounces of Lady Velvet blackberry brandy, 15% alcohol by volume, the
cheapest high methanol impurity liquor at WalGreens, about $ 5 for 750 ml,
when I took it a few times as an experiment. Otherwise, I do not use
alcohol. I recall "morning after" headaches from gin a few times at age 20.

In January 2005 I found that the pleasant smoke smell from our large wood
heating stove made me lethargic, and mildly damaged my wife's vision, so,
suspecting carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, we stopped using it. Our three
natural gas furnaces, up to fifty years old, were also putting out up to 30
ppm carbon monoxide, a level that is not allowed in Europe, so we replaced
them with a hot water baseboard system with the gas furnace in the garage,
vented to the outside. This greatly improved out winter indoor air, living
in a quiet residential area in Santa Fe,
a quarter mile from a 4-lane highway.

In mutual service, Rich
****************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1179
brief: Stevia (stevioside) is safe: Prof. Jan M.C. Geuns: Murray 2005.07.06

Stevioside is safe
Press Conference by Prof. Jan M.C. Geuns
Lab. Functional Biology, KULeuven
Kasteelpark Arenberg 31 3001 Leuven - Belgium
+32-16-321510 e-mail: Jan.Geuns@...


Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@... 505-501-2298
1943 Otowi Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
group with 186 members, 1,191 posts in a public, searchable archive

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1164
artificial sweetener sales soar, stevia and tagatose available: Murray
2005.03.31 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1152
reply to Ferne Hudson, Tate & Lyle PLC, re Splenda (sucralose) policy:
Murray 2005.02.08 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1122
UN FAO & WHO approve Steviol glycosides as sweetener June 2004, imports to
UK no longer blocked: Martini: Murray 2004.10.17 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1084
26 stevia safety abstracts since 1993: aspartame vs stevia debate on
alt.support.diabetes, George Schmidt, OD: Murray 2004.05.25 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1165
short review: research on aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid)
toxicity: Murray 2005.07.06 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1071
research on aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity: Murray
2004.04.29 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1143
methanol (formaldehyde, formic acid) disposition: Bouchard M et al, full
plain text, 2001: substantial sources are degradation of fruit pectins,
liquors, aspartame, smoke: Murray 2005.04.02 rmforall

Fully 11% of aspartame is methanol-- 1,120 mg aspartame in 2 L diet soda,
almost six 12-oz cans, gives 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol). If 30% of
the methanol is turned into formaldehyde, the amount of formaldehyde is 18
times the USA EPA limit for daily formaldehyde in drinking water, 2 mg in 2
L water.

[ more at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1179 ]
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