http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1197
three abstracts on mainstream stevia research: hypertension, Chan P 2000 Sept;
microflora, Gardana C 2003.10.22; helps blood pressure and glucose level,
Jeppesen PB 2003 Mar: Murray 2005.08.05

from alt.support.diabetes, 2005.08.04:

"high pressure sales from a group of liars who are zealots of Idiocy"

"Trolls, zealots, kooks and loons"

"intentionally evil people who see dollar signs and don't care what lies they
spread
or harm they cause'

"personal obsession"

'this is yet another failed attempt by rich murray to suck up, kiss ass
and attempt to gain legitamcy in the diabetic forums. won't happen,
everyone knows that rich murray is a stevia scammer and anti aspartame
conspiracy lunatic.

but it is true, stevia has not been approved."

How does it help diabetics, when all information about a topic is savagely
attacked, while some members of alt.support.diabetes clearly express interest
and gratitude for a source that consistently is polite, accepts factual
correction, and truthfully reports mainstream research that can be immediately
checked on the Net and in any medical library?
You can order any research paper for free from your public library.
At a medical school library, you can walk in and use their computers to send as
much research as you please to your own email address, without paying any
charges, which otherwise are $8 to $30 a study.
I'm using my time to save people time.
Service is its own reward.

This last weekend, I was removed from
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WNHO-Aspartame-Information/ by Betty Martini
after six months membership, after I corrected a few numerical errors in one of
her posts. I'm glad I lasted that long.
I believe it is important to include as many people as possible, without
sacrificing integrity.
I know from 17 years of work as a home hospice care giver, that difficult people
are people who need help.
Confusion and irritability can be symptoms of neurotoxicity...

I am a totally independent agent, cooperating with a small network of other
high-minded volunteer activists, all sane, all completely unfunded by any vested
interests. Our reasonableness is not to be impugned by a few notable
exceptions.

We see an urgent, unmet public need, for which we provide helpful information,
supported by much recent mainstream research.

Since we are almost all medical laypeople, our effectiveness can only be based
on our credibility, which obviously has to be based on years of consistently
sane, polite, appropriate communication based on mainstream research.

We therefore have every motive to be truthful, accurate, and respectful of fact
based feedback.

You can only benefit by examining the up-to-date evidence.

You can only best help fellow diabetics by examining the up-to-date evidence.

The group will function more sanely, lovingly, and competently without
suppression.

I do not support, and therefore do not back away from or cave in to, suppression
in a support group.

My wife, 65, is diabetic II, about 15 years.

I do not believe in conspiracy theories, although it is obvious that some
legally legitimate corporations do everything they can to protect and increase
billion dollar profits from addictive neurotoxins-- in the case of tobacco, at a
cost in the USA alone of an added 400,000 deaths yearly -- that's 8 million in
20 years, a Holocaust in which the gas chambers are your own lungs. So, it is
realistic to carefully examine those corporations that claim to be helping
diabetics...

I quote the exact words in these three abstracts from PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed see for yourself.....


Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2000 Sep; 50(3): 215-20.
A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and
tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension.
Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, Liu JC, Hsieh MH, Cheng JT.
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Taipei Medical College and affiliated
Taipei Wan Fang Hospital, Taiwan.

AIMS: Stevioside is a natural plant glycoside isolated from the plant Stevia
rebaudiana which has been commercialized as a sweetener in Japan for more
than 20 years.
Previous animal studies have shown that stevioside has an antihypertensive
effect.
This study was to designed to evaluate the effect of stevioside in
human hypertension.
METHODS: A multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
was undertaken.
This study group consisted of 106 Chinese hypertensive subjects with
diastolic blood pressure between 95 and 110 mmHg and ages ranging from 28 to
75 years with 60 subjects (men 34, women 26; mean +/- s.d., 54.1+/-3.8
years) allocated to active treatment and
46 (men 19, women 27; mean +/-s.d., 53.7+/-4.1 years) to placebo treatment.
Each subject was given capsules containing stevioside (250 mg) or placebo
thrice daily and followed-up at monthly intervals for 1 year.
RESULTS: After 3 months, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the
stevioside group decreased significantly
(systolic: 166.0+/-9.4-152.6+/-6.8 mmHg;
diastolic: 104.7 +/- 5.2-90.3+/-3.6 mmHg, P<0.05),
and the effect persisted during the whole year.
Blood biochemistry parameters including lipid and glucose showed no
significant changes.
No significant adverse effect was observed and quality of life assessment
showed no deterioration.
CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that oral stevioside is a well tolerated and
effective modality that may be considered as an alternative or supplementary
therapy for patients with hypertension. Publication Types: Clinical Trial
Multicenter Study Randomized Controlled Trial PMID: 10971305



J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Oct 22; 51(22): 6618-22.
Metabolism of stevioside and rebaudioside A from Stevia rebaudiana extracts
by human microflora.
Gardana C, Simonetti P, Canzi E, Zanchi R, Pietta P.
Department of Food Science and Microbiology, Division of Human Nutrition,
University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy.

Stevia rebaudiana standardized extracts (SSEs) are used as natural
sweeteners or dietary supplements in different countries for their content
of stevioside or rebaudioside A.
These compounds possess up to 250 times the sweetness intensity of sucrose,
and they are noncaloric and noncariogenic sweeteners.
The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro transformation of
stevioside and rebaudioside A after incubation with human microflora,
the influence of these sweeteners on human microbial fecal community and which
specific groups metabolize preferentially stevioside and rebaudioside A.
The experiments were carried out under strict anaerobic conditions in batch
cultures inoculated with mixed fecal bacteria from volunteers.
The hydrolysis was monitored by HPLC coupled to photodiode array and mass
spectrometric detectors.
Isolated bacterial strains from fecal materials incubated in selective broths
were added to stevioside and rebaudioside A.
These sweeteners were completely hydrolyzed to their aglycon steviol in 10
and 24 h, respectively.
Interestingly, the human intestinal microflora was not able to degrade
steviol. Furthermore, stevioside and rebaudioside A did not significantly
influence the composition of fecal cultures;
among the selected intestinal groups, bacteroides were the most efficient in
hydrolyzing Stevia sweeteners to steviol. PMID: 14558786



Metabolism. 2003 Mar; 52(3): 372-8.
Antihyperglycemic and blood pressure-reducing effects of stevioside in the
diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rat.
Jeppesen PB, Gregersen S, Rolfsen SE, Jepsen M, Colombo M, Agger A, Xiao J,
Kruhoffer M, Orntoft T, Hermansen K.
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory,
Aarhus Amtssygehus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.

Stevioside, a glycoside present in the leaves of the plant, Stevia
rebaudiana Bertoni (SrB), has acute insulinotropic effects in vitro.
Its potential antihyperglycemic and blood pressure-lowering effects were
examined in a long-term study in the type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat.
Rats were fed 0.025 g x kg(-1) x d(-1) of stevioside (purity > 99.6%) for 6
weeks.
An intra-arterial catheter was inserted into the rats after 5 weeks, and
conscious rats were subjected to arterial glucose tolerance test (2.0 g x
kg(-1)) during week 6.
Stevioside had an antihyperglycemic effect (incremental area under the
glucose response curve [IAUC]):
985 +/- 20 (stevioside) versus
1,575 +/- 21 (control) mmol/L x 180 minutes, (P <.05),
it enhanced the first-phase insulin response (IAUC: 343 +/- 33 [stevioside]
versus 136 +/- 24 [control] microU/mL insulin x 30 minutes, P <.05)
and concomitantly suppressed the glucagon levels (total AUC: 2,026 +/- 234
[stevioside] versus
3,535 +/- 282 [control] pg/mL x 180 minutes, P <.05).
In addition, stevioside caused a pronounced suppression of both the systolic
(135 +/- 2 versus 153 +/- 5 mm Hg; P <.001) and
the diastolic blood pressure
(74+/- 1 versus 83 +/- 1 mm Hg; P <.001).
Bolus injections of stevioside (0.025 g x kg(-1)) did not induce hypoglycemia.
Stevioside augmented the insulin content in the beta-cell line, INS-1.
Stevioside may increase the insulin secretion, in part,
by induction of genes involved in glycolysis.
It may also improve the nutrient-sensing mechanisms, increase cytosolic
long-chain fatty acyl-coenzyme A (CoA), and downregulate phosphodiesterase 1
(PDE1) estimated by the microarray gene chip technology.
In conclusion, stevioside enjoys a dual positive effect by acting as an
antihyperglycemic and a blood pressure-lowering substance;
effects that may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of type 2 diabetes
and the metabolic syndrome. Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights
reserved. PMID: 12647278
***************************************************************

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, 1,197 posts in a public, searchable archive

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1197
three abstracts on expert stevia research: hypertension, Chan P 2000 Sept;
microflora, Gardana C 2003.10.22; helps blood pressure and glucose level,
Jeppesen PB 2003 Mar: Murray 2005.08.05

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1196
Alan in alt.support.diabetes re Stevia and Glycemic and Hypertension Control
2004.05.14: 2 year large scale blood pressure study, Hsieh MH, 2003 Nov:
insulin in muscles, Lailerd N 2004 Jan: glucose in diabetics, Gregersen S
2004 Jan: Murray 2004.08.04

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1195
thanks to Ma¢k for correction; stevia not yet allowed on market in Europe:
Stevia rebaudiana, a sweetsimple story. Prof. Jan M.C. Geuns 2003.10.15:
Murray 2005.08.03

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

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
[ stevia not yet allowed to be sold in Europe 2005.08.03 ]

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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