Magazine: USA TODAY; March 1997
Section: MEDICINE & HEALTH
BEWARE THE RISE OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT MICROBES
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As bacteria learn to adapt to drugs that once killed them, mankind could be facing a return to the days when even minor infections could turn deadly for lack of effective treatment.
MANY PEOPLE cannot even remember when nothing could be done to help those with serious bacterial infections. In the past, bacterial pneumonia often was referred to as "the old man's friend" because it was considered a merciful cause of death. A typical hospital ward in the 1930s was filled with patients suffering from pneumonia, typhoid fever, and other deadly, untreatable diseases. The introduction of antibiotics in the mid 1930s "heralded the opening of an era in which literally millions of people--children, adults, and the elderly, all slated for an early death or invalidism--were spared," Walsh McDermott pointed out in the Johns Hopkins Medical Journal in 1982.
Before antibiotics, there were few effective treatments for bacterial infections. With the introduction of such medicines, most of those deadly infections became nightmares of the past, and today's hospital wards primarily are populated with patients who suffer from cancer, heart disease, or the complications of diabetes. During the 1970s, medical researchers mistakenly were convinced that victory over infectious diseases was approaching fast.
However, as William McNeill wrote in Plagues and People, "Ingenuity, knowledge, and organization alter but can not cancel humanity's vulnerability to invasion by parasitic forms of life. Infectious disease which antedated the emergence of humankind will last as long as humanity itself, and will surely remain, as it has been hitherto, one of the fundamental parameters and determinants of human history."
Despite more than a half-century of success, there now is concern that we may be approaching the post-antibiotic era. As Columbia University's Harold Neu grimly observed in the journal Science: "[B]acteria are cleverer than men."
Penicillin, the first antibiotic to be put to use, was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929. He had been looking at variants of staphylococci, the bacteria that causes boils, abscesses, and, sometimes, generalized, deadly infections. By chance, the fungus Penicillium landed on a petri dish Fleming had loaded with staphylococci and put aside before a summer trip. A spell of chilly weather caused the fungus to flourish before the growth of the staphylococci, which needed warmer temperatures, was complete. When Fleming returned to his lab, he discovered that colonies of staphylococci that had been growing near the Penicillium partly had dissolved. This would not have occurred if the weather had been hotter, causing the staphylococci to grow faster. Penicillin destroys growing bacteria, but not those that already have matured.
Fleming further observed that penicillin also destroyed the bacteria pneumococci and streptococci. Yet, he had no conception of the greatness of his discovery. Accordingly, for more than a decade after his finding, penicillin remained merely an oddity. The situation changed when Howard W. Florey, Ernst B. Chain, and a small group of colleagues at Oxford University managed partly to purify penicillin and demonstrate that it had extraordinary therapeutic abilities. In 1941, a modest clinical trial provided the first of a series of results that Florey described in 1949 as "in truth so gratifying as to be at times unbelievable."
By the early 1950s, the arrival of penicillin was recognized as a dramatic turning point in medicine. Subsequent developments resulted in the chemically related cephalosporins and such later-generation antibiotics as tetracycline, streptomycin, erythromycin, methicillin, and the sulfa drugs.
Because of Fleming's penicillin and its bacteria-killing kin, medicine seemed finally to have prevailed over bacterial diseases, but this optimism was doomed to burst. As early as 1940, researchers observed that whenever a dose of penicillin killed, for instance, a colony of pneumococci, a few bacteria survived that chanced to be resistant to the antibiotic. The resistant pneumococci multiplied by the trillions, bequeathing to future generations of bacteria their penicillin-resistant genes. They also were able to pass their resistance genes to other species of bacteria via pieces of DNA called plasmids. It now is believed that resistant infections killed 19,000 U.S. hospital patients--and contributed to the deaths of 58,000 more--in 1992 alone. Mitchell L. Cohen of the Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Disease, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, told reporters in March, 1994, that "Many of the diseases we thought we had under control are coming back."
There currently are plenty of antibiotics available, including 12 types of tetracycline, nine macrolides, eight aminoglycosides, three dehydrofolate reductase inhibitors, three carbapenems, and two streptomycins. Nevertheless, as Neu cautioned in August, 1992, "Despite all these antibiotics, a person could die in a hospital in New York, San Francisco, Pads, Barcelona, Tokyo, or Singapore as a result of a resistant bacterial infection."
Some medical experts believe humanity is on the verge of a medical disaster that could hurl us back to the days when even minor infections could turn deadly for lack of effective treatment. Microbiologist Alexander Tomasz of Rockefeller University warned of this at a 1994 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
For instance, one serious threat is the emergence of strains of enterococci that are resistant to the antibiotic vancomycin. The enterococci can cause wound and urinary tract infections and, sometimes, meningitis. The latter is fatal unless controlled by antibiotics. Vancomycin resistance in enterococci was negligible until the 1980s, but has taken off since then.
The emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci is alarming because these bacteria are a significant source of hospital infections. Even more worrisome is the possibility that enterococci will bequeath vancomycin resistance to other species of bacteria. A particularly nightmarish scenario is the possibility that staphylococcus aureus, already resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, also will pick up from the enterococci a resistance to vancomycin. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a frequent source of hospital infections, and vancomycin is one of the few antibiotics to which MRSA infections are certain to respond. If the vancomycin-resistance gene got into MRSA, infections could develop that would be absolutely untreatable.
Common hospital bacteria--including staphylococci and enterococci--have become resistant to a virtual laundry list of antibiotics, including metricillin, erythromycin, tetracycline, streptomycin, and the sulfa drugs. Furthermore, they have become invulnerable to such common disinfectants as formaldehyde, chlorine, and iodine.
By now, nearly every disease-causing bacteria known to medicine has developed resistance to at least one antibiotic. One of the most disturbing things about the recent cholera epidemic that killed 50,000 people in Rwandan refugee camps was that it involved a strain of bacterium unresponsive to standard antibiotics. Relief agencies had to search desperately for effective medicines, thus giving the bacteria a head start on their deadly rampage. La Quinta High School, located in a middle-class suburb in Orange County, 25 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, once was known for the academic and athletic superiority of its students. Now, though, it is infamous because of what state officials think was the worst epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis in a high school ever reported in the U.S. Two hundred and ninety-two of La Quinta's students (23%) tested positive for TB in September, 1993. Another 84, who had not been tested previously or who had shown negative reactions the first time, tested positive in June, 1994.
La Quinta's misfortune could have been prevented if doctors correctly had diagnosed a 16-year-old girl's stubborn cough, national tuberculosis experts told the press. In fact, La Quinta's experience is a tragic example of what could happen in a community if even one case of TB is handled incorrectly or misdiagnosed.
Judy Meador, the county's TB control officer, told The New York Times in July, 1994, that the problem originated largely as a result of a delay in diagnosis and treatment.
The girl developed a cough in 1991. Her doctors failed to diagnose it as TB until more than a year later, and then the physicians neither monitored her treatment nor reported her case to the county health department. The authorities finally were alerted to the case after the girl's doctors ordered a sputum test from a local lab, which reported its results. By the time the local health department took charge of the case, a year after the laboratory notified officials and two years after the girl first developed her cough, she had been infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain, possibly because she stopped her medication too early.
In June, 1993, after officials began testing the students in the school, they realized they had a major outbreak of tuberculosis. The girl had infected 11 other students with active cases of the disease. One 18-year-old lost part of her lung. She developed an extremely resistant strain that was passed on to at least 18 other students and two teachers. Her infection was resistant to the five most effective anti-tubercular antibiotics. About four percent of all TB cases are this resistant.
A decade ago, the U.S. had the lowest TB rate in modem history. Then, in 1985, the incidence started rising, and it has skyrocketed ever since.
Drug-resistant TB--50-80% fatal, even when treated--has appeared in 17 states since 1979. Experts fear that without vigorous new control programs, drug-resistant TB will become more common than susceptible strains. Controlling it will be difficult. Tuberculosis is transmitted on small airborne droplets discharged from the lungs when an infected person coughs. Hence, anyone sharing an inadequately ventilated area with a coughing TB carrier can catch the infection. The only way to prevent outbreaks is to quarantine sufferers.
Six months of treatment with the antibiotics isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrozinamide is inexpensive and usually cures tuberculosis. However, treatment frequently relieves symptoms within a few weeks, causing some patients to stop taking the drugs too early. Partial treatment is worse than none, because it breeds antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis. When a patient prematurely stops taking his or her medication, the most susceptible bacteria are destroyed, but the most resistant continue to flourish and multiply rapidly within the body. If the resistant strain prevails, a second attack of TB is considerably more difficult to treat--and the sufferer can transmit it to others. As the cycle is repeated, it rapidly produces bacteria that the principal antibiotics can not fight.
In 1991, multi-drug-resistant TB (MDRTB) devastated two prisons and several hospitals in Florida and New York, killing a dozen inmates, a guard, and numerous patients. In a 1991 study, the Centers for Disease Control found that 13 states had recorded cases of MDRTB.
Tuberculosis is not the only bacterial infection to re-emerge because of resistance to standard antibiotics. In 1941, 10,000 units of penicillin administered four times daily for four days cured patients of pneumococcal pneumonia. Today, a patient can receive 24,000,000 units of penicillin a day and still die of pneumococcal meningitis. Pneumococci are the most frequent cause of contagious pneumonia and a major cause of ostitis media, sinusiris, and meningitis in children and adults.
Pneumococcal infections, including the drug-resistant kind, are among the major causes of disease and death for the world's children, people with other disabling conditions, and the elderly, according to the American Medical Association. Youngsters are more likely to be infected, but adults are at greatest risk for serious complications and death, the AMA explains. Forty percent of adults over 65 with pneumococcal bacteremia in which the infection has spread to the bloodstream die.
In the face of such drug resistance, Rachel Nowak wrote in the April 15, 1994, issue of Science, "Childbirth is a gamble with death. Dental surgery, potentially disabling. Even a facial boil can end in a trip to the morgue. Such is the forecast of the postantibiotic era, an era in which antibiotics are powerless against the new drug-resistant strains of bacteria."
Evolution in action
Bacteria have inhabited the planet for at least 3,500,000,000 years, primitive relics of the Precambrian Age. Antibiotics were not originally human inventions, but, rather, naturally occurring substances developed by microbes for their own purposes. Antibiotics are very common substances in the microbial word. Penicillin, after all, is the concoction of a microbe--the Penicillium fungus.
The extraordinary capacity of bacteria to adapt successfully is explained by evolution. Antibiotic-resistance developed by wily microbes is a classic illustration of Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. The new traits (mutations) develop spontaneously in an individual organism's genetic material. Usually, these traits either will be useless or lethal, but every so often they confer a survival advantage, enabling the individual to live longer and bear more offspring. Over time, the new survival trait--long necks on giraffes, antibiotic-resistance in bacteria--becomes more and more common among individual organisms, until all members of the species have it.
The major dissimilarity between higher animals and bacteria is that a new generation comes along every several years in large beasts, but frequently every quarter-hour in bacteria. Therefore, with microbes, the evolutionary process occurs on a far more rapid scale. Bacteria also are sexually promiscuous. Even though the microbes reproduce asexually simply by splitting in two, they tend to latch themselves onto other microbes of the same species and even different species. During these encounters, the bacteria exchange pieces of genetic material (their DNA) before actually reproducing.
Bacteria have various other methods of picking up new genes. The DNA can originate in viruses, which have acquired it while infecting other microbes. The strain of pneumococcus once referred to as "the old man's friend" has the disturbing ability to sponge up genetic material that oozes out of dead or dying bacteria. Therefore, this form of pneumococcus can obtain traits beneficial to it without having to wait for spontaneous mutations to take place.
The process is accelerated even more greatly for antibiotic resistance than for other traits because antibiotics destroy the resistant bacterium's competitors. Bacteria that ordinarily would have to compete with their fellow bacteria for nourishment and territory suddenly discover their microbial world to be roomy enough for them to replicate with ease. The more humans use antibiotics, the more rapidly evolution occurs, enabling microbes to adapt to antibiotics by becoming resistant to their destructive abilities.
Human behavior frequently worsens this situation. For instance, people suffering from viral infections too often insist on taking antibiotics, which are useless against viruses, thus destroying whatever vulnerable bacteria are hiding in their bodies and encouraging the proliferation of their resistant kin. This process works in much the same manner as the case of a patient who stops taking antibiotics when the symptoms of a bacterial infection, such as TB, clear up, but before the infection truly is eliminated, enabling the deadly, resistant microbes to prevail. Furthermore, in many countries, antibiotics easily can be obtained over the counter, allowing sufferers to misdiagnosis and inappropriately dose themselves.
Sophisticated farmers have observed that stirring small doses of antibiotics in with cattle feed makes the animals grow larger. This is because the energy the animals normally would expend fighting infections is diverted into gaining weight. Bacteria in the cattle evolve resistance to antibiotics, and when humans ingest their meat or milk, this immunity may be transmitted to the human bacteria.
In 1989, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Wall Street Journal each conducted studies of samples of low-fat and skim milk from grocery shelves. The Journal collected 50 samples in 10 major cities and found that 30% of them were contaminated with antibiotics or sulfa drugs. The Center discovered that 20% of the samples in the Washington, D.C., area similarly were contaminated.
Disease-causing microbes, other than bacteria, are displaying resistance to drugs once believed invincible against them. Resistance to antiviral (amantadine-resistant influenza virus and acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex) and antiprotozoal (metronidazole-resistant Trichomonas vaginalis) drugs is emerging, and drug-resistant malaria has spread to almost all areas of the world where that disease occurs.
Avoiding a medical disaster
Antibiotic resistance is resulting in increased mortality, illness, and health care costs. Prevention and control of these infections will demand the development of new antibiotics and/or vaccines, sensible use of existing antibiotics, and improved public health efforts to reduce transmission.
As Mitchell L. Cohen indicated in the Aug. 21, 1992, issue of Science, "The increasing frequency of resistance indicates the need for a stronger partnership between clinical medicine and public health. Unless currently effective [antibiotics] can be successfully preserved and the transmission of drug resistant organisms curtailed, the post [antibiotic] era may be fast approaching in which infectious disease wards housing untreatable conditions will again be seen."
Because bacterial infections keep finding ways to make antibiotics impotent, some medical experts believe that vaccines are a better weapon to use against bacterial disease. Vaccines consist of benign fragments of microbes that teach the body's immune system to recognize and annihilate the real thing. Every person's immune system is unique; hence, it is very hard for a bacterium to concoct a shield that offers universal protection against a vaccine. A vaccine against the pneumococcus bacterium has been developed and effectively used to prevent the disease.
Efforts should be made to reduce undesirable antibiotic use in humans. Rapid diagnosis might decrease inappropriate utilization. Shortening the term of antibiotic therapy or avoiding its long-term use might provide other ways of decreasing resistance.
Of equally great importance is the need for better surveillance to discover the frequency of antibiotic resistance so that studies can be conducted specifically to explain and define the significant causes of emergence, persistence, and transmission of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Improved surveillance systems can provide information in making critical public health decisions.
A national surveillance system to track antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in hospitals was announced Oct. 4, 1994, by the University of Iowa College of Medicine and Lederle Laboratories. Initially, about 50 hospitals are participating in the new system, providing information and sending samples of antibiotic-resistant organisms to labs at the university for testing. Information is being shared with public health agencies and hospitals.
New antibiotic discovery programs always have been crucial to the development of more effective drugs. However, a survey of major U.S. and Japanese pharmaceutical companies found that about 50% have decreased or halted their antibiotic research programs. These decisions reportedly were based on notions that market needs for antibiotics have been "satisfied" and that the market is "saturated."
Nevertheless, the discovery of new antibiotics offers hope. For example, a microbe lurking in the roots of alfalfa plants that fights infections that attack alfalfa, soybeans, and some vegetables, and holds promise as a new weapon against human bacterial disease was developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin. The microbe, a strain of Bacillus cereus, produces antibiotics that effectively stop the growth of bacterial root diseases in crop plants. As Jo Handelsman noted at an Oct. 31, 1994, briefing of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, "[W]e have identified a new class of antibiotics that may have applications beyond agriculture, perhaps in the treatment of human disease."
As Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg of Rockefeller University wrote in the Oct. 15, 1992, issue of News from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, "We acted as though we had won the war on infectious diseases, but the fact is, infectious microbes have been around all along and will continue to pose threats to public health.... [T]his much is certain. We have to come to terms with the fact that the microbial world is in competition with us, that it's rapidly evolving--at our expense--and that we haven't applied the knowledge we have to the extent we should to give us the level of security we deserve."
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By Judity Braffman-Miller
Ms. Braffman-Miller is a free-lance journalist whose articles have appeared in Consumer Reports, The Humanist, Ms., Science Digest, New York, and USA Today
South America's best-kept secret: Yerba Mate
YERBA MATE - A Legendary "healing herb" and "Whole Body Tonic"
For centuries, the Guarani Indians used the steeped juice of the leaves of the wild yerba tree-bush which proliferated beneath the rainforest canopy. They loved it for its cure-all health benefits which stimulate the body's immune system and reduce the effects of debilitating disease. Along with aiding digestion, it reduces stress and stimulates the mind. So effective were its attributes, they called it the "Drink of the Gods".
The Jesuits who arrived in Paraguay centuries ago from Europe began drinking yerba mate after observing its amazing properties. So impressed, they began to cultivate yerba.
Gauchos, the cowboys of South America, supplemented a mostly meat, cheese and bread diet with yerba mate because of its vitamin and mineral nutritional values. They carried it with them always, as they do today. As soon as people experienced it, there was no stopping the spread of this remarkable herbal drink throughout Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.
As with so many ancient knowledge, health journals and professionals began in the early part of this century to verify what the indigenous peoples knew through a long history of use and observation.
"In 1964 one group of investigators from The Pasteur Institute and The Paris Scientific Society concluded that mate increases the supply of oxygen to the heart, especially during periods of stress or exercise....its whole body tonic property acts as a catalyst and enhances the healing powers of other herbs....in South American literature, mate is consistently noted for its ability to increase the body's immune system response and stimulate the body's natural resistance to diseases...it increases mental alertness and acuity without nervousness and jitters." He goes on to say that "reports of mate reducing blood pressure are not uncommon" and mate provides "more energy, vitality, better ability to concentrate, less nervousness, agitation, and anxiety."
Dr. Daniel Mowrey, Ph.D.
What are the benefits of yerba?
Yerba is traditionally known for :
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Strengthening the immune system
Strengthening the immune system ·Reducing fatigue
Reducing fatigue ·Reducing blood pressure
Reducing blood pressure ·Rejuvenation
Rejuvenation ·Breaking down fat (lipolytic)
Breaking down fat (lipolytic) ·Balancing sleep patterns
Balancing sleep patterns ·Increasing libido
Increasing libido ·Delivering oxygen to the heart and lungs during exercise
Delivering oxygen to the heart and lungs during exercise ·A great diet aid
A great diet aid ·Increasing focus
Increasing focus ·Increasing creativity
Increasing creativity ·Increasing strength, energy and endurance
Increasing strength, energy and endurance Recent research has shown that Yerba Mate:
·Reduces cholesterol
Reduces cholesterol ·Contains antioxidants
Contains antioxidants ·Contains 15 amino acids
Contains 15 amino acids ·Contains 24 vitamins and minerals
Contains 24 vitamins and minerals ·Is a whole body tonic
Is a whole body tonic Flavor enhancers:
·Honey mixed with the hot water
Honey mixed with the hot water ·Herbs like mint, blackberry leaves
Herbs like mint, blackberry leaves ·Non-dairy flavored creamers
Non-dairy flavored creamers ·Milk (whole, rice or soy)
Milk (whole, rice or soy) ·Lemon or lime juice
Lemon or lime juice ·Lemon or lime zest (grated rind)
Lemon or lime zest (grated rind) ·Flavored syrups i.e. maple, raspberry
Flavored syrups i.e. maple, raspberry ·Liquors i.e. Baileys, Grande Marnier, Amaretto
Liquors i.e. Baileys, Grande Marnier, Amaretto ·Cold beer - yes - cold beer!
Cold beer - yes - cold beer! ·Fruit juice i.e. pineapple
Fruit juice i.e. pineapple May I use a tea ball or tea bag?
·Yes, however the bombilla pulls the nutrients out more efficiently and you receive optimum nutrition benefits and a heightened sense of well being
Yes, however the bombilla pulls the nutrients out more efficiently and you receive optimum nutrition benefits and a heightened sense of well beingMate contains a stimulant (mateine)--a relative of caffeine that produces none of its jittery side effects. It also does not interfere with sleep cycles, nor is it addicting. It increases alertness and concentration, resistance to physical and mental fatigue, and confers a feeling of well-being without the depressant aftereffects typical of caffeine. Its promoters believe it to be a virtual wonder beverage--conferring euphoria while exacting no health penalties. Horacio Conesa, of the University of Buenos Aires Medical School, says, "There's not a single medical contraindication" for drinking mate. Daniel Mowrey, PhD, president of the American Physiotherapy Research Lab, has studied mate for 15 years and drinks it daily. He says it may provide the body with energy through nutrition rather than stimulant properties. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fatty acids, and is a more potent antioxidant than vitamin C. It is also said to increase libido, improve male sexual performance, help in weight reduction, stop hair from turning gray, cleanse the blood of waste and toxins, reduce blood pressure, grow and repair heart tissue, boost immune response, reduce hay-fever and allergy symptoms, and relieve headaches and migraines.
Qualities of Yerba mate :
Antioxidant , Stamina
Lowers Cholesterol , Endurance
Energizes , Strength
Rejuvenates , 24 Vitamins/Minerals
Lypolytic , Immunostimulant
Controls appetite , Raises libido, mood
Whole body tonic , Smooth muscle relaxant , Anti-depressant
15 amino acids
Yerba mate is reported to contain 196 active compounds, which compares favorably to the 144 compounds found in the more well-known green tea (Camellia sinensis). Among them:
- Vitamins: significant amounts of vitamins C, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), and B complex, and several forms of carotene, pigments which are precursors of vitamin A
- Minerals: calcium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, manganese, selenium; especially high in potassium and magnesium
- Protein: 15 amino acids, including arginine, methionine, tryptophan, cysteine, histidine, isoleucine, aspartic acid, and tyrosine
- Fatty Acids: palmitoleic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic (the primary omega-6 essential fatty acid); a variety of triterpenes (hydrocarbons commonly found in essential oils), and sterols (sitosterol, campesterol, and trace amounts of cholesterol)
- Carbohydrates: sucrose, raffinose, glucose, and levulose
Yerba Mate is the subject of a German Monograph which lists its uses for mental and physical fatigue, and having "analeptic, diuretic, positively inotropic, positively chronotropic, glycogenolytic and lipolytic effects." (5) Yerba mate has been used medicinally as a diuretic, tonic, and a central nervous system stimulant.(6, 7) Another traditional use has been as a depurative (to promote cleansing and excretion of waste).(8) Herbalist, Daniel Mowrey, states that yerba mate is a "whole body tonic," even in large amounts" and "promotes balances in many body systems without overstimulating any system." Yerba mate's tonic effect on the body helps to regulate sleep cycles and reduce fatigue.(9)Mate is used to reduce appetite, invigorate the body, and affects the muscles by reducing fatigue.(10)
In Europe, Mate is used for weight loss, "as the ideal slimming remedy which facilitates losing weight in a natural way and still the distressing feelings of hunger and thirst."(5) Dr. James Balch, MD recommends Yerba Mate for arthritis, headache, hemorrhoids, fluid retention, obesity, fatigue, stress, constipation, allergies and hay fevers stating that it "cleanses the blood, tones the nervous system, retards aging, stimulates the mind, controls the appetite, stimulates the production of cortisone, and is believed to enhance the healing powers of other herbs."(11)
Research on the active constituents of Yerba Mate were reported in the mid-1970s through mid-1980's (12, 13) The primary active chemical constituency of yerba mate is made up of 0.3-2.0% caffeine(2, 5) theobromine, theophylline, saponins, and 10% chlorogenic acid.(5, 7) Sterols resembling ergosterol and cholesterol are also present in yerba mate.(5) In addition, Yerba Mate is a rich source of minerals and 15 amino acids are present in the leaves.(14) In a study by Swantson-Flatt with the closely related Ilex species guayusa, the mate extract "retarded the development of hyperglycaemia" in streptozotocin diabetic mice and "reduced the hyperphagia, polydipsia, body weight loss, and glycated haemoglobin."(15) This study suggests the presence of potentially useful antidiabetic agents in Mate. The antioxidant properties demonstrated clinically by Yerba Mate were reported in two clinical studies demonstrating its high antioxidant values linked to rapid absorption of known antioxidant phytochemicals found in Mate leaves.(16,17) Of most recent clinical interest is a group of known and novel saponins that researchers have isolated in Mate leaves. Saponins are a group of phytochemicals with known pharmacological activities, including, as the latest research shows, stimulating the immune system.
REFERENCED QUOTES ON YERBA MATE
"ACTIONS: Mental stimulant, Increases stamina and endurance, Diuretic. TRADITIONAL USE: Yerba Mate is considered a stimulant and effective as a diuretic. Yerba Mate carries a colorful tradition on the South American Pampas. Gauchos drink Yerba Mate from a cow horn. It is a general tonic and invigorating to the physique, as well as mentally stimulating. Yerba Mate is now widely used for its tonic effects. Yerba Mate is an invigorating tonic to the body and mind. MERIDIAN INDICATIONS: Increases circulation by invigorating Spleen / Kidney Qi, Heat to Triple Warmer, Opens Liver meridian, Clears mist from Upper Burner, Fortifies Heart and Lung heat. EVA POINTS: Kidney, Circulation"
"Medicinal Action and Uses: Tonic, diuretic, and powerfully stimulant."
"For arthritis, headache, hemorrhoids, fluid retention, obesity, fatigue, stress, constipation, allergies, and hay fever. Cleanses the blood, tones the nervous system, retards ageing, stimulates the mind, controls the appetite, stimulates production of cortisone, and is believed to enhance the healing power of other herbs."
"For reasons unknown at this time, echinacea in high doses tends to promote continued immune system stimulation rather than balanced immune function. This is not true of most [herbal] tonics. Most behave like yerba mate, a more of less whole body tonic; yerba mate, even in large amounts, continues to promote balance in many body systems without overstimulating any system." . . .
"Of the many immunomodulators in the plant kingdom, I think the best are lapacho, echinacea, astragalus, yerba mate, licorice root and all species of ginseng."
"Smilax together with ginseng and yerba mate would act to enhance the physical development of muscle tissue. These would help oxygenate cells and help them burn calories. The entire musculoskeletal system would benefit."
" Last but certainly not least, I believe a modern elixir should address energy production. The solution in a liquid extract is to combine the only really good herbs for this effect, yerba mate and ginseng species. First, it contains significant amounts of the South American herb yerba mate. This would give the product a natural energy wallop not shared by other liquid herbal extracts. This natural energy would not interfere with the ability to sleep. On the contrary, it would help regulate sleep cycles and produce a better sleep. It would also allow one to work longer without fatigue, get more done, and feel better about doing it. Indirectly, then, the nervous system benefits, as stress and anxiety are reduced, muscle tension lessens and performance effectiveness increases."
Yerba Mate " "Drink of the Gods"
The Guarani tribe in the forests of Paraguay have known for centuries of the restorative and stimulative properties of a native herb called yerba mate (Ilex Paragueriensis). Legend has it that Pa'i Shume, a tall, fair-skinned, bearded god was the one who taught them to harvest and prepare the leaves of the yerba mate tree for a tea to ensure health, vitality and longevity. Seventeenth century Jesuits valued its energizing qualities and they cultivated plantations of the trees. Two centuries later gauchos on the region's vast pampas utilized the herb, resting beside their fires and sipping the tea through a bombilla, a silver straw with a fine-screened strainer.
The Unbeatable Nutrition Facts of Yerba Mate "Drink of the Gods"
Constituents:
Vitamin A, C, E, Carotene, B-1, B-2, B Complex, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid, iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, manganese, silicon, phosphates, sulfur, hydrochloric acid, chlorophyll, choline, inositol
Serving size: 2 oz. in 2 cups of water.
Total Fat 0 g. Cholesterol 0 mg. Sodium 60 g. Total Carbs 13 g. Fiber 0 g. Sugars 1 g. Protein 0 g.
Daily Values: Vitamin B-1 - 13% Vitamin B-2 - 23% Iron - 12% Potassium - 55% Magnesium - 46%
Today yerba mate is grown in the iron-rich, acidic soil and semi-tropical climates of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, which employ 400,000 people to cultivate, prepare and distribute it to Latin America, the Middle East, North America and the European community, where it is known as the "Elixir of the Jesuits".
The Pasteur Institute and the Paris Scientific society in 1964 were interested in this "Drink of the Gods" and did a thorough study of its properties. The findings were nothing short of astounding. The investigators concluded "it is difficult to find a plant in any area of the world equal to mate in nutritional value."
Mate contains, these scientists said, "practically all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life." Yerba mate contains the vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B complex, carotene, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin and vitamin C complex. In addition, it has 15 different amino acids, plus significant amounts of magnesium, calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, manganese, silicon, phosphates, zinc, niacin, sulfur, and chlorophyll, choline, and inositol.
The list of benefits to overall health to be derived from yerba mate touches all aspects of the body and is seemingly endless. Tens of millions of south Americans drink mate to boost immunity, cleanse and detoxify the blood, tone the nervous system, control the appetite, restore youthful hair color, retard aging, combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, cure insomnia, and reduce the effects of debilitating disease.
Yerba mate supplies many of the nutrients required by the heart for growth and repair, plus it has a metabolic effect by increasing the supply of oxygen to the heart, especially during periods of stress or exercise. Research from the Paris Institute indicates LDL oxidation is inhibited by extracts of Ilex Paraguariensis. Incidence of arteriosclerosis is low in countries where yerba is consumed.
There is growing clinical evidence that yerba mate stimulates the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids, thus stimulating metabolism in muscle cells. As a by-product of this, mate has been commonly observed to decrease the severity and incidence of allergy and hay fever. This adrenocortical action also helps balance blood glucose levels, so that hypoglycemic patients respond well to yerba mate.
As a whole-body tonic, yerba stimulates a weakened or depressed nervous system, and calms an overexcited one. When stress, whether from environmental factors, bad nutrition or anxiety, throws our body's systems out of balance, mate's bi-directional properties restore homeostasis in the body, while not over stimulating any one system. In addition, it is non-addictive, and will not cause jitters or any contraindicators.
For these reasons, yerba mate is excellent as a coffee substitute. The tea has the ability to quicken the mind, to increase mental alertness and acuity. It is a mild, not strong, diuretic. It relaxes peripheral blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure. And best of all, rather than interfering with sleep as coffee often does, mate has a tendency to balance sleep cycles, inducing more REM sleep when necessary, or increasing the amount of time spent in delta states. Many people report that they require less sleep when using mate.
Consumer feedback has indicated its combined effects of smooth muscle and peripheral blood vessel relaxation, sense of stamina, energy and well being provide improved sexual interest and performance, thereby possibly offering a drug-free, all natural alternative to Viagra.
As an anti-oxidant, yerba mate is superb. Free radicals are highly toxic oxygen molecules in a reactive, unstable form. They roam freely through the body, seeking out tissues to combine with and render morbid. As well as destroying tissues outright, they increase susceptibility to a wide range of infections and diseases. Besides the free radicals produced by normal metabolic processes, we are also exposed to them through environmental pollutants. Our bodys main line of defense against free radicals is its supply of free radical scavengers, collectively known as antioxidants. These are a group of nutrients which include Vitamins A, C, E, and the minerals Zinc and Selenium, all of which mate contains in abundance. These antioxidant nutrients work synergistically to prevent further cell damage, while repairing damaged cells by neutralizing the free radicals and thus deactivating their destructive energy.
Mate tea is made from leaves and stems steeped in hot water. A mate gourd, or mug, is filled a quarter full (or to taste), the bombilla (a filtering straw which extracts the most nutrients by pulling the water across the leaves) is nestled into the herb. Hot-never boiled- water is poured to the top. The water will cause the leaves to swell and the water at the top of the gourd will look frothy and green, indicating its nutrient-rich properties. The gourd can be refilled five or 6 times until the green froth is gone, which means the leaves are depleted, and it's time to refresh the infusion. Yerba mate can also be made in a coffee machine, a French press, and cold as a refreshing sun tea.
This special gift from the plant kingdom is best when served in community with friends, offered in a ritual of love and friendship for each other and our natural world. But even alone, the cup of mate in your hand as you begin a new day promises to leave you refreshed and with a great feeling of well being.
Yerba mate and the Xanthine Alkaloids: Does It Contain Any Caffeine?
[From "Yerba Mate: Unequaled Natural Nutrition by Daniel Mowry, PhD]
The xanthines draw a lot of attention because they number among them some traditional nasties, chief of which is caffeine. Others are theophylline and theobromine. All of the xanthines have a similar stereo-chemistry but each has its own unique set of properties. For many years, and even now, in some sectors, yerba mate was (is) thought to contain caffeine. It turns out that mateine is not identical to caffeine; it differs from caffeine in some rather dramatic ways. Some members of the scientific community still resort to calling mateine a South American term for caffeine, or to maintaining, in perfect knowledge of the falseness of the assertion, that two substances so similar chemically must have the same properties. Slowly, they are being forced to acknowledge the distinction between mateine and caffeine.
Modern studies seem to validate the difference between mate' and other xanthines-containing plants, such as guarana. Stereo-chemical and clinical work on xanthines in the last couple of decades have shown that, though similar in structure, the members of this class have widely varying pharmacology. In fact, there is only one effect that seems to be shared by all trimethyl xanthines: smooth muscle relaxation. It is this action that makes them with the exception of caffeine, whose smooth muscle relaxant effects are diminished by other side effects, good clinical dilators of the bronchi and hence useful in the treatment of asthma.
"Over the past year, I have been giving the Yerba mate tea to my patients who need to stop using caffeine-containing products for health reasons. I have had good feedback on the results. I like having a healthful substitute for coffee, tea and colas to offer them." K.L.P., M.D.
Chemical assays on mate have traditionally looked for caffeine, and in such tests mateine, being a simple stereo-isomer of caffeine, would test positive. Until recently nobody has looked at the exact structure of the molecule--and, to my knowledge, nobody in the United States has ever made the attempt. Researchers at the Free Hygienic Institute of Homburg, Germany, concluded that even if there were caffeine in mate', the amount would be so tiny that it would take 100 tea bags of mate' in a six ounce cup of water to equal the caffeine in a six ounce serving of regular coffee. They make the rather astute observation that it is obvious that the active principle in yerbamate' is not caffeine! But then, we know for sure it is not caffeine, for caffeine is not present at all.
Mateine, then, has a unique pharmacology and it is unfair to compare it to caffeine (incidentally, guaraná may not contain caffeine either--it may contain something that could be called guaraneine--however that substance looks like it is more deleterious than caffeine!). Mateine appears to possess the best combination of xanthine properties possible. For example, like other xanthines, it stimulates the central nervous system, but unlike most, it is not habituating or addicting. Likewise, unlike caffeine, it induces better, not worse, attributes of sleep. It is a mild, not a strong, diuretic, as are many xanthines. It relaxes peripheral blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure, without the strong pressor effect on the medulla and heart exhibited by some xanthines. We also know that it improves psychomotor performance without the typical xanthine-induced depressant after effects.
Dr. Jose Martin, Director of the National Institute of Technology in Paraguay, writes, "New research and better technology have shown that while mateine has a chemical constituency similar to caffeine, the molecular binding is different. Mateine has none of the ill effects of caffeine." And Horacio Conesa, professor at the University of Buenos Aires Medical School, states, "There is not a single medical contraindication" for ingesting mate. Clinical studies show, in fact, that individuals with caffeine sensitivities can ingest mate without adverse reactions.
The time has come, therefore, to discard the outmoded ideas that (1) xanthines are all alike, (2) that yerba mate contains caffeine, and (3) that mateine is identical with caffeine. It would be tragic indeed if nature created such a beneficial plant and then, through some bizarre quirk, contaminated it with caffeine. It is more likely that mate is, as some say, "Natures most perfect beverage," or, as others maintain, "the beverage of the Gods."
Summarizing the clinical studies of France, Germany, Argentina and other countries, it appears that we may be dealing here with the most powerful rejuvenator known to man. Unlike the guaraná of the Tupi, the coca of the Incas, the coffee of India, or the tea of China, mate rejuvenates not by the false hopes of caffeine, but simply through the wealth of its nutrients.
For more information:
http://www.healthfree.com/herbgarden/yerbaxan.htm
http://www.alternativemedicine.com/digest/issue27/27055R00.shtml
http://www.yerbamate.com/
http://www.thegrid.net/yerbamatetea/home.html/ (Guayakí yerba mate web page)
http://www.healthfree.com/herbgarden/yerbamatelong.htm (Properties and other info)
In Dallas you can buy Argentinean yerba mate, among some other places, at "Mas Latina"
2809 N. McArthur Blvd, Irving TX
(972) 570 4955.
Sweeteners
Sweetener, any of various natural and artificial substances that provide a sweet taste in food and beverages. In addition to their sweetening power, they may be used for such processes as food preservation, fermentation (in brewing and wine making), baking (where they contribute to texture, tenderization, and leavening), and food browning and carmelization. Natural sweeteners may be both nutritive and flavorable and thus popular both as food and flavouring. However, because common sugar and other nutritive sweeteners such as honey and corn syrup are associated with health problems (such as obesity and tooth decay) or are even a threat to life (for diabetics), there have been efforts since the 19th century to produce nonnutritive sweeteners that are not subject to metabolism and contain little or no caloric value. Nonnutritive sweeteners, which may be either artificial (synthetic) or derived from plants, include such compounds as saccharin, aspartame, cyclamates, and thaumatin.
Sugar is a generic term for a category of carbohydrate compounds known as sucrose, or saccharose (C12H22O11). A group of related compounds are corn sugar (called glucose, or dextrose), fruit sugar (fructose, or levulose), milk sugar (lactose), and malt sugar (maltose). Sucrose is a disaccharide; that is, it is made up of two simple sugars, or monosaccharides--glucose and fructose. It is one of the sweetest of sugars. If sucrose is taken as a standard of 1, the sweetness of glucose is 0.5-0.6, that of lactose is 0.27, and that of maltose is 0.6; fructose, found in fruits and honey, is the sweetest, being 1.1 to 2.0 times as sweet as sucrose.
Sucrose is commercially derived chiefly from sugarcane and sugar beets but also comes from such sources as maple trees, sugar palms (especially date palms), and sorghum. Sucrose is found in all plants: an apple is about 4 percent sucrose, 6 percent fructose, and 1 percent glucose (by weight); a grape is about 2 percent sucrose, 8 percent fructose, 7 percent glucose, and 2 percent maltose (by weight). Honey is composed principally of fructose and glucose, the composition depending on the original nectar collected by the honeybee and on the amount of processing and storage time.
In the development of low-calorie sweeteners, the problems are several and are not limited to sweetness. Some sweeteners lose their sweetness at high temperatures (making them often unsuitable in cooking) or lose the sweetness over time (giving them a short shelf life). Some nonnutritive sweeteners have an undesirable aftertaste. Sugar furthermore has functional properties not found wholly in any other sweeteners. Sugar adds bulk and texture to baked goods; it helps in forming the structure of the baked food, provides moistness, tenderness, and antitoughening characteristics, and contributes to leavening. In addition it has a preservative effect (as in jellies and preserves) and helps generally to prevent spoilage. It serves as food for fermenting organisms that are important in making such things as alcoholic beverages, breads, and pickles. In soft drinks, in addition to providing sweetness, sugar provides "mouthfeel" and body and helps to stabilize the carbon dioxide. Sugar, in sum, has many functional properties in food, and no other sweetener has so far been developed to duplicate all or even many of them.
The artificial sweetener saccharin (ortho-sulfobenzoic acid imide) was discovered in 1879 by two German researchers, I. Remsen and C. Fahlberg, and has about 300 to 500 times the sweetening power of cane sugar. It is manufactured on a large scale in several countries in the form of saccharin, sodium saccharin, and calcium saccharin. Although its safety was the subject of controversy during the 1970s and '80s, it is still widely used.
Cyclamates, a group of synthetic sweeteners derived from cyclohexylamine or cyclamic acid, were discovered in 1937 and are about 30 times as sweet as sucrose. Although used in several countries, cyclamates were banned in some countries (notably the United States, in 1969) after being suspected of carcinogenicity.
Aspartame, or aspartylphenylalanine (marketed as NutraSweet, Equal, Egal, or Canderal), was discovered in 1965. It has some caloric value (though negligible) and is about 150-200 times as sweet as sucrose. Its safety remains controversial, but it is now the most popular sweetening ingredient in diet soft drinks. It tends to lose its sweetness over long periods, but manufacturers have taken measures to enhance the stability through additives.
Thaumatin, a protein extracted and purified from Thaumatococcus danielli, a plant found in western Africa, has found increasing use in Japan since its approval there in 1979. It combines well with monosodium glutamate and is used in typical Japanese seasonings as well as in chewing gum.
Acesulfame potassium (marketed as Sunette) was approved in the United States in 1988. It is about 130-200 times as sweet as sucrose, has good shelf life and high stability, and was initially used in dry food mixes.
Stevioside, derived from the plant Stevia rebaudiana, has been used in Japan, Paraguay, and a few other countries as a low-calorie sweetener. It is about 300 times as sweet as sucrose.
A potential noncaloric sweetener, patented in the United States in 1981, is "left-handed" sugar, or L-sugar. It is chemically identical to sucrose except that its molecular structure is an opposite mirror image of standard "right-handed" sucrose; it is said to look, act, and taste like sucrose, but the human body seems not to recognize it and metabolize it, so that it passes from the body basically unchanged. The manufacture of L-sugar, however, has proved prohibitively difficult and expensive.
Research--mainly in Europe, North America, and Japan--continues on hundreds of potential sweeteners.
Natural sweetener: Stevia herb
STEVIA: THE NATURAL SWEETENER THAT FRIGHTENS NUTRASWEET
Look up the word "sweet" in the dictionary and one of the definitions you find is "pleasing or agreeable." That definition, however, is only partially true. While conventional sweeteners may be "pleasing" to the taste, they can hardly be described as "agreeable" in their effects on the body.
Natural sweeteners, including sugar or sucrose (white sugar plus maple, turbinado and raw sugar), honey and corn syrup (including high fructose corn syrup, an industrial-strength variety treated with enzymes to intensify sweetness) have been linked to a host of ailments, such as tooth disease, obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, hypoglycemia, yeast infections and inflammatory bowell disease.
Artificial sweeteners are widely available in soft drinks, snack foods, desserts and in packet form (Equal(TM), Sweet 'N' Low(TM). Despite manufacturer's claims, artificial sweeteners like aspartame (NutraSweet(TM), Equal(TM)), saccharin and acesulfame K (Sunett(TM), Sweet One(TM)) all pose health risks.
Aspartame (which could endanger anyone with phenylketonuria, a rare digestive disorder afflicting nearly 16,000 Americans) is used as a sweetener in more than 1,000 products.
Aspartame contains phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol (wood alcohol) that breaks down into formaldehyde when ingested [See "How Diet Soda Turns to Poison," Fall '97 EIJ]. Aspartame's side effects include gastrointestinal distress, headaches, rashes, depression, seizures, memory loss, blurred vision, blindness, slurred speech and neurological disorders.
(Studies cited by Dr. Russell Blaylock suggest that low-calorie aspartame sweetener actually tends to stimulate the appetite. If true, aspartame use may have contributed to the marked increase in obesity in the US -- an increase that coincides precisely with the period during which aspartame was promoted as a weight-loss remedy).
Saccharin is sold despite a label warning that it causes cancer in laboratory animals. Saccharin was allowed to remain on the market only by virtue of a special act of Congress.
A Sweet Native Tradition
While the US public has waited in vain for a safe artificial sweetener to be developed, citizens of several other countries have enjoyed -- in some cases, for centuries -- a safe, natural sweetener that is virtually calorie-free and widely believed to offer a host of health benefits as well.
This miracle sweetener is the South American herb, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni -- commonly known as stevia. Estimated to be some 150 to 400 times sweeter than sugar, stevia is at last on the verge of becoming available to US consumers.
Paraguay's Guarani Indians have known about the unique advantages of kaa he-e ("sweet herb") since long before the Spanish conquistadors arrived on their shores in the 16th century. This wild shrub, indigenous to the Amambay Mountains, was known to have a sweetening power unlike anything else. The Guarani use the leaves to enhance the taste of bitter mate tea and medicinal potions.
The first commercial stevia crop was harvested in 1908. In 1921, US Trade Commissioner George S. Brady praised stevia as a "new sugar plant with great commercial possibilities." Brady took note of its non-toxicity and its ease of preparation -- only drying and grinding is required. He also praised stevia as "an ideal and safe sugar for diabetics." Brady further predicted that stevia would "be of great commercial importance" -- a prophesy that alarmed the world's sugar producers.
Rediscovered in Japan
In 1931, two French chemists isolated stevioside, a pure white crystalline extract that is the most prevalent of several compounds that give the stevia leaf its sweet taste. US government researcher Hewitt G. Fletcher described the extract as "the sweetest natural product yet found."
Introduced to Japan in 1970 by a consortium of food product manufacturers, stevioside and other stevia products quickly caught on. By 1988, they reportedly represented approximately 41 percent of the market share of potently sweet substances consumed in Japan.
In addition to widespread use as a table-top sweetener, stevia is also used by the Japanese to sweeten ice cream, bread, candies, pickles, seafood, vegetables and soft drinks. Even products made by US companies such as Sunkist and Nestle are now sweetened with stevia in Japan.
Today stevia is grown and used approximately 10 countries outside South America including China, Germany, Malaysia, Israel and South Korea. Stevia might by now be commonly available in the US as well, had it not been for a concerted effort to block its entry.
Stevia's US Debut Cut Short
By the mid-1980s, various US companies were becoming aware of stevia's potential commercial value. With the addition of stevia as a flavor enhancer in a number of popular brands of herbal tea, the ancient sweet herb of the Guaranis was at last poised to make a delayed debut in the US marketplace.
By this time, however, powerful market forces were at works, especially a huge artificial sweetener industry that felt threatened by the appearance of a sweetener that was natural, virtually noncaloric and safe for use by diabetics.
No sooner had stevia entered the US herbal scene than the FDA launched an aggressive campaign to nip its emergence in the bud. A series of FDA-initiated actions against firms using stevia in their products included embargoes and search-and-seizures of warehouses and manufacturing sites by armed federal marshals. To cap off the effort, a full-fledged "import alert" was issued, barring stevia, shipments into the U.S.
What prompted the FDA's extraordinary intervention in the marketing of stevia. FDA officials cannot--or will not--say. However, rumors persist that the catalyst was a "trade complaint" from a company that did not want stevia to reach the marketplace. While no trade complaints pre-dating the FDA's anti-stevia campaign have yet to surface, an anonymous trade complaint submitted some time later is on record. The complaint resulted in Celestial Seasonings, a Boulder, Colorado-based tea company, being forced to suspend the use of stevia in its popular line of herbal teas.
NutraSweet Company officials deny rumors that their company was behind the clamp-down. One individual who was stopped from selling stevia products, however, insists that an FDA representative specifically identified NutraSweet as the party that objected to his attempts to sell an "untested natural sweetener."
Despite the presentation of substantial historical data in two petitions seeking "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status for stevia, the FDA has held firm to its position that stevia's historical use was limited to "Indian ceremonies centuries ago," to quote the FDA's Dr. George Pauli. In one of many contradictions, the FDA acknowledged in one of its import alerts that "Stevia leaves ... have been used throughout history."
By denying it official GRAS status, the FDA was able to brand stevia a "food additive," a category that requires substantial scientific study prior to marketing (the kind of study already done in Japan, but ignored by the FDA).
The fact that stevia is a sweetener complicates the matter further, since the FDA tends to view any "new" sweetener as an additive with a particularly high potential for mass consumption, thus necessitating special scrutiny. (Strangely, that attitude was relaxed in the FDA's rush to approve aspartame.)
Today in the US, stevia is only legally available as a dietary supplement. The FDA strictly prohibits stevia supplement from being labeled as sweeteners or even suggesting that the supplement have sweetening attributes.
What is the FDA Afraid Of?
Why does the FDA consider stevia to be "unsafe?" Does it cause cancer in laboratory animals, like saccharin (which remains on the market, nonetheless)? Has it been linked to the growth of brain tumors in rats or to the development of holes in the brains of baby mice, the way aspartame has? The answer is, quite simply, "no."
Instead, it seems that the FDA's chief concern is the possibility that stevia might act as (are you ready for this?) -- a contraceptive. A stevia information sheet produced by the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition cited "two published scientific studies that suggested that the consumption of aqueous extracts of stevia reduces the fertility of female laboratory animals." (One was an unreproducible 30-year-old study from Uruguay; the other was a 30-year-old Purdue University animal study whose conclusions, the author later stated, do not necessarily apply to humans.)
In a chronic toxicity study conducted in Japan, nearly 500 rats were fed stevia for up to two years. The highest dosage represented 100 times the estimated daily human intake. Still, researchers found no significant dose-related changes in growth, general appearance, hematological and blood biochemical findings or organ weights.
Further Japanese test on male and female laboratory rats directly refute the FDA's characterization of stevia as a possible contraceptive; these studies found no evidence of harmful effects on fertility, fetuses or offspring.
After lengthy, comprehensive trials -- both in the laboratory and in actual human use -- Japan, one of the world's most scientifically advanced societies, has embraced stevia. Meanwhile, the US continues to keep stevia locked up on suspicion of being "unsafe".
Does the FDA Protect Consumers?
Now that stevia has been designated as "unsafe" -- almost certainly as a sop to the politically powerful sweetener industry -- the FDA insists on stonewalling any evidence to the contrary.
By choosing to promote aspartame consumption while restricting the public's access to stevia, the FDA has abandoned the chief rule of its founder, Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, who insisted that "the right of the consumer is the first thing to be considered." The FDA's actions now harm the very consumers it was created to protect.
No one is claiming that stevia is safe simply by virtue of its being natural. But people have used stevia safely for centuries, and it is this test of time -- amply supported by modern scientific research --that suggests that stevia is a beneficial substance that can be used without fear of adverse consequences. Clearly, the barrier to FDA approved was not raised by scientific concerns but, rather, by commercial concerns -- augmented by bureaucratic intransigence.
Getting stevia to the marketplace as a dietary supplement has made some of the benefits of this marvelous herb available to the US public, but the battle is far from won. It is difficult to know how much more time and effort will be required for stevia to achieve the kind of alternative sweetener status in the US that it has been accorded in other countries.
Stevia will eventually win FDA approval. The timing depends on the pressure brought to bear upon our political and regulatory bodies. The US political system was not intended to be dominated by unyielding bureaucrats or corporate lobbyists -- but it will be if we let it.
STEVIA HAS BEEN GIVEN FDA APPROVAL.As of September 18,1995 the FDA announced that Stevia can be sold and consumed as a dietary supplement for nutritional benefits
This reversed an earlier action when the FDA determined that Stevia could only be used as an external product.
Scientific research has revealed that Stevia contains nutrients that may aid the body in effectively regulating blood sugar. In some South American countries, it is sold as a helpful aid to people with diabetes and with hypoglycemia. Other studies show that it inhibits growth and reproduction of some bacteria and other infectious organisms, including the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease. There are many other benefits that seem to be associated with adding Stevia to one's diet.
The primary compounds of Stevia that are responsible for its taste are steviosides and rebaudiosides. The extract of stevia is approximately 30 times sweeter than cane sugar, or sucrose, yet has only 1/300 of the caloric value. In addition Stevia can be used in both HOT and COLD, and thus can be used in baking. This unique extract is even water soluble! This is a water-based extract with nothing added, no calories, either!
A number of studies have been conducted using Stevia in a variety of therapeutic applications. Several preliminary studies in Paraguay and Brazil have examined the herb's hypoglycemic action Researchers found that hypoglycemic diabetics showed approximately 35 per cent drop in normal blood sugar levels six to eight hours after consuming Stevia extract. Other sutdies have concluded with similar results. These studies, coupled with a substantial amount of empirical evidence, have led physicians in Paraguay and Brazil to prescribe Stevia in the treatment of diabetes.
Surprisingly, Stevia does not seem to have the same blood sugar-lowering effect on normal, non-diabetics. This adaptogenic attribute is just one of the safety features. Research also reveals that Stevia inhibits reproduction and development of bacteria and other infectious organisms. Lanb studies show that in the presence of Stevia extracts, Streptococcus mutans, Psuedomonas aeruginos, Proteus vulgaris, and other detrimental microbes are unable to thrive. Stevia extract has even demonstrated an ability to inhibit the development of tooth decay. Today in China the herb is used as an appetite stimulant, digestive aid, and to assist weight management. Preliminary studies show that long term use of stevia may have a cardiotonic effect.
Well over 1000 tons of Stevia extract are consumed every year by the Japanese, with no reports of toxicity. Just recently (September) the FDA lifted the ban on Stevia, but there's a catch: the herb can only be sold as a food supplement, not a food additive. This means Stevia cannot be sold as a sweetening agent, but simply as the health-enhancing dietary supplement it truly is. Efforts continue to persuade the FDA to reclassify Stevia as a GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) ingredient, but in the meantime no one can deny its health-promoting properties as a food supplement.
SUGAR SUBSTITUTES
Americans Opt For Sweetness And Life
"Sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening, sugar at suppertime..."
The lyrics of that old song go a long way toward describing the cravings of many Americans. A bowl of sugary breakfast cereal may be followed by a mid-morning donut, a lunch time soda, ice cream at supper, and, in between, snacks of pudding, pie or pastry. Not to mention all the goodies that are part of Valentine's Day, Halloween, and the year-end holiday season. It all adds up to one massive national sweet tooth.
So much so that the average American eats the equivalent of 20 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to figures from the most recent federal Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (1994-1996). Nearly 60 percent of this intake, says the trade group The Sugar Association, is from corn sweeteners, used heavily in sodas and other sweetened drinks. Another 40 percent is from sucrose (table sugar), and a small amount comes from other sweeteners, such as honey and molasses.
There's nothing unusual about craving sweets, experts say. Humans naturally have an appetite for sugary things. But in excess, sugary foods can take a toll. Large quantities add up to surplus calories, which can contribute to weight gain. In order to lose weight, the total calories from foods, especially those with lots of calories from sugars as well as fats, must be decreased and physical activity increased. As a result, many consumers seeking to control their weight have turned to sugar substitutes as one way to help lower the daily calorie count without having to give up their favorite foods.
"Anything that can help people cut back on [excess] calories is good," says Adam Drewnowski, Ph.D., director of nutritional science at the University of Washington. He emphasizes that weight loss is complex and can't be attributed to any one food product. But existing studies, some of which he has conducted, show that sugar substitutes can help certain people maintain a weight loss. Because sugar substitutes, also called artificial sweeteners, are many times sweeter than sugar, it takes much less of them to create the same sweetness. The resulting calorie count of the amount used is negligible.
According to a 1998 survey by the Calorie Control Council, 144 million American adults regularly consume low-calorie, sugar-free products such as artificially sweetened sodas and desserts. The Food and Drug Administration has approved four sugar substitutes--saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-K, and sucralose--for use in a variety of foods. At least three other sweeteners are under FDA review but had not been approved at press time.
Two approved sugar substitutes, saccharin and aspartame, have been the subject of ongoing controversy that, in the case of saccharin, dates back more than 20 years. Questions still linger about whether saccharin may cause cancer in humans, and though the sweetener is still widely used, it carries a label that warns of its potential risks.
Aspartame has come under fire in recent years from individuals who have used the Internet in an attempt to link the sweetener to brain tumors and other serious disorders. But FDA stands behind its original approval of aspartame, and subsequent evaluations have shown that the product is safe. A tiny segment of the population is sensitive to one of the sweetener's byproducts and should restrict intake. However, the agency continually monitors safety information on food ingredients such as aspartame and may take action to protect public health if it receives credible scientific evidence indicating a safety problem.
Other organizations give aspartame and the other approved sugar substitutes a thumbs up. For example, the American Heart Association endorses their use by diabetics and those on weight-loss diets. The American Diabetes Association calls sugar substitutes "free foods" because they make food taste sweet, but they have essentially no calories and do not raise blood sugar levels.
More Than a Century of Use
The granddaddy of all sugar substitutes is saccharin. Discovered in 1879, it was used during both world wars to sweeten foods, helping to compensate for sugar shortages and rationing. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar.
An early attempt to ban saccharin came in 1911 when a board of federal scientists called the artificial sweetener "an adulterant" that should not be used in foods. This same board later decided to limit saccharin just to products "intended for invalids," a restriction that was lifted after World War I began.
In 1958, Congress passed the Food Additives Amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which required premarket approval from FDA for food additives developed after 1958. This requirement did not apply to ingredients "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS. Saccharin was considered GRAS, so it remained on the market.
FDA began reviewing hundreds of GRAS substances--including saccharin--in the early 1970s to ensure that the latest scientific information continued to back up their safety. Studies in 1972 and 1973 of rats fed saccharin raised concerns about the sweetener's role in causing bladder cancer, but data analysis later suggested that impurities, not saccharin, may have caused the tumors.
Then in 1977, a Canadian study that looked specifically at the role of impurities-and of other suspected tumor causes, such as parasites in test animals-showed convincingly that saccharin itself was causing bladder cancer in rats. That same year, FDA proposed to ban saccharin for all uses except as an over-the-counter drug in the form of a tabletop sweetener. At the time, saccharin was the only available alternative to sugar.
The FDA proposal prompted a public outcry, fueled in part by media reports that the test rats were fed the equivalent of as many as 800 diet sodas a day. Congress responded by passing the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act, which placed a two-year moratorium on any ban of the sweetener while additional safety studies were conducted. The law also required that any foods containing saccharin must carry a label that reads "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals." Congress has extended the moratorium several times, most recently renewing it until 2002.
Saccharin has remained on the market and continues to have a fairly large appeal as a tabletop sweetener, particularly in restaurants, where it is available in single-serving packets under trade names such as Sweet'n Low. Because it has a good shelf life, saccharin is used widely in fountain sodas, and its stability at high temperatures makes it an option for sweetening baked goods, unlike aspartame, which degrades when heated. Saccharin also is favored economically because it can be made inexpensively.
But given saccharin's continuing tentative status, should consumers use it? "We know for certain that it causes cancer in animals," says Andrew Laumbach, Ph.D., consumer safety officer in FDA's Office of Premarket Approval. He acknowledges, however, that animal studies do not always predict the behavior of a substance in the human body.
The National Cancer Institute states in its "Cancer Facts" documents that "epidemiological studies do not provide clear evidence" of a link to human cancer. Regina Ziegler, Ph.D., an NCI epidemiologist, says, "Typical intakes of saccharin at normal levels for adults show no evidence of a public health problem."
The government's National Toxicology Program has kept saccharin on its roster of "anticipated carcinogens," though it periodically considers "de-listing" the sweetener based on available safety evidence.
In the late 1970s FDA and NCI conducted a population-based study of saccharin's role in causing bladder cancer in humans and found that "in general," people who used the sweetener had no greater risk of bladder cancer than the population at large. However, the study found "suggestive evidence" that heavy saccharin users--defined as those using six or more servings of the sweetener a day--may have an increased risk. Laumbach says that for consumers who use saccharin, the key to a lower risk may be moderation, as is the case with many foods that can cause problems when eaten in excess. Other health groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Dietetic Association, agree that saccharin use is acceptable.
The Aspartame Controversy
While questions about saccharin may persist, the safety of another artificial sweetener, aspartame, is clear cut, say FDA officials. FDA calls aspartame, sold under trade names such as NutraSweet and Equal, one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved. The agency says the more than 100 toxico logical and clinical studies it has reviewed confirm that aspartame is safe for the general population.
This message would not necessarily be apparent to consumers surfing the Internet, especially those who use Web-based search engines to find information about sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners. Websites with screaming headlines and well-written text attempt to link aspartame consumption to systemic lupus, multiple sclerosis, vision problems, headaches, fatigue, and even Alzheimer's disease. One report distributed nationally over e-mail systems claims that aspartame-sweetened soft drinks delivered to military personnel during the Persian Gulf War may have prompted Gulf War syndrome.
No way, says FDA, along with many other health organizations such as the American Medical Association. David Hattan, Ph.D., acting director of FDA's division of health effects evaluation, says there is no "credible evidence," to support, for example, a link between aspartame and multiple sclerosis or systemic lupus. Some Internet re ports claim that patients suffering from both conditions went into remission after discontinuing aspartame use. "Both of these disorders are subject to spontaneous remissions and exacerbation," says Hattan. "So it is entirely possible that when patients stopped using aspartame they might also coincidentally have had remission of their symptoms."
It is true, says Hattan, that aspartame ingestion results in the production of methanol, formaldehyde and formate--substances that could be considered toxic at high doses. But the levels formed are modest, and substances such as methanol are found in higher amounts in common food products such as citrus juices and tomatoes.
Other circulating reports claim that two amino acids in aspartame--phenylalanine and aspartic acid--can cause neurotoxic effects such as brain damage. "This is true in certain individuals and in high enough doses," says Hattan. He explains that a very small group of people who have the rare hereditary disease phenylketonuria, estimated at 1 in 16,000 people, are sensitive to phenylalanine. These "phenylketonurics" have to watch their intake of phenylalanine from other sources as well. People with advanced liver disease and pregnant women with high levels of phenylalanine in the blood also may have trouble metabolizing the substance. FDA requires all products containing aspartame to be labeled for phenylalanine so consumers will be aware of the substance's presence and can avoid or restrict it.
Aspartic acid also has the potential to cause brain damage at very high doses. But under normal intake levels, the brain's mechanism for controlling aspartic acid levels ensures no adverse effects. It is unlikely that any consumer would eat or drink enough aspartame to cause brain damage: FDA figures show that most aspartame users only consume about 4 to 7 percent of the acceptable daily intake the agency has set for the sweetener.
Still other reports attempt to link aspartame to seizures and birth defects. Regarding seizures, Hattan cites animal and human studies showing that the sweetener neither causes nor enhances the susceptibility of seizures. Aspartame also has been evaluated for its potential to cause reproductive effects or birth defects. Again, researchers found no evidence, even in test animals fed the sweetener at doses much higher than those to which humans would be exposed.
Approved in 1981, aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar. It is used in products such as beverages, breakfast cereals, desserts, and chewing gum, and also as a tabletop sweetener. In 1996, a study raised the issue that aspartame consumption may be related to an increase in brain tumors following FDA's approval of the sweetener in 1981. But analysis of the National Cancer Institute's database on cancer incidence showed that cases of brain cancers began increasing in 1973--well before aspartame was approved--and continued to increase through 1985. In recent years, brain tumor frequency has actually decreased slightly. NCI currently is studying aspartame and other dietary factors as part of a larger study of adult brain cancer.
Other Sweetener Choices
FDA also has approved two other artificial sweeteners, acesulfame potassium and sucralose, both of which are available in products such as fruit drinks and gelatin desserts.
Acesulfame Potassium: First approved in 1988 as a tabletop sweetener, acesulfame potassium, also called Sunett, is now approved for products such as baked goods, frozen desserts, candies, and, most recently, beverages. More than 90 studies verify the sweetener's safety.
About 200 times sweeter than sugar and calorie free, acesulfame potassium often is combined with other sweeteners. One major beverage maker mixes acesulfame potassium with aspartame to sweeten one of its diet sodas. Worldwide, the sweetener is used in more than 4,000 products, according to its manufacturer, Nutrinova. Acesulfame potassium has excellent shelf life and does not break down when cooked or baked.
Sucralose: Also known by its trade name, Splenda, sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar. After reviewing more than 110 animal and human safety studies conducted over 20 years, FDA approved it in 1998 as a tabletop sweetener and for use in products such as baked goods, nonalcoholic beverages, chewing gum, frozen dairy desserts, fruit juices, and gelatins. Earlier this year, FDA amended its regulation to allow sucralose as a general-purpose sweetener for all foods.
Sucralose tastes like sugar because it is made from table sugar. But it cannot be digested, so it adds no calories to food. Because sucralose is so much sweeter than sugar, it is bulked up with maltodextrin, a starchy powder, so it will measure more like sugar. It has good shelf life and doesn't degrade when exposed to heat. Numerous studies have shown that sucralose does not affect blood glucose levels, making it an option for diabetics.
Sugar Alcohols: Though not technically considered artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols are slightly lower in calories than sugar and do not promote tooth decay or cause a sudden increase in blood glucose. They include sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, mannitol, and maltitol and are used mainly to sweeten sugar-free candies, cookies, and chewing gums. FDA classifies some of these sweeteners as "generally recognized as safe" and others as approved food additives.
Other "natural sweeteners" are available, but these are variations of table sugar and contain about the same amount of calories. These products include honey, molasses, evaporated cane juice, rice syrup, barley malt, and fructose.
Another product, stevia, is derived from a South American shrub. Though it can impart a sweet taste to foods, it cannot be sold as a sweetener because FDA considers it an unapproved food additive. "The safety of stevia has been questioned by published studies," says Martha Peiperl, a consumer safety officer in FDA's Office of Premarket Approval. "And no one has ever provided FDA with adequate evidence that the substance is safe." Under provisions of 1994 legislation, however, stevia can be sold as a "dietary supplement," though it cannot be promoted as a sweetener.
Three other sugar substitutes are currently under FDA review. One of them, cyclamate, was marketed in the 1960s, but FDA banned it in 1970 after evidence emerged linking it to bladder cancer. Subsequent studies have failed to verify that link, so FDA is considering a petition to reapprove cyclamate. The other sweeteners under review are neotame and alitame.
Though sugar substitutes have a long history of controversy, the Calorie Control Council says Americans are continually searching for good-tasting, low-calorie products as part of a healthy lifestyle. Market surveys show that calorie-conscious consumers want more low-calorie foods and beverages. And though artificially sweetened products are not magic foods that will melt pounds away, they can be, experts say, a helpful part of an overall weight control program that includes exercise and other dietary factors.
For more information:
http://www.healthfree.com/herbgarden/stevia.htm
http://www.healthfree.com/herbgarden/sweetstevia.htm (Stevia: Sweetener of Choice for Future Generations)
http://www.healthfree.com/herbgarden/steviaaspartame.htm (Stevia vs. Aspartame)
