Don't forget!!

Tomorrow is the last day to give your opinions and receive a free sample of NUVA! Just fill out the survey here.

NUVA wants your opinon!

I know it's a shocker to hear that a company actually cares what you think, but I'm finding that the makers of NUVA are cut from a different cloth than other companies. I've been dealing with them on a personal level and I'm very impressed.

You'll see what I mean in today's examiner article where I give you a link to a survey they are doing. And before you think "Ugh. Not a survey!" Let me tell you that it only takes about 5 minutes and everyone that fills it out will get a thank you gift. And I'll appreciate it a whole bunch too! :0)

Please visit my column for details. THANK YOU!

Truvia Winners!!

First I want to say thanks to all the fantastic people who read this blog regularly. You are the reason I make the effort! I hope to continue to bring you great content and fun giveaways many years into the future!

I also want to say Thanks to Cargill for donating the boxes of Truvia for this giveaway!

Ok.. so you are ready for me to shut up and name the winners, right? :)

My kiddos and I put all the entries into a box, mixed 'em up real good and drew out 5 lucky readers.

*drum roll please*

1.Kathy L. in TX
2.Kent A. in IA
3.Sara E. in NC
4.Tracy H. in OH
5.Andrea F. in OH

Congrats to you all! You'll be receiving an email from me soon!

If you didn't win this time, I'm so sorry. I really wish I could have given some Truvia to each and every one of you. (Cargill would be Truvia bankrupt after that, but ya know.. LOL)

If you are interested in purchasing Truvia, you can currently find it at www.truvia.com. And be sure to watch for Truvia in products, restaurants and retailers all over very soon!

Help Name A New Sweetener!

Have you ever wanted to share your input on a new product about to hit the market? Here's your chance! I can't give out a lot of details right now, but there is another new stevia based sweetener in the works. And the company making it would like YOU to help them come up with a name for it! All you have to do is take this quick survey and give them your opinions and ideas! And when I say quick, I do mean quick. I think it took me all of 2 minutes, but only because I'm a slow poke. :) You have until Friday Aug. 8th, 2008 to take advantage of this cool opportunity, so don't delay!

Click below and give them your ideas!

(If you tried and the link didn't work, it's fixed now. Please try again!)


New Natural Sweetener - 1 Minute Survey

You help is greatly appreciated! And who knows, maybe YOUR idea will be on sweetener packets everywhere someday soon!

Review: Truvia - Nature's Calorie-Free Sweetener

July 9th, 2008 marked the first day that the long awaited sweetener Truvia could be sampled. Cargill, the makers of Truvia, is having a 3 day exhibit in New York City to showcase their newest offering. I was honored to be invited to this special occasion where you could not only learn more about Truvia, but could taste it for yourself. They also have a greenhouse set up where you could learn all about the process that turns Stevia plants into Truvia. Alas, due to those two little annoyances called time and money, I was unable to travel to NYC for the big unveiling. But the nice people at Cargill saw to it that I had all the info from the briefing, as well as some products to sample, so I could share my thoughts about Truvia with you, my readers.

So what do I think?

It's good. Really good. I-could-eat-it-straight-out-of-the-package good. Not something I can say for other sugar substitutes. The texture is perfect, the taste is amazing. No licorice after taste or cooling effect like you sometimes experience with Stevia.



They sent me a box of 40 packets, which is currently available for sale on www.truvia.com for $3.99. You can also find it in select D'Agostino supermarkets in NYC. In the next few months they expect to have it available nationwide at grocery and retail, restaurants and other food establishments.



They also sent me a dark chocolate bar made with Truvia so I could see how it well in works in products. I have to say, everyone in my family really liked it. And that's saying a lot since my daughter hates dark chocolate.

So, you ask, are there any downsides to this new sweetener?

Possibly.

Look closely at the carb count on the package:




Three carbs. All from Erythritol. I was under the impression that the ingredient Rebiana, which comes from the Stevia plant, would be a stand alone ingredient. But for some reason they have added Erythritol, which many of you know is a sugar alcohol. The mildest of them all, but a sugar alcohol none-the-less. If you count SA's in your carb count, then this new sweetener isn't such a bargin. If you find Erythritol messes with your tummy like other SA's then you won't want to use this much either. Same goes for those who avoid SA's due to the rise in blood glucose they can cause.

Approximately 1 hour after eating the candy bar, which I probably had 3/4 of, I had the familiar tummy rumblings. Not a good sign. Not as bad as if I'd ate something with Maltitiol, but rumblings all the same. I tested my blood glucose after about 2 hours and did not see a rise, but then we believe I'm hypoglycemic so I'm not sure I would have seen such a result anyway.

ADDED: Dicussing this with Jimmy Moore, he pointed out that the 2nd ingredient is isomalt, which I missed noticing for some reason. That could easily explain the tummy issues. Erythritol has never had such a sudden effect on me, so now the rumbling down under makes more sense. :) BUT, adding isomalt to the candy kind of ruins the whole purpose of trying it.

So in this regard, I'm disappointed.

I wrote Cargill to ask them about this. I read in the material they gave me that it is used as a bulking agent. I did not know this and don't think I ever remember seeing it listed as such on any other product I've tried. (After some research I see that it is in fact used as such often.) As soon as I hear from them, I'll update it here.

The other question you may have is about the safety of this new sweetener. You can find all the details about this in my last blog post about Truvia, where I highlighted the research behind Rebiana.

Update: As I mentioned before, I wrote to Cargill to ask them about the erythritol in Truvia. I just received a response and wanted to share that information with you.

After asking about the reason for using erythritol and how it effects blood glucose levels, the reply is as follows:

Erythritol is a natural, non-caloric alternative to sugar. It has been part of the human diet for thousands of years as it is present in fruits such as pears, melons and grapes, as well as foods such as mushrooms and fermentation-derived foods such as wine soy sauce and cheese. Since 1990, erythritol has been commercially produced and added to foods and beverages to provide sweetness, as well as enhance taste and texture. It is used as a bulking ingredient in the tabletop formula. It is what gives Truvia its crystal form and is not a fermental/sugar alcohol product.

Regarding consumption, before Truvia natural sweetener was made available to consumers, Cargill commissioned a rigorous set of scientific studies that established the safety of rebiana. The results confirmed the positive findings of earlier studies and addressed unresolved questions. The results have been published in Food and Chemical Toxicology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. A panel of independent experts reviewed a dossier of all available toxicity and safety information relevant to rebiana, and concluded that rebiana is safe for use as a general purpose sweetener. The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) supports rebiana use as a general purpose sweetener in food and beverages.

OK. It sorta answered my questions. Enough so that I'm satisfied with the answer. I know that in the research they found no significant raise in blood glucose levels with Truvia. I can only assume that means they tested it as Truvia, with the erythritol added, and not just rebiana.

Again, they reiterate the fact that erythritol was used as a bulking agent. And that it is not a fermental/sugar alcohol product. After doing some reading on this sugar alcohol that's not a sugar alcohol, I can see why they chose it. From About.com:

Erythritol has not been found to affect blood sugar or insulin levels and has a zero glycemic index.

In reasonable amounts, erythritol doesn’t cause digestive upset and diarrhea that other sugar alcohols like sorbitol and xylitol are known to cause. This is because erythritol is a smaller molecule and 90 percent of erythritol is absorbed in the small intestine and for the most part excreted unchanged in urine. This quality makes erythritol unique among the sugar alcohols.

So what amount of erythritol would you have to consume to experience gastric issues? Looks like it's around 80 grams. Looking at that in terms of Truvia, that'd be about 27 packets. Hopefully no one is using that much sweetener in a day anyway. If you'd like to learn more about Erythritol, be sure to check out the following articles:

What Is Erythritol? (about.com)

What is Erythritol?

Erythritol - What Is It and Where To Get It


So. My final decision? I like it. After learning that there should be no gastric distress or blood sugar issues with Truvia, I'll be happy to use it. I think it will be a great addition to a low-carb lifestyle, as always, if used with common sense. Look for it to start making it's way to retailers and into food products in the near future... just be sure to keep an eye out for isomolt and it's siblings. They can hit you when you least expect it! *wink*

Coca-Cola and Cargill Announce New All-Natural Sweetner

For those of you who have been hoping for the day Stevia would be available as a sweetener for your favorite foods and beverages, your wait is almost over.

I was honored to be invited to a webinar held by Coca-Cola and Cargill to discuss this latest breakthrough in sweeteners.* The presentation was informative and encouraging, and I'm happy to share with you what I've learned.


Three panelists were in attendance to explain the latest research and development of the first natural, zero calorie sweetener, which they have named Truvia (TM) (pronounced Tru-VEE-a). The experts on this panel were Leslie Curry, who is the Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Director for Cargill Food and Ingredient Systems, Dr. Rhona Applebaum who is Vice President and Chief Scientific and Regulatory Officer for The Coca-Cola Company, and Zanna McFerson who is Business Director for Cargill Health & Nutriton.


First, a short stevia history lesson...

Stevia was discovered in 1887 by Moises Santiago Bertoni while studying herbs used by Guarani natives in Paraguay.

In 1931 French food chemists isolate the compounds (glycosides) that give stevia it's sweet taste.

In 1977 Japanese consumers begin enjoying foods and beverages sweetened with stevia.

FDA permits use of stevia in dietary supplements in the U.S. in 1994.

In 2005 the Coca-Cola Company and Cargill develop rebiana.

In 2006-2008 Cargill works with leading external scientists and consults with the FDA to establish the safety of rebiana.

2008 - Truvia (TM) is introduced.



So you can see that stevias journey from Paraguay to, very soon, our tables has been a long one.

You may have noticed that I mentioned something called rebiana earlier. Stevia is a mixture of all components of the stevia leaf - including those that do not have a sweet taste. Rebiana, on the other hand, is a high purity, well-characterized extract from stevia leaves and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Leaves from the stevia plant are harvested and dried, then steeped in fresh water in a process similar to making tea. This unlocks the best-tasting part of the leaf, which they then purify to make a food-grade sweet ingredient.


Now all these little tid-bits of info are all well and good, but you want answers to the big questions. Is it safe? When can we get it? Will it be in foods and beverages? How does it affect blood sugar? I happy to say Coca-Cola and Cargill have provided answers to these questions.

In a study, which was published in the Food and Chemical toxicology Journal on May 15th, Cargill enlisted leading external scientists, and consulted with the FDA, to design and conduct a rigrous safety evalulation program for rebiana. The program objectives were as follows:

- To ensure data on stevioside are relevant to rebaudioside A
- To Resolve outstanding questions. Example: Possible effects on blood pressure/sugar, reproductive health and kidney function.

Study details:

Intake assessment and methodology: Estimated intake of rebiana for average and high consumers was calculated using extensive databases/studies of actual high-intensity sweetener intakes.

Phramacokinetics and metabolism: Designed to determine whether rebiana is metabolized in the same manner as stevioside, which is almost identical in structure.

General safety: Study that tested safety of rebiana at very high doses.

Multigenerational/reproductive safety: Study assessing reproductive and developmental impact of rebiana at very high doses.

Blood pressure: 4-week clinical study in people with normal to low-normal blood pressure.

Glucose homeostasis: 16-week clinical study in people with type 2 diabetes.

The clinical studies have all been placebo controlled, randomized double-blind studies conducted in compliance with good laboratory practices.

The results:

Metabolism studies - Metabolism of rebaudioside A is similar to that of stevioside
- Extensive toxicology data on stevioside can be applied to rebiana. (the safety or rebiana is supported by a large body or research on purified steviol glycosides.)

General safety - No negative effects on general health associated with daily consumption of the equivalent of more than 2,000 8-oucse servings of rebiana-sweetened beverage for a 150 lb person.

Mulitgenerationsl/reproductive safety - Daily consumption equivalent to a 150 lbs person drinking more than 1,000 8 ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage had no negative effects on general health, reproduction, growth or development of adults or their offspring.

Chronic Blood pressure study - Daily consumption of 1,000 mg/day or rebiana - the equivalent to consumting 29 tabletop sweetener packets a day or eight 8-ounce servings of rebaiana-sweetened beverage - for four weeks had no significatn blood pressure effects in the healthy subjects with normal or low-normal blood pressure.

Chronic blood sugar study - Consumption of 1,000 mg/day of rebiana for 16 weeks did not affect blood sugar control and was well-tolerated in people with type 2 diabetes.

They believe this clearly establishes the safety of rebiana for use as a general purpose sweetener for all consumers.

At the end of the webinar they had a short Q and A for those attending. Many had the same questions we do. Since the issue of safety has been resolved, lets move on the the next question:

Do you anticipate FDA approval in foods and beverages? If so, when?
According to Leslie Curry, they have notified the FDA of the findings. So I guess that means they'll have to wait and see. I do get the feeling they feel assured it will go through, due to the answer to this next question.

When will the product be available for consumers?

Zanna McFerson tells us to expect it this year in the U.S. as a table top sweetener, followed by Truvia (TM) in foods and beverages.

When will Truvia (TM) be available in Coca-Cola beverages and other beverage companies?
Coca-Cola can only speak for themselves, but cannot discuss the timing due to competitive reasons.

What are the sweeteners limitations? Can you cook with it?

It can be used across a wide variety of applicatons. It's PH and heat stable - so it can be baked with. (My note: Whoo Hoo!!!)

Zanna McFerson made the remark that they have "had great reviews from consumers around the world and expert panels and taste tests."

To learn more about this innovative new product you can visit the following websites:

All About Rebiana

Truvia

So there you have it! A new choice for those who may be looking for more natural alternatives for sweetening their foods and beverages. Keep an eye out for it. I have the feeling we'll be seeing it very soon, and I can't wait to try it!



*I was unable to attend due to other obligations, but listened to the entire webinar later.