Why did the fruit fly bite the dust?
For those of us trying to keep the sugar/fructose content in our diets to a minimum, we keep looking at healthy alternative sweeteners. Stevia is a leaf long known for its concentrated sweet taste. For decades there was controversy about it being banned, ridiculously determined not safe for human consumption. Eventually stevia made the GRAS list (generally regarded as safe) and it was only a matter of time that the corporate food giants began marketing it as Truvia®. But don’t think the Truvia® sweetener you see on the grocery shelf is anything more than a distant relative to stevia. The analogy is: stevia is to Truvia® as an apple is to fruit punch. Not exactly ‘the real thing’….to coin a phrase from its manufacturer, the Coca Cola/Cargill conglomerate.
Researchers have found that erythritol, the main ingredient in Truvia®, is actually a powerful insecticide to the fruit fly. The journal PLOS ONE reports that Truvia® is a potent insecticide that kills fruit flies which consume it.
Wow – don’t want that in my organic tea!
When fruit flies were fed Truvia® and some other sweeteners, the flies fed Truvia®- laced food ”showed a significant reduction in longevity” compared to the controls. They lost motor control. The more they were fed, the faster they died.
The scientists concluded that some component of Truvia® was toxic to fruit flies. Hmmm…could it have been the miniscule amount of extract of stevia it contains? Or could it be the erythritol (a sugar alcohol which is neither sugar nor alcohol as we know it) which is made from genetically engineered corn?
If I need a sweetener I think I’ll stick with the organically grown stevia leaf (available in many natural forms).
Better yet…I quell my sugar cravings by adding healthy oils and Himalayan salt (high in minerals) to my diet and a nightly dose of 85% dark chocolate as my reward for another day of healthy eating…in moderation of course!
If you are interested in my style of healthy eating (gluten-free and alkaline, a video + manual/recipes is available for purchase at myhealingrooms.com. Click on Liquid Feast.
Do share these important findings with everyone you know. It’s a blessing to be able to help one another.
Until next time…stay healthy, think peace, be love and see love in everyone!
Andrea Candee is a master herbalist for over 25 years with a consultation practice in South Salem, NY. She lectures throughout the country and at corporate wellness centers about taking charge of your health naturally. Media expert and author, her award-winning book, Gentle Healing for Baby and Child (Simon & Schuster), received The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval. Andrea is noted nationally for her unique and successful approach to Lyme Disease and works with clients and their pets anywhere in the country.
Her DVD, The Healing Kitchen, a filming of her acclaimed workshop, is now available so you don’t have to be local to benefit from these empowering teachings.
