Stevia is too new to make any real determinations on. Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty. Just because something comes from a plant doesn't make it safer. Almonds used to be loaded with cyanide before we eliminated the trees that had those kinds of almonds. There have been recent studies questioning the safety of stevia, and this will likely be dealt with over the next decade. Unfortunately, certain countries have gotten around the necessary procedures for sufficient scientific inquiry because they are marketing it not as a food additive or sweetener but as a dietary supplement, which makes it easier to avoid such scrutiny. Unlike xylitol, which is perfectly fine for human consumption and has been shown to inhibit growth of oral bacteria that leads to caries and plaque, stevia is simply an unknown at this point.

However, stevia has also been around for a while. It has been a product since the 90s and has been banned and un-banned in numerous countries. European reports have shown that it is safe, but it is also still banned in many countries there.

For those of you think that it is "natural" and thus safer, I urge you to look up the naturalistic fallacy on wikipedia before going any further here. It has also been used as a sweetener by certain tribal peoples for centuries, so that means absolutely nothing as far as science goes, but it will still sway many people over, just like traditional herbal Chinese medicines like tiger penis powder and rhinoceros horn powder.

However, it is not a "natural" substance whatsoever, even though that word means nothing in nutrition anyways. Basically they take a small amount of Rebaudioside A from the stevia plant and use a bunch of alcohols and other chemicals to extract out the active sweetening ingredient and then crystallize it. This is then renamed steviol. It is significantly less sweet than most of the other sweeteners, except maybe saccarin, at only about 150x the sweetness of sugar.

Basically, Stevia is probably not bad for you, although the verdict is definitely not in on this one. It is no more "natural" than any of the other sweeteners. You need more of it to reach the same level of sweetness as your other sweeteners so dosage could be an issue. But you have to understand that each of the companies that makes these sweeteners has to find a way to sell their product. So, what do they do? They claim that their sweetener is "natural" and "safe" which implies that all of the other sweeteners that came before it aren't, and as evidence by my previous tirades, this is simply not the case. But they profit from our unwillingness to look at the data for ourselves and play on our natural tendencies to trust them.

In short, we are not certain about stevia yet, but we are certain that sugar is bad and aspartame is fine. However, you probably shouldn't eat any processed food, but we already know that in our bones. We all know that cooking up a delicious meal from simple ingredients is the best way to eat healthy but we don't do it because we are lazy. I am just as guilty of this as the next person. We can only dream of a future similar to "The Invention of Lying" where marketers aren't allowed to lie to us and can simply say that their food is bad for you but you drink it because it tastes good and because you have been for years. A world where they can't market to our children so we don't all grow up addicted to halloween candy or cereals that are more sugar than grains. The best way to do this is to cut your cable from the television and live on the internet with AdBlock installed. Then those fuckers can't get at you as easily.

Yes I did, I had a special tear produced for when Jennifer Garner stood up for that fat kid in the end.

THAT FAT KID WAS MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

In reply to this comment by Phreezdryd:
>> ^BoneRemake:

I wish this was a lot longer. I WANTS MOARRRRRRR

Have you seen 'The Invention of Lying', starring Ricky Gervais?

>> ^BoneRemake:

I wish this was a lot longer. I WANTS MOARRRRRRR

Have you seen 'The Invention of Lying', starring Ricky Gervais?

Heh, reminded me of the excellent movie "The Invention of Lying" with/by Ricky Gervais. A must see.

Gervais is not that funny. Not close to being on their level as far as stand-up comedy. I do love The Office UK and Extras though. But the more I hear from Gervais the more I realize that the greatness of those shows probably came primarily from Merchant. Especially after the colossal failure that was The Invention of Lying.

Yeah I love the Extras. It really was a great show the ending of it was a little lame and I think he could of kept it going a little longer.
As far as the video goes reminds me of a kid. In fact reminds me a lot of Tom Hanks in Big combined with Andie MacDowell in Hudson Hawk.
>> ^dag:
Mediocre? I loved Extras. It wasn't quite the genius of The Office, but still a damn fine series. Ricky just came out with the film The Invention of Lying (now that was mediocre) Stephen has a cameo in the film. >> ^Xax:
These guys had the best job in the world. Any idea what they're doing now, post-(mediocre)-Extras?

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Mediocre? I loved Extras. It wasn't quite the genius of The Office, but still a damn fine series. Ricky just came out with the film The Invention of Lying (now that was mediocre) Stephen has a cameo in the film. >> ^Xax:
These guys had the best job in the world. Any idea what they're doing now, post-(mediocre)-Extras?

Good one. I missed that

In reply to this comment by RhesusMonk:
ummm... *lies

*beg

Still in time for promotion for his movie "The Invention of Lying".

Ack! Sorry man! He really mumbles through that line. I think you're right though.

In reply to this comment by MikesHL13:
I think you jinxed me. I'm having the same problem. I'm hearing "They're losers; doesn't even count."

In reply to this comment by videosiftbannedme:
You ever hear something, and can't make out what it is, and no matter how many times you hear it, you still can't figure it out? I can't make out what Jonah Hill is saying at 1:14. "You're a loser still in my cow" is all I keep hearing. ??

There are some minor changes here and there (I just reviewed both), but I'd say this one's a dupe of http://www.videosift.com/video/Invention-Of-Lying-Trailer-New-Ricky-Gervais-Film

"it's pretty hard to overlook the fairly convincing evidence that she was knowingly attempting to traffik an illegal substance"

What convincing evidence? There is none. This is why I feel reluctant now to post another video here. People say stuff like that and it's just mud, which sticks.

There is no evidence. Why don't you just do what I said to the other guy and actually READ the PDF. Why not read what happened at the show trial? Do this and arm yourself with facts, rather than inventing the lie that there is some form of evidence. There isn't... so why are you saying there is? It find it to be sickening to be honest.

And yes, I post Schapelle videos here. I am a jounalist, who has monitored this case and have been horrified. Is there a problem with that? If so, someone tell me, and I'll go and never return.

I can live with that: but people posting and inventing stuff which indirectly hurts someone who is actually dying? That is grotesque.

This video has been declared a duplicate; transferring votes to the original video and killing this dupe - dupeof declared by alien_concept.

*dupeof=http://www.videosift.com/video/Invention-Of-Lying-Trailer-New-Ricky-Gervais-Film