Can long term stevia usage cause pn symptoms?
 

In my continuous search for the root cause of my neuropathy, I am beginning to wonder if anyone knows anything about a link between nerve damage and long term stevia usage? I have been a regular user of stevia for probably two years now. It never occurred to me to look into its usage until this past week, and the Livestrong website does mention a correlation between the nervous system and stevia consumption.

All the books and postings I have read thus far promote the use of stevia over sugars to minimize the negative effects of high blood sugars on neuropathy...but perhaps it could be a cause??

I would appreciate any thoughts on the topic. In the meantime I may try cutting it out for a week and see what happens.

One of the biggest opponents of sugar, Dr. Robert Lustig, does not recommend the use of stevia yet, because there are no long term use studies.

However, "there are no long term studies" often is a bit of a catch phrase, can mean erring on the side of caution, and can be used against innovation.

Personally - from what I have seen and read - I doubt that it is a single cause of PN. My biggest "progress" was in fact made when I eliminated sugar as much as reasonably possible from my diet. (but I did not replace it with stevia)

You might try and stop using stevia and see if it improves the symptoms, but if they don't improve, by the nature of PN, it doesn't mean that it has not caused the PN. As an analogy: my PN was caused by alcohol, but stopping using it did not improve the symptoms until almost a year later.

Still, I would say go ahead, stop taking it for a while (and don't add back in the sugar if you can) and report back on whether you notice any difference?

Again, the above is based on my personal observations only.

Thank you Wide-O. I am curious as to when you cut out the sugar, did that include fruit as well? How long do you think I should cut out the stevia before seeing a difference?

Thanks for your response!

I did not cut out fruit, but do try to eat the more healthy versions (blueberries, grapefruit etc.). But mostly, before, I was eating a lot of sugary sweets, chocolate (containing lots of sugar), cakes, etc. when I came upon articles of people - and even kids - with fatty liver disease, even though they didn't drink. I used to think only alcohol abuse could lead to that, but apparently eating bad food can have the same effect.

Sugar - well, fructose - turns out to be pretty much the same as alcohol for our livers. It makes sense, as in the end alcohol is fermented sugar. I also read about glucose intolerance.

For me, as soon as I seriously changed my diet, I noticed a change in about a week. Both the PN and arthritis reacted spectacularly. From being almost wheelchair bound I bounced back to being able to "mostly function".

Of course, I had also taken the right supplements as advised on this forum, and at the same time I was nearly a year completely sober, so that all might have played a role. Still, as I reported in another thread, the results were spectacular and they still are.

There are also other members here who react badly to too much sugar (and alcohol)

As for when you notice: very very hard to say. You might not notice it at all. You might think you notice but it's something else altogether (stress, weather changes...). PN is very hard to "nail down". I often read posts from members who suspect supplement xyz has changed the symptoms, but often that later turns out to be a false alarm. I have experienced this myself! Add to that that we are all different, and that the medical science has accepted that some forms of PN are idiopathic, which for me translates as: we don't really have a clue.

So I would just try it for a month and see if it makes a difference, and take it up from there? In the mean time I would keep on researching, and maybe others will chime in about stevia. Don't forget it might be completely harmless; we simply don't know yet.

Edit: I forgot I also read recently (but I have no link, sorry) that sugar replacements can still cause us to create too much insulin, as if it was the real thing. High insulin levels are really not good for us (and also for people who don't have PN).

Not disagreeing here—just adding own experience. I thought I had posted a response to this thread last night, but I don't see it, and it was involved enough that I don't think I can reproduce it.

FWIW:

I'm on a diet for intractable pain, which only cuts out fruit that's primarily juice (citrus). I still eat fruits with more substance, like bananas. Tough call in some places, as the diet doesn't list specific examples. Best judgment I guess, but fruit juices are definitely out, even with no added sugar.

In researching the question of how long, I came across a similar discussion involving aspartame. I'm no chemist; stevia isn't aspartame, but they are both artificial sweeteners. That discussion recommended a six-week hiatus. I didn't think that was unreasonable. If it were me, I'd probabaly go at least a month, and possibly as long as 3 months. If you learn something sooner, all the better.

Doc

Thank you everyone for your wisdom! It is worth cutting out for 6 weeks just to see if it helps. Although, I am always adding things and cutting others out so it is hard to pinpoint the triggers as Wide-O suggested.

I think that one is fine, but I like coconut palm sugar, SO good. We use small amounts when needed.

It does take some discipline. I've not had PN long enough that I've forgotten the initial 'sticker shock' (desperation and willingness to try the shotgun approach). Time & tears have mellowed me... somewhat. :o :rolleyes: :D

Doc

Oops! Fell off the wagon and had some splenda today. Probably the same problem??!!