Most Americans face a struggle with their weight. In fact, despite a decade of infomercials pushing weight loss equipment and pills, Americans are fatter than ever. Many Americans have resorted to dangerous ways of losing weight including risky prescription medications and dangerous herbal supplements. Due to declining estrogen levels, many middle-age women suddenly find it more difficult to maintain their trim figure of previous years. This is a natural part of the aging process. With decreased physical activity, men face the same weight gain problem as they age too. Increased fat levels are thought to lead to increased risk of several diseases, including heart disease, stroke, bone fractures, breast cancer and numerous other cancers. How can soy protein help?

From: Nutrition Action Healthletter - April 2000 — U.S. Edition

HOW SWEET IT IS

Stevia (STEE-vee-uh) is a South American shrub whose leaves have been used for centuries by native peoples in Paraguay and Brazil to sweeten their yerba mate and other stimulant beverages. Stevioside, the main ingredient in stevia (the two terms are often used interchangeably), is virtually calorie-free and hundreds of times sweeter than table sugar. “So it appeals to many people as a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners,” says Mark Blumenthal of the pro-herb American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas. While Japanese manufacturers have used stevia since the early 1970s to sweeten pickles and other foods, the FDA has turned down three industry requests to use stevia in foods in the U.S. That’s why you don’t see stevia on supermarket shelves next to the Sweet’N Low or Equal. But you can buy it in health food stores as a dietary supplement. The FDA has little control over supplements. Why hasn’t the FDA approved stevia? “We don’t have enough data to conclude that the use [in food] would be safe,” the agency stated in 1994.