Problems with stevia

[DavidR12345]

I was newly diagnosed in the summer of 2022 when I had kidney stones. I was told by the diabetic nurse to cut sugar altoget her which is a good start I thought. My type of diabetes is caused by a steroid medication for psoriatic arthritis.
anyway I thought nothing of this as I had tried Truvia before and didn’t think it was the best thing since sliced bread. It had a twang to it I can’t explain. When I mentioned maltitol, Eurythmol, xylitol and isomalt she was very dismissive of it. Anyway, whilst in hospital otherhalf bought a bottle of cordial in from M&S and it said new and improved. This relates to the sugar tax. M&S and Pepsi took a stance that the customer should choose what they drink not the governmen. I have always avoided the artificial sweateners because they leave you with an extremly dry mouth. The new and improved version of the M&S cordial now contains stevia in its ingredient. I thought just what the diabetes nurse ordered. Big problem. I came up in this most ugly rash everywhere that lasted a couple of weeks. It was discovered that I was allergic to stevia. It’s a rare allergy related to the American ragweed. You can be allergic to this plants pollen that interferes with what you eat is peas, mange tout, sweatpea family pollen.

 

[Inka]

Thanks for that @DavidR12345 I had no idea people could be allergic to stevia. I hope your rash has completely gone now. I’m going to watch out for stevia! I’ve never had it before and I’m not keen to try it now!

 

[DavidR12345]

Thanks for that @DavidR12345 I had no idea people could be allergic to stevia. I hope your rash has completely gone now. I’m going to watch out for stevia! I’ve never had it before and I’m not keen to try it now!

Thanks Inka. Stevia allergy is one of those rare ones apparently. I was back at the hospital in November with the same rash again to see the Dermatologist. Interestingly this time I had eaten a product that supposedly had no stevia in it. What we think had happened and I discovered later is that the product wasn’t made in their factory but at another factory. It is possible that cross contamination may have occurred there. Even though this is a rare allergy it is one that people should be aware of. The problem here in the U.K. and in Europe the American Ragweed was used as a garden plant until it was realised it was an invasive species and responsible for late seasonal hayfever. The skin allergy is bad. There is an interesting piece about stevia and ragweed allergy on this site https://eu.marconews.com/story/life...ection-between-stevia-and-ragweed/1525152002/

“Stevia was born into the Asteraceae family, or “Aster” which essentially means that stevia is genetically kin to marigolds, daises, chrysanthemums, dandelion, lettuce, safflower, sunflower, artemisia (wormwood), artichokes, endive, and, most importantly, ragweed. This is a botanical family that allergen-prone individuals need to stay away from.“

Its interesting that no one thought that with this genetic heritage and background oh perhaps it might cause allergies if ingested.

I am just making people aware of this allergy as they might not put two and two together.

 

[Inka]

Thank you @DavidR12345 That’s really interesting, and a very thorough explanation too. As you say, it’s strange that they didn’t consider the allergy potential when they developed stevia as a sweetener. I wonder if this is something that’s widely known? Did you alert M&S after your problems?

 

[DavidR12345]

Thank you @DavidR12345 That’s really interesting, and a very thorough explanation too. As you say, it’s strange that they didn’t consider the allergy potential when they developed stevia as a sweetener. I wonder if this is something that’s widely known? Did you alert M&S after your problems?

Hi Inka yes I did inform M&S and basically I was told to contact my Dr make them aware I was allergic to Stevia and to send M&S the receipt so I could get a refund. They just tried to distance the ingredient from what had happened to me. As I have psoriasis anything that sets my Psoriasis off I have to do a basic elimination diet and work upwards to see what the trigger was. And the severe itch it stopped straight away the rash remained for a few weeks afterwards. Avoiding the M&S product as it was the newest product that I had had within that week was the culprit.