Does stevia (or tea) give headaches?

[UTUSN]

A couple of weeks ago there was a news item about diet sodas leading to carb craving and weight GAIN. Somebody here said that stevia is the only sweetener that wouldn't do damage (despite possible lowered sperm count if taken in large quantities).

I dutifully did away with the last soda and started using unsweetened diet tea with stevia, the latter of which is EXPENSIVE btw.

I have NO way of connecting this, but in the past two weeks I've been having odd pains or pangs, not exactly like full blown headaches. Anybody?

[MissB]

1. Did you drink caffeinated diet sodas?

If so, perhaps you're experiencing some caffeine withdrawal.

[UTUSN]

2. No, no, been decaf all the way. Tea/decaf/unsweetened n/t

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. I've never heard that complaint before.

And working at a health food store for 3.5 years, I've heard every bizarre complaint.

[kiraboo]

4. I don't know about the headaches,

but if you find out that stevia isn't the problem, you can grow it incredibly easily and save yourself some money. It even grows well in pots. Just a thought!

[UTUSN]

5. Thanks, all n/t

[Lindsey]

6. I've been using stevia for at least two years and have never had

any negative side effects. I also put it in Trader Joe's green tea (unsweetened) and drink it over ice. I always have to be drinking something at work and at home, and this is my favorite beverage. I'm pretty sure it's healthier than sugar and all of the substitutes. Good luck and I hope the headaches go away.

[LeftyMom]

7. What's in the tea?

If you mean "diet tea" as in the stuff that's supposed to boost your metabolism, it's possible that something in that is causing the problem. If it's just an unsweetened tea try a different brand or variety and if that doesn't work try either a different beverage or the tea sweetened with something other than stevia. Elimination diets are great for figuring out funny little reactions like this and it should be easy since you already have a suspected cause.

[UTUSN]

9. Nothing far out. Just diet INSTANT (name brand).

I know there are so many gourmets in DU, I didn't want to be so blatantly lowbrow as to admit using instant.

So. It's: Diet, unsweetened, decaf, instant.

[jobycom]

8. It's a food, and some people respond differently to different foods.

More likely your body is adjusting to the change, if you drank a lot of diet sodas. Aspartame is addicting, and maybe you're coming off that. Also, diet sodas get you to chasing a sugar high that never comes (part of that carb craving), so that's another thing your body is getting over.

I'd say dump the Stevia and tea for a week, drink water. Get your body to a neutral point, then pick it back up and see.

[UTUSN]

10. Thanks. & nobody has had a discouraging word about stevia n/t