stevia & diarrhea

[tina281]

Hi, Has anybody experienced diarrhea after using stevia ? thanks.

[Laceybug17]

Never occurred to me that Stevia could be the cause of my diarrhea but after reading all the responses I think it is. I've been drinking the zevia drinks to  up my water intake because of my IBS boy do I feel dumb. My first thought was great I'll never be able to work like this but now I have hope of getting better without more meds. Yay!!!

[Gemsangel]

Yes, both my mom and I have just realized that Stevia in two different drink forms we were having is responsible for us having severe diarrhea multiple times. Found out that Stevia is from the same member of the "Ragweed" family and we both are allergic...this could be why the problem. Also I have been having severe migraines (which were under control) before I started having these drinks. Bai and Pur water flavor drinks (which I loved).

[Paxiled]

Don't know what those drinks are, but ragweed allergy doesn't cause diarrhea -- it causes nasal congestion and the like -- so your reaction probably isn't due to that part of it.  Just make sure there weren't other things in those drinks besides the stevia so you make sure it was the stevia and not something else -- these products tend to have a lot of additives in them.  Not saying it wasn't the stevia, anyone can have a sensitivity to pretty much anything, just saying, make sure that was it so you don't run into the problem again.

[Paxiled]

Well, just for fun, looked up Bai, but they make a lot of different drinks.  But there's only a tiny amount of stevia in them, they're actually sweetened with an alcohol based sweetener as well that might have been the problem.  These kinds of sweeteners have been lately added to a lot of energy and workout drinks and desserts because they are low calorie and have some advantages over sugar, but they also have been regarded as being problematic for several reasons.  Also, given they use coffeefruit, which none of us have ever eaten, it could be that as well.  This is what I mean by saying, when you get sick off something, check all the ingredients and don't assume it was, say, the stevia, though it very well might have been that.  Companies add a lot of stuff to food these days.  Peace.

[Gemsangel]

The reason I believe it is Stevia is because that's the "common denominator" in the things that I have had when I have had the diarrhea, i.e. drinks and/or desserts. I also found the sweetener I was using that I had purchased from Walmart "Pyure" is a Stevia based sweetener. I've also been having terrible migraines which I suffer with but had been under control. I get Botox shots every three months. For the last 6 months or so nothings been helping the migraines (which is about when I started using the Stevia items). Coincidence, possibly...but as I said I'm going to stop using it and see. Better safe than sorry. Thank you for your response.    :)

[Paxiled]

No, I agree, stop using it, but my point stands, I believe all the products you're using are not "health food," for lack of a better term but are mass market items that contain a lot of ingredients, several of which can cause your problem, especially the other sweeteners added to the stevia.  So yeah, stop the stevia, but as I said, just for kicks I looked at the ingredients of the one item at least and it's not something anyone should be putting in their bodies.  For the most part, supermarket brand items should be avoided if you have problems like migraines.  Just for info, I used to get migraines many years ago and my doctor recommended I start doing TM, a form of meditation.  That was about 40 years ago and I've had 3 since.  If you can get your blood flowing evenly through biofeedback, meditation, exercise, and diet, you might beat it without having to turn to risky meds like botox.  I took meds for years for it, but the meditation did the trick for me.  Worth a try.  All the best.

[Gemsangel]

Thank you for your response. I also do meditation, along with different modalities of self healing such as Reiki and Energy Healing, exercise and diet. I've run the gambit with the migraines for years and have been through a lot with them. Thanks for the info! :)  

[Benedicto]

Had stevia for the first time today to sweeten my coffee. It kicked off my bus about 4.5 hrs later with severe abdominal cramps, nausea and severe foul smelling diarrhea.

[Mountain1]

I had two mini cans of the New Life Coke which has Stevia in it  and i have  had the absolute runs,and wind like you wouldn’t  believe, that was 4 hours ago ad i am still running to the bathroom. I personally think Stevia is quite dangerous, and I won’t be having it again.My stomach is still making the gurgling sounds.

[Jul51]

I have experienced intestinal problems with Splenda and Stevia products. My symptoms are gas, bloating, intestinal discomfort and diarhhea.  There must be something in both products that doesn't agree with my system. For some reason, aspartame does not bother me. Bummer - there are so many diet beverages and other products with Splenda, and I love Sobe Life Water 0 calorie, but unfortunately it contains Truvia (stevia).  It's not worth the discomfort.

[Micaf]

I started taking stevia in my coffe a week ago and I've been having diarrhea ever since. I wasn't sure if it was the stevia because I've done some changes in my eating habits, but after checking all of them, I've come to the conclusion that's Stevia the culprit.
Good bye Stevia, I think I'll go back to nice old sugar. All the sweeteners seem to have a problem.

[cybersleuth58]

Like others, I experienced severe abdominal pain, gas, bloating and explosive diarrhea. I also experienced an aftertaste... I am disappointed bc I have the intestinal side effects from other sweeteners and I was hoping this one was different. Oh well!!

[SusanInSFL]

I've had horrid diarrhea when using anything with Splenda in it.  We're doing the Metabolism B plan and the only real 'sweets' that we can grab on the run is something like the sugar-free popcycles or dreamcycles.  Well, I can have one after dinner and wake up at 3 AM with screaming diarrhea.  So now switching to stevia and making my own light desserts to see how it goes.

[susank737]

I have had horrible diarrhea, cramps, bloating and general abdominal pain when using stevia. I have stopped using it and after the symptoms disappeared tried it again with the same results. It is definitely the stevia. I did not realize that the pain and sickness was related to the stevia until it had happened several times.

[aesm]

I can't say for sure that it was the stevia - could've been some bad spaghetti...but I have never had such bad diarrhea in my life.  I actually passed out afterward it was so severe.  It took all my strength just to stay on the toilet.  It was horrible!

[maureenm]

I had intense cramping and diarrhea for 4 hours straight!  I never want to go through that again!