Before you start
First of all, whenever we are talking about ingredients, we should specify certain things:
All the ingredients authorized by the EU (Regulation 1223/2009) are considered to be "safe" (with the exception of neurotoxicity and ecotoxicity) within the boundary doses of use.
The "risks" of the ingredients are potential "risks". For example, an ingredient with a CMR (carcinogenic, mutagen, reprotoxic) activity will not necessarily induce cancer in the consumer.
Our goal is to identify the various risks for children in order to inform you.
What is stevia?
Stevia is a natural sweetener extracted from the leaves of the plant Stevia Rebaudiana, mainly composed of Rebaudioside A, a terpénoid also called "Steviol glycoside". It is widely used as a substitute for sugar in many food and drinks thanks to its intense sweet powerless power. Stevia has been approved by the European Union as an edulor since 2011.
This sweetening of natural origin is suitable for diabetic people, wishing to lose weight and is non -cariogenic. Even Coca-Cola uses it in his Coca-Cola "Life" for his natural and dietetic image.
Why we exclude it from our toothpaste
Activity on the reproduction system
The plant of Stevia Rebaudiana is renowned in traditional South American medicine as an abortive plant. The structure of steviol worries us because it is very similar to that of sex hormones. It is possible that the hormonal receptors in our body react to this substance, which would imply an effect on the children's reproduction system. Indeed, their body is much more sensitive to hormones than that of an adult.
We found three studies on stevia activity on the reproductive system:
First article:
- 1968 study by Mazzei-Planas G and KUC J. "Procurement Properties of Stevia Rebaudiana". Science. 1968; 162 (3857): 1007.
- Result: the decoction of stevia has a contraceptive effect in female mice. This effect still lasts 50 to 60 days after administration of a concentrated extract.
Second article:
- 1999 study by MELIS MS. "Effects of Chronic Administration of Stevia Rebaudiana on Fertility in Rats". J Ethnopharmacology.
- Result: for 60 days, the male rats received a dose of decoction of Stevia. At the end of this period, there is a decrease in testosterone levels, the concentration of sperm as well as the definition of the sex glands.
Third article:
- 2016 study by Maeve Shannon et al. "In Vitro Bioassay Investigations of the Endocrine Disrupting Potential of Steviol Glycosides and Their Metabolite Steviol, Components of the Natural Sweetener Stevia". Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, volume 427, 15 May 2016, pages 65-72.
- This last study, carried out in vitro, shows a potential effect on endocrine receptors.
The undesirable effect was "denied" by the WHO, but since the stevia market represents a business of $ 0.84 billion, and that children of young age ingest almost the entire toothpaste, we have choose to avoid it completely. Although the stevia dose is relatively low, security is controlled, but the long -term impact remains uncertain. Therefore, we prefer not to include it in our products.
Excessive sweetening
The sweetening power of stevia is about 300 times higher than that of sugar. In comparison, polyols like sorbitol and xylitol have a sweet power located between 0.5 and 1, while aspartame has a sweetening power of 200. A toothpaste containing 0.1 % of stevia would therefore be sweeter than n 'No toothpaste using only polyols.
Unlike polyols, which play an essential role in the feeling of freshness, conservation and antibacterial activity, stevia is content to mask bad tastes.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to send us an email at cowcou@lilikiwi.fr.