I often see foods labeled
‘no artificial sweeteners,’
even though stevia is in the
ingredients list. What gives?
Stevia is hundreds of times
sweeter than sugar and has no
calories. It comes from a plant,
so some consider it a “natural,”
rather than an artificial,
sweetener. (Aspartame and
sucralose, by contrast, are
wholly cooked up in a lab.)
However, to make stevia, its
sweet-tasting compounds—
called steviol glycosides—are
extracted from the plant
leaves and purified. (The Food
and Drug Administration
doesn’t allow the leaves
themselves to be used in food.)
This can be done with water
or alcohol, but sometimes the
extracts are modified with
enzymes. In addition, theglycosides can also be made
using yeast that has been
genetically engineered.
“Not only does the Food
and Drug Administration
not regulate the term ‘no
artificial sweeteners,’ but
the term ‘natural’ also lacks
any regulatory definition,
so manufacturers can use
the claim as they wish,” says
Charlotte Vallaeys, M.S.,
senior policy analyst for food
and nutrition at CR. “The
starting material for stevia
extracts may be natural, but
these ingredients are highly
processed.” Also know that
evidence that stevia aids in
weight loss or lowering blood
sugar levels is very limited.I opened a 529 college
account for my son. What
do I need to know before
withdrawing from it?Good move: Contributing
money to a 529 account is thebest way to save for college
because of the tax benefits
you get. But withdrawing the
money isn’t so straightforward,
says Donna Rosato, a senior
money editor at CR. If you’re
not careful and spend the
funds on the wrong type of
education expenses, you
could get hit with a 10 percent
penalty and owe taxes on gains
in the account.
Though you can use 529
money for a wide range
of college costs, including
tuition, fees, books, and
computers, there are some
education-related expenses
that don’t qualify. Health
insurance offered by the
school, for example, is not
covered. So check with your
plan administrator before you
start withdrawing.
Also know that you must
spend the money on expenses
incurred in the same calendar
year, not academic year. But
you may not want to spend the
money all at once, Rosato says.
If you think you’ll need to take
federal loans later, spread out
529 withdrawals. The amount
of federal loans you can take
out is capped each year, so if
you need to borrow more than
those limits, you may have to
turn to less consumer-friendly
private loans to cover the gap.I’ve heard conflicting advice
about preserving laptop
battery life. What should
I actually be doing?There is indeed a lot of
misinformation floating
around about how to keep
your laptop battery working
longer. “That’s because battery
technology has improved
rapidly, and a lot of old advice
stays in circulation even
though it doesn’t apply
anymore to newer technology,”
says Rich Fisco, head of
electronics testing at CR.
Gone are the days when
it was important to let
batteries drain completely,
then charge them all the
way back up to 100 percent.
“That’s now unnecessary
with newer lithium-ion
batteries,” which power
practically every laptop and
smartphone, Fisco says.
For long-term battery
health today, the best tactic
is to avoid charging it all
the way to 100 percent or
letting it run down to zero,
says Antonette Asedillo,
who oversees CR’s computer
testing. “Ideally, you want to
keep your battery charged
between 20 and 80 percent.”
Turning off your laptop
every day isn’t necessary,
either. “It’s fine to leave your
computer in standby mode for
a few days at a time,” Asedillo
says. However, to keep it
running smoothly, a full
reboot every few days is still a
good idea in order to receive
updates and clear your RAM.Ask Our ExpertsILLUSTRATIONS BY SERGE BLOCHWe have more than
140 in-house experts
who research, test,
and compare. Submit
your questions at
CR.org/askourexperts
... and watch for the
answers.LEARN12 12 CR.ORGCR.ORG SEPTEMBER 2019 SEPTEMBER 2019