What is Stevia?
Stevia is the
healthiest natural sugar substitute, and the most trusted natural sweet plants on Earth. Stevia
is a green leaves with natural sweet taste. It's 200 to 300 times
sweeter than sugar, calorie and carbohydrate free. It has been used
for thousands of years as a food enhancer. It has now been grown
commercially and widely used, in instead of artificial sweeteners like
aspartame, splenda and xylitol in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Central
America, United States, Canada, Middle East, Europe, China and Thailand.
It has been used as a healthy alternative to sugar for people seeking overall improved health including controlling blood sugar, preventing hypertension, treating skin disorders, preventing tooth decay and controlling Candida. Other studies show that it is a natural antiviral agent and antibacterial as well. It is a great natural sweetener choice for diabetics, and people on a basic diet to control severe liver or kidney diseases such as Hepatitis C. Due to its almost zero calorie nature, it is extremely useful to obese persons that are attempting to lose body fat. Because it is a natural sweet sugarless, it reduces sugar cravings by fooling the body into a state of satiation. This will result in less sweet food being craved, thus consumed, and in the result reduces caloric intake. It will help with the suppression of the appetite, without having to resort to products containing stimulants.
Stevia has been approved as a sweetener agent in some countries like Japan,
China and Brazil.
In fact, it is regularly used in food preparation and pharmaceutical
products in Korea, Japan, China, and the Pacific Rim countries. In
Japan alone, an estimated 50 tons of stevioside is consumed annually. In
Canada and the United States, stevia has been approved as a dietary
supplement. However, in December 2008, the US Food and Drug
Administration (US FDA) stated it had no objection to the conclusion of an expert panel that rebaudioside
A is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a general purpose
sweetener. A Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), United
Nations and World Health Organization concluded that they are safe for their
intended use - to sweeten foods and beverages and established a permanent
Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) level. (see
http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/agns/files/jecfa69_final.pdf).
In Canada several researchers based at the Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada, Pest Management Research Centre (Delhi) have been involved in plant
breeding, plant pathology and agronomy.
Advantages
This sweet plant is nutrient rich, containing substantial amounts of Protein, Calcium, Phosphorous, Sodium, Magnesium, Zinc, Rutin, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and other nutrients, yet has no caloric value. It has proven beneficial for many when used as a dietary supplement. Studies have shown the following benefits from using Stevia
in one's diet:
- Helps reduce blood pressure;
- Control blood sugar levels, unlike sugarcane sugar does;
- 100% Natural Sweetener;
- Non-fermentable, non-discoloring;
- Maintains heat stability at 95 °C and features a lengthy shelf
life. Unlike artificial sweeteners, it doesn't
break down with heat, so you can learn to
cook
with it too.
- Natural Flavor enhancer;
- Acts as Plaque retardant Anti-caries and prevents cavities;
- Non-toxic extensively tested and used by humans with no adverse
effects;
- It has an excellent healing capabilities without scarring if placed on a cut.
Although, studies around the world show no
negative side effects of Stevia and since it has only been tested in animals, we strongly advise people on medications
for any kind of disease or pregnant women to consult their doctors or
pharmacists before taking Stevia.
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