Stevia
The South American herb that is changing the face of sweetness. Photo from Wikipedia.
I am a fairly new fan of Stevia, which is an all-natural sweetener made from the leaves of a South American herb. Stevia does not cause any change in your blood glucose levels; its glycemic index is zero. Therefore, stevia is suitable for diabetics. It also has no caloric value, and it does not have any carbohydrates. Does it sound too good to be true?
It comes in both a liquid and powdered form. It is not cheap either. Compared to sugar, it costs $2.57 an ounce more. Compared to artificial sweeteners, stevia costs anywhere between $1.10 – $1. 46 more per ounce. But I believe that the adage, “you get what you pay for,” holds true in this case.
Most people would agree that our diet is saturated too much with sugar. Just eating as a typical citizen of the United States, we consume large quantities of sugar daily. In 1999, the average American consumed 158 pounds of sugar a year according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Since I could not find any current data, I can only assume that in 2010 the number is higher or the same. Many of the teaspoons of sugar are consumed through beverages; therefore, they are empty calories. It makes sense why obesity is such a problem in this country.
Artificial sweeteners are very bad for you. Most are made with excitotoxins and/or are carcinogenic. Please do your own research on the health effects of artificial sweeteners. I have personally seen the ill-effects of these chemicals on my son, Jake.
There are other natural sweeteners besides stevia like raw honey, agave nectar, yacon syrup, maple syrup, etc. However, only stevia does not raise your blood sugar levels. And yet, most people have never even heard of it.
Some people who have tried stevia have complained of a bitter aftertaste. Dr. Mercola in his free e-book called Stevia: The Best Natural Sweetener, explains that not all stevia is created equal. Some are made more cheaply with stevioside, which has the bitter taste. While other high quality stevia is made mostly of rebaudioside A, which come from the sweetest part of the leaf.
The liquid stevia drops that I use do not have an aftertaste. I wrote an article recently called, “Addicted to Coke” about using stevia drops to fight my addiction to soft drinks. The brand is SweetLeaf and they come in many different flavors. Purchasing the bottle might seem too expensive, but it lasts you a very long time.
Since writing that article, I have found an orange flavored sparkling water called La Croix. It has no calories, no sweeteners, no sodium, and a natural orange flavor. I add 18 drops of plain stevia into the container. I enjoy this beverage immensely as a treat.
In my baking, I have been using stevia in the powdered form. It takes some getting used to as it does not add bulk to your baked goods. Stevia does not activate yeast or carmelize. Stevia is not sugar, plain and simple. Therefore, you must make the necessary adjustments when baking with stevia.
Beware of the stevia on the baking aisle in your grocery store. I stopped by the other day to see what they were selling. I guess I should not be too surprised when all the so-called stevia was mixed with dextrose or sucralose or some other sweetener. In the health food section, you are able to find pure stevia extract, but be sure to read the label.
If you want to learn more about stevia or more about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, I highly recommend downloading Dr. Mercola’s free e-book, Stevia: The Best Natural Sweetener. If you are not sure where to begin using stevia, start with sweetening your tea, coffee, or other beverage with the liquid drops. Remember a little stevia goes a long way!
That is shocking that they mix forms of sugar with the stevia in some products. I hope the label is clearly marked as I know of diabetics that that could bring harm to.
Maybe you could mention that just because the price appears to be so much higher than sugar, you use such a little bit that it really is much cheaper than sugar.
Also, the herb grows well here (in VA). I grew it one summer in my herb bed and the boys loved to treat themselves to chewing the leaves.
Thanks for sharing about this Lara.
If you think that is shocking, read Dr. Mercola’s free e-book to hear his opinion as to why the FDA has removed stevia from its list of GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) list. I will have to look and see if stevia will grow here.
Lara
You have to be so vigilant about what you and your family eat! We ate at Cracker Barrel for supper tonight, and my husband wanted dessert. When the waitress mentioned apple pie, he ordered it à la mode. She said, “The pie is no sugar added.” He told her that was fine, and I said, “I don’t think you want that. ‘No sugar added’ means they make it with artificial sweeteners.” He had no idea! Why don’t they just say, “That’s made with aspartame” or whatever? No sugar should mean what it says! It shouldn’t mean something fake is added instead of sugar!
Susan,
I couldn’t agree with you more! Depending on the kind of apple, it might not have needed any extra sweetener. They should tell you, “This pie is made with aspartame.”
Lara
I had a stevia plant in my herb garden this year in IL. (That is until my garden got flooded with field runoff.) I munched on one of the leaves and it was real sweet. I was planning on drying and grinding up the leaves to use as sweetener, but it did not like the herbicides in the flood waters. Next year I plan on picking up a few plants and trying again. It should grow in TX and may come back (it is just an annual here). Just make sure it gets the water it wants.