What is Stevia, Anyway?

A few month ago Marc and I were in a Starbucks and I pulled out a small jar and took a tiny spoon and used it to remove a white powdery substance. I then put it in my coffee.

I did not get arrested.

It is funny the looks you get when you use stevia powder. It is a natural sweetener that doesn’t affect blood sugar levels. It acts very much like Nutrasweet or Sweet and Low without the added chemicals and nasties.

It does take getting used to. In the same way that you had to develop a taste for diet cokes you have to develop a taste for stevia. If you use too much of it there will be a weird bitter taste but used carefully in coffee, tea and in foods it is a wonderful way to cut sugar from your diet with no side effects.

It is, in it’s extracted state, up to 300 times more potent that sugar.

Stevia is a natural herb. The powder is the extract of the leaves which has been dried. Personally I prefer this type of stevia. In fact, the only stevia I will use is the Stevia Extract by NOW Foods

It is about $10 for 4 ozs. Maybe a little more depending on where you get it.

Not only is it a great sugar replacement, it is also good for your body:

• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-fungal
• Anti-viral
• Anti-microbial
• and lots more

It can lower your blood sugar as well.

As I said, it may take you a bit to adjust to using stevia, especially if you have not used nutrasweet or splenda or the pink packets before. But if you will give yourself a week to adjust and spend some time researching how to use this in your recipes I think you will find that it is an excellent help to your health.

Image:Morguefile