Stevia is a wild South American shrub whose leaves have been used by native peoples in Paraguay and Brazil to sweeten their yerba mate and other stimulant beverages. These natives also used Stevia to enhance medicinal potions, or simply chewed it for the sweet taste. Today it is grown and used in many other countries, used in its raw leaf form or commercially processed into sweetener.
Stevia is about 300 times sweeter than sugar in its natural state, and much more so when processed. Its medicinal uses include regulating blood sugar, preventing hypertension, treatment of skin disorders, and prevention of tooth decay. Other studies show that it is a natural antibacterial and antiviral agent as well. Stevia is actually good for you - it is calorie and carbohydrate free. Stevia is a great sweetener choice for diabetics and those watching their weight.
Stevia has been known to have excellent healing capabilities. Stevia can minimize scarring when applied to a cut or scrape. Whole leaf Stevia extract can be used as a facial mask when smoothed over the entire face. This process helps to tighten the skin, smooth out wrinkles and heal skin blemishes and acne. This has also been reported to effectively help conditions like seborrhea, dermatitis and eczema.
Stevia may also work to enhance moods and increase energy levels and mental alertness. Furthermore, it has been shown to stop the growth of bacteria in the mouth responsible for the production of acids that cause gingivitis and cavities.
In the 70's and 80's,
Stevia products were developed as a flavour enhancer, used widely for this purpose in Japan, China, Korea, Israel, Brazil and Paraguay. It has been embraced in Japan where 40% of the sweetener market is stevia-based. It is often used in soy sauce, tea, sweet pickles, skin creams, and soft drinks, specifically Diet Coke.
Diabetics, individuals with blood sugar problems, or the obese, can benefit from supplementing with Stevia due to its ability to regulate blood sugar. It has also been shown that in cases of high blood pressure Stevia has the ability to act as a vasodiolator, thus helping to lower hypertension.
In the late 1980s an "anonymous firm" lodged a "trade complaint" with the FDA about Stevia when it started to surface in the United States. One company using stevia was the Celestial Seasonings herbal tea company. They were ordered by the FDA to stop producing tea "adulterated" with Stevia. Traditional Medicinals, another tea company, had their inventory of Stevia teas confiscated during an unexpected FDA raid and were told the tea would be burned.
Why did the government treat Stevia like a controlled substance? FDA documents call Stevia a "dangerous food additive" even though the safety of Stevia has been widely tested for many years by scientists in Japan. The FDA will not reveal who made the "trade complaint" (despite the Freedom of Information Act) though many suspect that it was the makers of the artificial sweetener Aspartame (aka "Nutrasweet") trying to fend off competition, as the artificial sweetener is very profitable.
To judge from the extensive measures the FDA has employed to keep Americans in the dark about Stevia, one might assume it was some type of dangerous narcotic. But, in fact, no ill effects have ever been attributed to it, although it has been used by millions of people around the world, in some locales for hundreds of years.
The FDA has remained adamant on the subject, and even though Stevia can now be legally marketed as a dietary supplement under legislation enacted in 1994, any mention of its possible use as a sweetener or tea is still strictly prohibited.
In 1995 the FDA reversed their decision to ban Stevia, but only halfway. In the U.S. today, as in Canada, stevia is sold only in health food stores where Stevia can now be sold as a "nutritional supplement" but not as a sweetener. This is also the case in the European Union, and the World Health Organization is pressuring other countries to follow suit.
Benefits
• non-caloric sweetener
• inhibits fat absorption and lowers blood pressure
• regulates blood sugar levels
