Using Stevia Herb As A Natural Sweetener

Stevia is a plant that originated in Paraguay. It has been used there, as well as other countries for many years as a natural alternative to sugar. It was banned in the USA until the mid 1990’s, and was then only allowed to be sold as a “dietary supplement”. It is against the law in the US to sell stevia as a sweetner.

Some people pronounce it as stev-ia, and others call it steev-ia. No matter how you pronounce it, it is a wonderful herb.

Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar. One only needs to use a small pinch of it to sweeten. If you use to much, it will actually give a licorice taste to what you are adding it to. While you can buy stevia in a “powered” form much like you do sugar, I prefer to buy the herb in bulk, and use it totally natural. I’m not sure how one can take a green herb, and make it white, but I’m thinking there has to be an unnatural process to do it. I know they only do this for looks, as one doesn’t want to sprinkle a green powder on their cereal. You can buy the bulk herb most health food stores.

Stevia can be used to sweeten anything. It is great in teas and coffee, lemonade and other beverages. You can even use it in baking, although it doesn’t have the same chemical reaction that sugar does, so some things won’t rise like they normally would. You can grind up the herb in a coffee grinder, and sprinkle it on your cereal, or oatmeal.
It has no effect on blood glucose levels, so it makes a wonderful alternative for diabetics, and others watching their sugar intake. It can even be used by children without the side affects that sugar has.