By Joan McDaniel                                               June 1, 2012

Stevia The Natural Sweetener. Zero calories Zero Carbs

“We are too fat.  We are eating too much sugar and fructose (HFCS) High- Fructose Corn Syrup.  Sugar is Both a Fat and a Carb, and this Combo Drives World-Wide Obesity-Related Disease Rates

Will someone please tell the Food Police; it isn’t the number of calories we consume that make us fat it is the amount of Carbohydrates, Fructose and Sugar we consume that does.  “Sugar is the only calorie source that correlates with the increase in diabetes. In 1985, when the world-wide sugar consumption was 98 million tons, diabetes affected 30 million people. By 2010, sugar consumption had risen to 160 million tons, and global diabetes prevalence reached 346 million people. The answer lies in its unique structure. As just mentioned, it metabolizes as both fat and carbohydrate, and the reason for this is because it contains both glucose and fructose. These two sugars are not interchangeable, and your body processes each of them differently. Sucrose (table sugar) is 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is anywhere from 42 to 55 percent fructose depending on which type is used”. Dr. Mercola.”

Concerned Americans are turning toward using the over 6,000 products labeled sugar-free or “diet” believing it is a healthy alternative. Artificial Sweeteners are alternatives to table sugar (sucrose), and  high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) but studies are find out the truth. It has since been discovered that aspartame and other artificial sweeteners cause damage to your health. See article by Dr. Mercola.

Is This FDA-Approved Sweetener Causing Brain Damage?

Posted By Dr. Mercola | March 24 2012

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/24/aspartame-affects-brain-health.aspx?e_cid=20120324_DNL_art_3

SteviaThe Safe and Natural Sweetener.

You can help break free from aspartame addiction by turning to stevia, a natural herb, which is a safer alternative to adding sweetness to your food or beverages. I have a sweet tooth, and like my coffee sweetened, and morning oatmeal sweetened but,  you better be very careful for Stevia may indeed not be Stevia

What is Stevia?

Stevia Extract is a sweetener extracted from the Stevia Plant. Today, Stevia is cultivated in over a dozen countries worldwide. It is a major export product and is widely used in countries such as China, Brazil, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Paraguay and Malaysia. Stevia has also been grown successfully in California, southern Ontario, Canada and even southern England. Although there are several different species of Stevia, the most potent and effective seems to be Stevia rebaudiana,and this species is used in most dietary supplements on the market today.

Stevia is a South American herb used as a natural sweetener for centuries. The leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant have a refreshing taste, zero glycemic index, zero calories and zero carbs. It is 25-30 times sweeter than sugar, and far more healthy!

SweetLeaf Sweetener® goes by the following names: Whole Leaf Steviol glycosides with rebaudioside A and stevioside are granted Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status by the FDA. Stevia’s properties name is steviosides, Species of plant = Stevia Rebaudiana, Type of Plant = Eupatonium, Plant Name = Stevia, Other names used = Rebudianum, Sweet Leaf.

This research material is from the Stevia SweatLeaf website, http://www.stevia.com/ and from other wide range of sources.  This research can be verified by a search on the internet.  Joan L. McDaniel

“The information contained is provided for educational purposes only. Medical advice is neither implied nor intended. Please consult your health care professional for medical advice.”

The source of the calories you consume makes all the difference in the world. They discovered that it’s the increase in fat and total carbohydrates specifically that’s causing the massive weight gain in people around the world. What’s more, there’s just ONE food on Earth that, because of its unique composition, metabolizes in your body as both fat and carbohydrate—and that product is sugar. Dr. Mercola http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/16/stevia-the-holy-grail-of-sweeteners.aspx

Stevia is a small perennial plant native to Central and South America with a long and storied history. The Spanish conquistadors found out about Stevia during their sixteenth century exploration of Central America. They reported that the natives used the leaves of this herb to counteract the bitter taste of a popular community drink, mate, and also used it as an herbal remedy for various ailments.

In 1887, Antonio Bertoni, a South American scientist, observed Indians of the Guarani tribe of Paraguay who used Stevia to flavor bitter tribal beverages. Bertoni erroneously classified Stevia as a member of the daisy family, but it was later re-assigned to the chrysanthemum family in 1905. Twenty-five years later, two French chemists conducting research on Stevia isolated the primary constituents responsible for Stevia’s properties and named them steviosides.

Safety of Stevia Extract
There has never been a complaint that Stevia, in any of its consumable forms, has caused any harmful side effects in the 1500 years of first use in Paraguay then the 1200 years in the rest of South America, and about 20 years in Japan. Scientists who have studied Stevia, state that it is safe for human consumption.  Stevia has been approved as a food additive in 12 countries, including Japan, Brazil and China.

Now comes the confusion; what Product do you buy?

FDA Approves Two New Stevia-Based Sweeteners

January 10 2009 |

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/10/fda-approves-two-new-stevia-based-sweeteners.aspx

And New York Times December 17, 2008

The FDA approved two versions of a new zero-calorie sweetener developed by the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.

Cargill, which is marketing the sweetener Truvia from Coca-Cola, received notification from the FDA that it had no objection to the product, calling it “generally recognized as safe.”

PepsiCo said it also had received a similar letter and the same “generally recognized as safe” designation for its sweetener, PureVia.

Both products use rebiana, and is called erythritol, an extract of only certain ingredients from the stevia plant, not the whole plant as available as a natural sweetener for more than 1,500 years and as available from  SweetLeaf or other supplement companies.

Exactly, What is the New Sweetener Erythritol?

Compiled by Joan McDaniel  May 26 2009

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/05/26/What-is-Erythritol-Doing-in-Vitamin-Water.aspx

If you look at the ingredients of VitaminWater 10 (owned by Coca Cola), you might be pleased to see that it contains the natural sweetener stevia. However, you will also notice that it is loaded with crystalline fructose, sucrose, and a mysterious product called Erythritol.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, a sweetener that does not provide as many calories as sugar. But the reason that sugar alcohols provide fewer calories than sugar is because they are not completely absorbed into your body. For this reason, high intakes of foods containing sugar alcohols can lead to abdominal gas and diarrhea.

Currently on the market are two “Stevia” sugar substitutes one using only part of the plant and The Natural Stevia from the complete leaf.  Everyone else,  the FDA has said, can import Stevia , labeled and sell it as a dietary supplement and in skin Care only. 

Below is a small sample from the many companies that provide a variety of supplements of the product.

1/3 to 1/2 tsp. Stevia Extract Powder = 1 cup of sugar!

This product is extremely sweet, with no bitter aftertaste when used sparingly. Stevia Extract is heat stable and is safe for diabetics and hypoglycemics.

It’s gonna be a while before you run out. Cookbooks featuring hundreds of Stevia Extract recipes are also available.