Improve Your Health with Pure Stevia

If you’re looking for an alternative to refined sugar, pure stevia is definitely worth a look. Not only is it completely non-toxic, it delivers several health benefits. In contrast, sugar contains no known health benefits and has been implicated in several medical conditions. If you’re not looking for an alternative to sugar, maybe you should be!

Here are just a few comparisons between cane sugar and pure stevia. You’ll see that stevia consistently comes out on top.

Sugar:
- Contains 15 calories per teaspoon
- Contains no vitamins or minerals
- Interferes with the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients
- Causes dental problems
- Has been implicated in many diseases, including diabetes
- Contributes to obesity when consumed in high quantities
- Can raise systolic blood pressure

Pure Stevia:
- Contains NO calories
- Contains vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and niacin
- Has been shown to aid calcium absorption in some studies
- Slows the growth of bacteria, leading to improvements in gum disease
- Is completely non-toxic
- Is actually beneficial for diabetics
- Has been shown to normalize blood sugar

Stevia is many times sweeter than sugar, which means you have to use only a small amount to get the desired level of sweetness. It has been used as a sweetener in other countries for centuries. Interestingly, until very recently, stevia was legal in the United States only as a nutritional supplement and could not be sold as a food additive.

Stevia comes as a powder or as a liquid extract. It’s really a matter of personal preference which one your choose. Liquid stevia is often distilled with alcohol, but the water-distilled products have been found to contain more of the beneficial nutrients found in the stevia plant. Pound for pound, stevia can be considerably more expensive than sugar, but you’ll use so much less that it can make economic sense, especially taking into account the health benefits you’ll derive from using stevia and reducing your sugar intake.

To make sure you are getting pure stevia, look for ingredient statements like, “made only of highest grade stevia leaves and purified water… no chemicals, no alcohol, no additives of any kind are used.” This particular statement is found on the SweetLeaf brand label, but you can find many stevia products that are made without additives. Go ahead, give stevia a try!