Stevia : The Health Benefits are Amazing

In an age when most of us are watching our waistlines and trying to eat more healthfully, it's easy to find yourself wondering what happened to the sweeter side of life. Sugar is linked to obesity, diabetes, and even, in a new study by Emory School of Medicine, heart disease. Meanwhile, safety of the most popular sugar substitute, aspartame, continues to be debated, especially after studies in European cancer research centers linked it to malignant tumors and blood cancers in animals. Is there a safer solution? Yes. People around the world are discovering stevia and its many health benefits.

What are some of stevia's health benefits?

Stevia is a non-toxic antioxidant.

In 2006, the World Health Organization released a statement confirming that stevia is non-toxic, causing neither cancers nor birth defects. This single fact puts stevia health benefits miles ahead of the competition. A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry showed it to be rich in the type of antioxidants that repair cancer-causing DNA damage. In Japan, stevia has safely been used in foods and soft drinks for over twenty years

Stevia is calorie free with a low glycemic index.

Stevia is over 300 times as sweet as sugar, with no calories, making it an ideal sweetener for diabetics, and anyone interested in stabilizing their blood sugar. All varieties have a low glycemic index, and recent research suggests that it may even support healthier insulin production and glucose tolerance. With insulin resistance suspected to play a major role in North America's obesity epidemic, stevia and its health benefits as a weight management tool show exciting potential.

Additional stevia health benefits.

If you're looking for safe, non-toxic, non-caloric sweetener, additional benefits of choosing stevia continue to be discovered. In South American culture, stevia has long been used as a tonic for heartburn. Inulin fiber is commonly blended with pure stevia to enhance its reported benefits as a digestive soother. Currently, it's even being researched as a possible treatment for osteoporosis.

Given its proven safety, and many health-enhancing benefits, stevia is the natural choice among sweeteners.