Stevia Leaf

Stevia is a member of the Asteraceae family which has been grown natively in North and South America. The locals of South American countries have used stevia leaf as a way to sweeten bitter drinks. It has recently gained popularity in Asia as well as North America for its ability to sweeten drinks safely and naturally. In the 1990s, the United States banned stevia unless it was labeled as a supplement, but in 2008, the FDA approved the sweetener and it is soon on its way to gaining mass appeal throughout the sweetener market. Currently, 40% of the sweetener market in Japan is dominated by the stevia leaf.

The stevia leaf contains sweeteners called glycosides, which can sweenten without adding any calories to a substance. Unlike artificial sweeteners like sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K, and saccharine, stevia is natural and does not cause side effects such as cravings for simple sugars and carbohydrates, headaches, increased insulin levels, and fat storage. While many diet foods and drinks contain artificial sweeteners, stevia sweeteners can be added to unsweetened drinks as a healthy alternative to using sugar and artificial sweeteners.

Natural sweeteners are known for being safer alternatives to artificial sweeteners across the market, and it will not spoil a diet. Cravings, elevated cancer risk, gastrointestinal problems, kidney and livers problems, and increased fat storage are well known issues associated with artificial sweeteners, but stevia has none of these side effects. Stevia leaf can be found in many health food stores, or online, and it can be used to bake healthy foods, and sweeten coffee tea, or drink mixes. The extract is much sweeter by volume than refined sugar, and it doesn't give food an unusual flavor like other sugar alternatives. The no calorie sweetener market in most western countries are dominated by dangerous, diet harming sugar substitutes, but stevia is about to make a large impact on the market considering it can naturally sweeten with no side effects.