I have found a new sweetener to replace sugar, called Stevia. My doctor recommended it and I bought it at the GNC store in the Mall. It is not approved by the FDA yet. It is super sweet and I can get 3 servings out of one little packet. It comes in liquid, bulk, or packets. No after taste like some of the other artificial ones.
By Ruth from Harlingen, TX
I've been using Stevia for several years now. It's a natural plant that is grown in the country of Paraguay, and people from the orient have been using it for hundreds and possibly thousands of years. The sweetness is extracted from the Stevia leaves. A friend of ours showed me a gardening magazine where you can either order the plant or the seeds to raise your own Stevia. You will never find Stevia at your local grocery store because the FDA, and food industry continue to push their harmful chemicals on the general public.
I buy powdered Stevia from the Vitamin World Store and I can also buy it at a health food store. Do a Google search and you can find Stevia cookbooks.
(12/18/2008)
By Marjorie
Stevia does have it's uses but it also has 2 side effects that the people who promote it are either unaware of or choose to ignore. That is why the FDA has not and will not approve it and why Stevia is also not apporved in several major European countries.
If you do not fall into either group, enjoy your Stevia. (12/21/2008)
By Ginger Yazak
Stevia has been available from natural food stores, some vitamin shops for many, many years in all forms.
NEWS RELEASE 12-18-08 http://uk.reuters.com/article/consumerProducts/idUKN1752745420081218
Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. said on Wednesday they received U.S. regulatory clearance for natural, calorie-free sweeteners derived from the Stevia plant and planned to launch new soft drinks in the coming weeks.
Coke is releasing Truvia in Odwalla juice drinks and a version of its Sprite soft drink.
Pepsi is releasing PureVia in SoBe Lifewater and "Trop 50" a light orange juice product with 50 percent less sugar and calories than regular Tropicana orange juice.
All this is within the next couple weeks. Cargill has been working with Coke, Pepsi has been working with Merisant. The form of Stevia on the market and in the grocery stores is TRUVIA or PUREVIA.
I found Truvia in the local grocery (small town) about 6 months ago.
OK, my take is, I don't like it on my food. Maybe things will change. I cannot do artificial sweeteners, so I try to leave sugar alone (diabetic). It chases me to the BR with stomach problems shortly after using it. Sort of like what OLESTRA was to do with fat substitutes when it came out, but ended up causing a lot of grief.
By Grandma J
I, too, tried it many years ago and didn't like it at all. If it is used in diet soda, I sure hope it tastes good. (12/21/2008)
By Brenda
Before you go out and buy a bunch of Stevia, I personally like it in cold drinks, but absolutely don't like it in hot drinks like coffee. (12/21/2008)
By jrmahon
I've tried several brands of Stevia my fave is NuStevia. Some have an aftertaste. I've been seeing more Stevia on shelves of grocery stores and WalMart, but my preferred one I can find only in health stores and drugstore.com. I think it's a great improvement over other sweeteners, for taste and toxicity. (12/29/2008)
By TereTx
I have been using "SweetLeaf" brand Stevia. I tried several brands and this is the only brand that isn't bitter. My favorite is the liquid in a brown glass bottle with a glass eye dropper in it. It comes in many wonderful flavors like Vanilla Creme, Orange, Peppermint, English Toffee, and so on. Below is the website where these can be purchased online. I use the Vanilla Creme in my tea along with Vanilla Bean Brown Rice milk. Yum.
I use the English Toffee in my oatmeal in the morning. I have the little packets and some small travel size bottles of the liquid I keep in my purse for when I go out somewhere. I make a yummy cold drink which I keep on hand: Herbal Tea's- Cranberry Zinger, Raspberry Zinger, Apple Cinnamon Spice. I use two bags of each in a large tea pot, add hot water and when it is ready and cooled, I put it into a glass tea container, add several eye droppers full of the plain or natural SweetLeaf. I pour it over ice and use it in place of things like soda pop and such.
I gave a glass to my boyfriend when he was visiting and he hates anything like artificial sweeteners and such and all I heard were yummy sounds coming out of him. He loved it. He said it tasted like cranberry-raspberry soda pop.
http://www.buywisdom.com/departments.asp?dept=1
I have used their website and they are a good company. I can find the Vanilla Creme at my local health food store, but the other flavors I have to buy online. The other flavors are great for baking. Hollywood movie stars and the very rich and "thin" are all using it. Some top stars have even become reps and are selling it. I have seen the ads in the magazines. (12/29/2008)
By Trish
My health food store told me that Stevia sweetener is a mixture of the plant and corn sweetener, which totally defeats my efforts to avoid what I'm allergic to. I have been using pure Molasses for peanut butter sandwiches, and on hot biscuits w/ organic butter. I will buy the sulfured next time, because I have occasional problems with my large old cracked fillings leaking, allowing infection to occur. It may be that the sulfur could become a natural antibiotic?
(12/29/2008)
By Lynda
I personally like Splenda, until I started hearing all the bad side effects. I now use Stevia. It took a little getting use to, but I got use to the taste. Like other sweetener subsitutes, I wonder how long before we start hearing the bad side effects of Stevia? (01/05/2009)
By queenb
I have been using "Stevia in the Raw" in my coffee over the past couple of weeks. The first thing I noticed is that, while it sweetens, it does not flavor like sugar does. It is like drinking black coffee that is sweet, instead of sweet coffee, a bit more Half and Half seems to help this. Also, I notice a little "artificial" aftertaste, not much a little. The "In the Raw" brand claims to not be bitter in hot drinks and I don't notice any bitter taste. They add a little dextrose though. Do you know of a better Stevia for hot drinks? I am not diabetic, but the Dr. told me I may become diabetic if I don't change some things, so I dropped "Cokes". I bought some different Stevia for cold drinks but have not used it yet. (01/25/2009)
By Julien
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