Stevia: Finally, a Sweetener that isn't Bad for You

I use a Whey Protein Shake with Stevia that is like nectar from the gods...so much better than the artificial sweeteners...and so much better for you!

Stevia is great, we've been using it for years now. I buy the 100% stevia powder made by NOW foods (fruitful yield and other health food stores/Whole foods type places) or the one sold at Trader Joes. It comes in a little spice shaker type jar and is about 1 oz and comes w/a teeny tiny little scoop. really that is all you need is the teeny tiny scoop for an 8oz serving of tea or coffee, hot or iced. The jar holds 622 scoops of the stuff, so it lasts a long time! The packets sold for portable use generally have a fiber mixed w/them. I prefer the plain stuff. Stevia Rebaudiana is grown in Asia and South America. South Americans have been using it for many many years.

Endlesslight...Sugarleaf is actually a stevia product! There are powders as well...and they too are 100x sweeter than sugar...so you only have to use a teeny weeny bit...

Hi Brett,

You're so right, Stevia is definitely the safer alternative to refined sugar and artificial sweeteners. When I blogged about this I was amazed by the document I uncovered by a former FDA investigator who clearly stated that Stevia has been outlawed by the FDA in order to keep the artificial sweeteners in business, however Stevia has been used for over 500 yrs by South Americans without health danger!!

If you want to read about that I've got a link in my post about Stevia - http://www.thefitshack.com/2007/12/04/what-is-stevia-is-it-healthy-and-safe-to-use/

At least we are able to buy Stevia though, even though it's only allowed to be sold as a "dietary supplement" here in the U.S.

Just had to mention that I have been using and enery drink from Arbonne called NRG-GO Fizz tabs that contains Stevia, Green Tea and Guarana. Amazing!!

I enjoy Zevia cola. It doesn't have the after taste that diet sodas have. It is interesting that Zevia tends to be alkaline and artificial sweeteners are acidic (even more so than sugar). For those of us with joint pain, it is beneficial to keep your body more alkaline. I hear Coke has a Stevia option in Japan. I wonder when it will arive in the US. IMO. :)

where can I buy stevia?

How can I find it in the market? Can I find it in a nutrition center or in the regular stores like walmart etc. And How is looks like? Do they sell it in a box?

I use Stevia and it doesn't taste so good, but I can say it is very helpful in not getting too much suger in your system. I think trying know things is a mind thing and how determined you are to to make your new ways of doing things work.

Amazing! I never heard about this marvelous sweetener; is it as harmless as asserted? I would like to use it muself but sadly I don't know where to buy it in my country (Romania).

I think stevia tastes like anus.

I do drink Stevia in little mixes that you add to water bottles. The Stevita company makes "Breeze" singles that are most convenient. I find the taste to be more of an acquired one. My younger children love it while my teenager thinks it's horrible. The lemon/lime one is really good and even my teen will drink that one. The others flavors don't really compete well in the taste comparison if you ask me. I still drink the other flavors...they are just not as good. I find it really sad that this safe product can't be researched and used in a wider variety of commercial products. If you buy the raw product or the refined white powder and attempt to sweeten your own recipes, there is a fine line between sweet and bitter. Stevia added in excess makes a horrible bitter taste. Therefore, it would indeed be really good if we could make progress in this country to have it unregulated and able to be marketed as a sweetener. If we could allow many companies to market a safe sweetener, the costs to the consumer would be less. "Healthy" competition in the sugar-free market would be a really good thing if you ask me. However, I have read that it costs millions of dollars in testing to have a new sweetener introduced into the market in the USA. Because the stevia plant can actually be grown in a flower pot and there would be no way for one company to keep a TM on the item if they invested the millions required for testing, there is simply not anyone willing to do the required research to have this product approved so that we can begin using it in this country for sweeting purposes. I do think that is a shame. Personally, I enjoy the convenience of pre-packaged items when using stevia due to the difficulty level of getting the balance between sweet/bitter correct. It would be really nice to have many more options.

It is not harmful. There is a ton of controversy over artificial sweeteners. Part of it is because there are lobbyists and Food Regulators who don't want the artificial sweetener business to go out of business...here are a couple of things to read are below. Stevia isn't artificial, it is natural.

http://www.janethull.com/askdrhull/article.php?id=046
And if you don't believe that Dr. Hull is onto something. Maybe you'd like to find out that Duke University has also conducted a study, exposed here:
http://www.celebritydietdoctor.com/splenda-harmful/
And if you are really interested, here is the study:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a902553409~db=all~order=page

Further, if you really BELIEVE all government agencies, you can read this: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners
In MY mind, I believe that if an agency can't PROVE that it ISN'T toxic, then you can bet it probably is. A lot of hemming and hawing about if a rat is like a human and a human is like a rat is crap to me. If something causes cancer, or has caused cancer or MAY cause cancer...Stay away from it.

I love Stevia. I found out about it from an 80 year old man & woman, who are friends of my mother's. I have a friend you is a Arbonne saleswoman. When I found out that Stevia was in these products. I was ready to lose weight. LOVE IT, Arbonne, & Stevia. I am the worst to try anything new. I get Lipton Raspberry instant tea, with Splendia. It is just not sweet enough for me. I put a pinch (thumb & finger) put it in the tea. It is so great. Now, I did order the individual packets of Stevia. It is not as sweet, it is more powder consistant. I still use it though. Hey, I have lost 10 lbs. on Arbonne & using Stevia. The drink does give you more entergy Arbonne. Look at the website of this product. Next is the skin care for me. At any rate I rate Stevia & products that use it #1. Happy here in Mississippi

I have seen stevia in little packets as a sweetner similar looking to nutra sweet packets. It's not illegal to advertize it as a sweetner, I know people who have been using it for years that way. Anyways, we tried Splenda for a while and my husband got migranes, it's not a good thing. The thing about regular sugar is that it is still a refined man made derivitive of something that used to be good. It seems like we just keep messing things up. My philosophy is don't eat refined processed foods, they are never good for you. I think I'll stick with good old fashioned God made honey.

SLEEPLESS IN GEORGIA: stevia isn't an artificial sweetener. It is a natural herb that has been used for 100s of years. There is nothing detrimental about it.

I SAY USE SUGAR ONLY, IF YOU CAN, JUST IN MODERATION. ALL THESE OTHER ARTIFICIAL SUGARS ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOU. I HAVE VERY DRY MOUTH BECAUSE OF MEDS I HAVE TO TAKE, SO I CHEW GUM. ONE DAY I FOUND OUT I HADE BEEN CHEWING REGULAR GUM, NOT SUGARLESS WITH THE WORST CANCER CAUSING ONE THEY MAKE, MOMS CHECK THE GUMS OUT THAT YOU GIVE YOUR KIDS, ALL OF IT HAS THESE CANCER CAUSING SUBSTITUTES EVEN THE REGULAR GUMS. DOUBLE BUBBLE IS THE ONLY GUM THAT I HAVE FOUND TO JUST HAVE SUGAR. READ THE LABELS ON ALL YOUR FOODS. THEY ARE PUTTING THEM IN ALMOST EVERYTHING NOW. THEY NO LONGER HAVE TO PUT IT ON THE FRONT OF THE PACKAGING. IT CAN HAVE THEM IN THERE AND NOT SAY SUGARLESS, BECAUSE THEY DO ADD A TOUCH OF SUGAR,SO GUESS WHAT THAT MAKES IT NOT SUGARLESS. TRICKY LITTLE DEVILS AREN'T THEY. THE FDA SHOULD BE SO PROUD THEY CAN DECEIVE SO EASILY.

I actually use an alkaline Sugarleaf. I feel great about using it because it has therapeutic value for your pancreas! It tastes great as long as you don't use to much. I use like only 4 drips for a huge cup of tea. I give it to my kids and they love it too! It's like 100x sweeter thatn sugar and good for you and you use a tiny fraction of the amount- now thats great!
I get it from a whole food web site where I buy all my vitamins from too.
http://www.wholefoodformulations.optimalhealthsystems.com