The Sweetness of Stevia

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http://curezone.com/foods/stevia.htm

 

 

The

Sweetness of Stevia

 

by Sabrina Marie

 

Who doesn’t have a sweet tooth? Most of us are aware that refined

white sugar can take a toll on our body, but a tempting fudge brownie

can easily wipe thoughts of minerals and immune systems out of our

mind. Refined white sugar makes it more difficult for our bodies to

absorb the minerals and vitamins it needs. The body requires excess B

vitamins to metabolize and detoxify sugar. The problem with sugar is

that because it is stripped of nutrients, but contains calories, the

body does not receive any of the nutrients it needs and expects from

food. Studies have linked sugar with obesity, diabetes and other

disorders. Sugar depresses the immune system. Refined white sugar may

be converted to saturated fat. Sugar may contribute to candidiasis and

aggravate some types of asthma, allergies, and arthritis.

 

Of course, that sugar is less than wholesome is old news. For this

reason, many of us bake goodies using maple syrup, brown rice syrup,

and barley malt syrup. The natural foods movement has given us many

options to white sugar. For instance, unrefined cane juice, comes from

sugar cane, but is less processed so it contains the nutrients that

have been removed from white sugar. These sweeteners are good

alternatives, however, they all contain calories and they may be

healthful for everyone.

 

The new century has brought us a new sweetener. Not a newly created

sweetener, fresh from experimental chemical labs, but a new old

sweetener, originally from Paraguay. Used for centuries by South

American natives to sweeten tea and for medicinal preparations,

stevia, the sweet herb, has finally made its way to North America.

This amazing sweet herb is being embraced by health practitioners and

health food cooks alike for its many qualities that give it an edge

over more traditional sweeteners.

 

Stevia is incredibly sweet, 30 to 100 times sweeter than sugar. A

recipe for cookies sweetened with stevia may call for only 1/4

teaspoon to sweeten the whole batch. Stevia contains no calories.

Stevia is a healthful alternative to artificial sweeteners for most

diabetics because stevia does not affect blood sugar levels. Sandy

Corlett, of the Diabetes Resource Center, says, “stevia is one of

two sweeteners that we recommend. It is a much better choice than

artificial sweeteners. The other recommended sweetener is called Sweet

Balance and it is made from the kiwi fruit.”

 

The sweetening agent in stevia, called stevioside, does not feed

yeasts in the intestines like sugars. All non-chemical sweeteners,

even fructose, feed yeasts, which makes even fruit and brown rice

syrup off limits to someone suffering from candidiasis, a condition of

yeast overgrowth in the intestines.

 

Although it sounds like stevia may save us all from our detrimental

sweet teeth, stevia is not the simplest sweetener to work with. It has

a strongly sweet flavor which can quickly overwhelm a recipe. When

trying to use stevia to sweeten baked goods like cookies, the recipe

must be adjusted for the lack of bulk that stevia adds. Cakes and

cookies sweetened with stevia do not brown as much as their

sugar-sweetened counterparts. When testing stevia at The Grain &

Salt Society, responses to this new sweetener were mixed.

 

I asked a few “testers” to share their stevia experience.

 

Cheryl, who does not have any specific health problems but is strongly

affected by sugar said, “I am very excited about stevia. I loved the

stevia sweetened cookies we tested. I think stevia gives me a good

feeling, compared to the highs and lows of white sugar. I think it is

going to play a role in my diet, especially for breakfast foods which

are often overly sweet.”

 

Jon, who is in good health though worried about weight gain said,

“The stevia cookies were good, but they had a “kool aid” kind of

aftertaste. I just think brown sugar is hard to beat, I wouldn’t

choose to eat stevia if there was a plate of brown sugar sweetened

cookies being offered at the same time.” Jon became more interested

in stevia after learning that it has no calories and does not affect

blood sugar levels.

 

Christiana, who is currently on a completely sugar-free diet because

of candidiasis, said, “I love stevia. I use the liquid extract in my

tea. I think it’s wonderful that even though I have candidiasis and

cannot eat any type of sugar or fruit, I can have a little taste of

something sweet without affecting my health.”

 

Nichole, who is a recent wholesome foods convert, said “I think

stevia is great. After testing all the sweets made with stevia, I

wanted more. When it’s used just right, it can be a great

alternative to sugar. I also like that you need to use so little

stevia, compared to the cups and pounds you must use of white

sugar.”

 

Investigating stevia, we learned that all stevias are not alike.

Stevioside is often extracted using alcohol or chemicals. The extract

may then be bleached to make it appear completely white. Look for

organic stevia that is unbleached and extracted with a natural water

filtration method.

 

Stevia is available in three forms: liquid extract, powdered extract,

and powdered extract combined with a bulking agent, such as

maltodextrin. This last form is used to package stevia in small

envelopes similar to the packaging of Nutrasweet and Sweet N’ Low.

For your recipes, liquid extract and powdered extract work

interchangeably.

 

Although stevia is just beginning to reach the American public, a

number of countries have enjoyed its sweetness for decades. Japanese

food manufacturers began using stevia in the mid 1970's. According to

Donna Gates in The Stevia Cookbook, by 1988, stevia sweetened products

represented approximately 41 percent of the market share of potently

sweet substances consumed in Japan. In spite of the fact that it has

been used safely for centuries by South American natives, and for over

twenty years in Japan, stevia cannot be sold in the U.S. as a

sweetener. Stevia is currently available as a dietary supplement, but

no information about its sweetening abilities will be found on its

label.

 

If you are interested in experimenting with stevia, you may choose to

begin by using the recipe on the back page as a guide. Substitute

raisins or chocolate chips for nuts. As you begin to widen your stevia

repertoire, the cookbook Baking with Stevia, by Rita DePuydt may be of

help. Suggestions from seasoned stevia bakers include:

 

1. whisking stevia into egg whites before adding to a cake batter

helps to get good volume and crumbly texture;

 

2. one cup of sugar can be replaced by 1/4 to ½ teaspoon stevia, but

adjustments will be needed to replace the bulk of sugar – applesauce

can be used to replace some of this bulk;

 

3. flavors such as lemon and vanilla help to ameliorate the sometimes

sharply sweet characteristic of stevia;

 

4. for blender drinks, sauces, creams, and puddings, add the stevia in

the beginning because adding it later may cause thinning;

 

5. very small amounts of stevia may be used to sweeten salad dressings

and dinner sauces, measure a dab of stevia with a toothpick!

 

References Gates, D. and Sahelian, R., M.D. The Stevia Cookbook.

Garden City Park, NY. Avery Publishing Group, 1999.

 

Elkins, R. Stevia: Nature’s Sweetener. Pleasant Grove, UT. Woodland

Publishing, 1997.

 

DePuydt, R. Baking with Stevia. Oak View, CA. Sun Coast Enterprises,

1998.