do anyone what stevia leaves are?

[Guest guest]

While at the supermarket last night, I bought a new box of Celestial

Seasonings tea called Diet Partner as I was told that cayenne is good if

you are trying to lost some extra poundage. This particular product

contains stevia leaves. Since I have never heard of it, I thought that I

might want to ask before inbibing.

 

Thanks for reading and for your help.

 

Happy Sunday and Mothers Day to one and all.

 

Joanne

 

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[Guest guest]

Stevia is the new " sugar " -- it's very sweet

<http://www.healthy.net/Nutrit/kitchen/foods/stevia.asp>

 

 

 

At 05/12/2002, you wrote:

>While at the supermarket last night, I bought a new box of Celestial

>Seasonings tea called Diet Partner as I was told that cayenne is good if

>you are trying to lost some extra poundage. This particular product

>contains stevia leaves. Since I have never heard of it, I thought that I

>might want to ask before inbibing.

>

>Thanks for reading and for your help.

[Guest guest]

Hi Joanne,

 

Stevia is a sweetening agent, and appears to be totally safe. I found

this description on Dr. Andrew Weil's website, and thought there might be

interest, so I'm sending it to the list.

 

Karen

 

(Published 5/22/97) Stevia comes from a shrub native to Paraguay, Stevia

rebaudiana. It also grows in Brazil and Argentina, and is now widely

cultivated in China. The leaves have been used for centuries by native

peoples to make sweet teas, or to sweeten other foods, with no evidence of

adverse reactions. In Japan, Brazil and other countries, people use the

extracted sweet principle, called stevioside, as a table sweetener. It

tastes faintly of licorice and is many, many times sweeter than sucrose.

Stevia has minimal calories and is reputed to have beneficial effects on

fat absorption and blood pressure.

The Food and Drug Administration has been trying to suppress stevia for

years, some say at the instigation of the manufacturer of aspartame. The

agency still refuses to classify it as a safe food additive, a position I

find untenable.

 

The easiest way to use stevia is to dissolve the granular white powder in

water and use drops as a sweetening solution. You can use it in

anything -- on your cereal, in baked goods, whatever. But you do need to

adjust recipes to make it work, because you're using just a few drops of

liquid instead of a cup or so of sugar. One reference I've seen replaces 1

cup of sugar with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the herb, or 1/4 teaspoon of

the white powder extract. I'd check with your supplier to get information

on the best way to do this without ending up with flat muffins or

rock-hard cookies.

 

Stevia is especially useful for people who cannot tolerate sugar,

including diabetics. And despite the FDA's import ban on foods sweetened

with stevia, you can find it sold as a dietary supplement.