Stevia: Nature’s Sweetner
It’s pretty safe to say that sugars impact on the American culture has been devastating. Wherever you look sugar in food can be found. For the last several hundred years a plant from South America thats 300x sweeter than sugar has sweetened the taste buds of people in this region. Stevia is great for people with obesity, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. The leaves of the stevia plant contain several chemicals called glycosides, even though sweeter than sugar; there are no calories. Dozens of clinical studies have validated the safety of this particular plant.
In Japan the use of Stevia is quite diverse. Most people in the States use stevia in tea or coffee, however; in Japan stevia is used in Coca Cola and even pickles. When looking for a pleasant tasting alternative to sugar make sure stevia is given a chance to sweeten up your food or drink.