Overview

Stevia (SteviaRebaudiana) is a wonderful dietary supplement used for over 1500 years by the natives of Paraguay as a sweetener and for medical purposes.

In Japan, it was developed by a complex refining process into a sweetener called Stevioside – a white powder 250 to 300 times sweeter than sugar – which has a 47% market share in the commercial sweetening industry since aspartame has been banned in that country.

In 1984, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) disallowed stevia from being marketed as a sweetener. Prior to 1991, stevia was in widespread use in the United States and several other countries. The agency later relaxed that order, allowing stevia to be imported and sold only as a liquid concentrate for skin care. In 1995, stevia was permitted to be sold if, and only if, it was labeled as a dietary supplement. This happened for a couple of reasons: the government is behind on its regulations of natural products, larger companies are trying to keep stevia off store shelves in favour of their own questionable products, and because it is a natural product that is threatening the very existence of processed sweeteners. Ever try to grow an aspartame tree?

Good quality stevia leaves, whether whole, cut and sifted or in tea bags, are about 30 times sweeter than sugar and have no calories. The best quality leaves are imported from South America and Mexico, and are about 12 to 13 percent stevioside. The poorest quality, but most ample supply, is currently coming from China, where the leaves contain only 5 percent to 6 percent stevioside. A simple taste test quickly demonstrates the difference.