Hello all. As you know, I've been working on freelance writing for some time now. Though it doesn't happen often, there are occasions when you will meet a client and realize how similar your efforts are to theirs. And this is what I discovered recently working with a very cool guy named Jo on some articles about the all natural sweetener stevia , which he is seeking to promote. As health and living a green lifestyle are highly important to me, and I feel it is also important to my readers, I have asked Jo to write a guest post on the topic and he so kindly agreed. So without further ado, read on for a highly informative post that outlines the basics behind the all natural, wonderful plant.
Combine sweet and healthy with stevia!Stevia rebaudiana is a plant that was discovered by a Swiss botanist on the hillsides of Paraguay at the end of the 19th century. This man, by the name of Moses Bertoni, noticed that the indigenous tribes were using the herb to sweeten their tea, called maté. He decided to investigate the plant further, which resulted in a number of remarkable discoveries: aside from the fact that the plant’s leaves were many times sweeter than plain old sugar, they also appeared to be calorie free and were used by the native population as a treatment for diabetes, small wounds and other ailments.The ‘sweet leaf’ – as it is commonly called – has zero calories, a glycemic index of zero and is heat stable up to 392°F, which makes it ideal for cooking. It does not ferment and has a very long shelf life (up to five years for high quality stevia powder!). Caught your eye, didn’t I?Today, stevia is commercially available in different formats: as a white powder, but also as a liquid and as tablets. Stevia powder (called ‘stevioside’ after its main glycoside) is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose, which means that in a recipe that calls for a cup of sugar, just a teaspoon of stevia will suffice as a replacement!So why did this miracle sweetener remain lurking in the shadows for so long, away from the broad public? The culprit is the FDA that – under tremendous pressure from the sugar lobby - used all its influencial powers to keep stevia off the market for as long as possible. Understandibly so, if you think about it… Money makes the world go ‘round, and what self-respecting sugar producing company would want to see a product appear on the market that not only is much sweeter than the product they’re selling, but also boasts a whole array of health benefits?Luckily, stevia seems to have had its share of misfortune. In the past few years, a shift occurred: the number of sugar free products is on the rise, and because aspartame – deservedly - suffers from a bad reputation and is associated more and more with several health issues, Coca Cola and Pepsi have finally convinced the FDA that stevia deserves a spot on the shelves. The all natural stevia sweetener has been fully approved in both the USA and Europe recently. Although in America the big breakthrough still has to take place, brands like Truvia and PureVia are gradually gaining ground. What about Europe? Well, French stores already offer a few products containing stevia, and other European countries are working hard to finish their first stevia products as you’re reading this.For more information on stevia, its turbulent history, a ‘how to’ on growing the sweet leaf, a section for diabetics, and much more, I’ll refer you to sugarfreestevia.net, which has all the info you will ever need on this natural sweetener, as well as a whole bunch of yummy stevia recipes.
If you have any personal experience with stevia already, please do share! Oh and before I forget… Have fun experimenting!
I'd like to thank Jo once again for taking his valuable time to write this guest post, and I hope you all find it as informative as I have.
Combine sweet and healthy with stevia! Stevia rebaudiana is a plant that was discovered by a Swiss botanist on the hillsides of Paraguay at the end of the 19th century. This man, by the name of Moses Bertoni, noticed that the indigenous tribes were using the herb to sweeten their tea, called maté. He decided to investigate the plant further, which resulted in a number of remarkable discoveries: aside from the fact that the plant’s leaves were many times sweeter than plain old sugar, they also appeared to be calorie free and were used by the native population as a treatment for diabetes, small wounds and other ailments. The ‘sweet leaf’ – as it is commonly called – has zero calories, a glycemic index of zero and is heat stable up to 392°F, which makes it ideal for cooking. It does not ferment and has a very long shelf life (up to five years for high quality stevia powder!). Caught your eye, didn’t I? Today, stevia is commercially available in different formats: as a white powder, but also as a liquid and as tablets. Stevia powder (called ‘stevioside’ after its main glycoside) is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose, which means that in a recipe that calls for a cup of sugar, just a teaspoon of stevia will suffice as a replacement! So why did this miracle sweetener remain lurking in the shadows for so long, away from the broad public? The culprit is the FDA that – under tremendous pressure from the sugar lobby - used all its influencial powers to keep stevia off the market for as long as possible. Understandibly so, if you think about it… Money makes the world go ‘round, and what self-respecting sugar producing company would want to see a product appear on the market that not only is much sweeter than the product they’re selling, but also boasts a whole array of health benefits? Luckily, stevia seems to have had its share of misfortune. In the past few years, a shift occurred: the number of sugar free products is on the rise, and because aspartame – deservedly - suffers from a bad reputation and is associated more and more with several health issues, Coca Cola and Pepsi have finally convinced the FDA that stevia deserves a spot on the shelves. The all natural stevia sweetener has been fully approved in both the USA and Europe recently. Although in America the big breakthrough still has to take place, brands like Truvia and PureVia are gradually gaining ground. What about Europe? Well, French stores already offer a few products containing stevia, and other European countries are working hard to finish their first stevia products as you’re reading this. For more information on stevia, its turbulent history, a ‘how to’ on growing the sweet leaf, a section for diabetics, and much more, I’ll refer you to sugarfreestevia.net, which has all the info you will ever need on this natural sweetener, as well as a whole bunch of yummy stevia recipes .
If you have any personal experience with stevia already, please do share! Oh and before I forget… Have fun experimenting!
I'd like to thank Jo once again for taking his valuable time to write this guest post, and I hope you all find it as informative as I have.
'Til next time.