Stevia?

[sslider66]

Does anyone use Stevia as a sweetener? A friend of mine has liver problems and can't use artificial sweeteners. Also, from what I've read it doesn't have any carbs, so it might be ok for my husband who has diabetes.

I appreciate any input.

[daBaroness]

My dad and stepmom use it exclusively and love it. I don't know much about it but it's a lot better than artificial sweetners. Doris is kind of a health and natural food freak - and I know they've used stevia for a long time. Just do a google on it and find out about carbs and the like.

[Ysobelle]

I use it. I'll say this for it: a little goes a loooong way. I'm not sure how much I like it, and have taken to simply using honey in my tea, which is where I mostly used sugar to begin with. But on the whole, stevia is good stuff. If you don't like it, try agave nectar. Thus saith my nutritionist.

[Adriana Rose]

Stevia is super sweet! just a leedle goes a loooong way! Like Yosobelle said.

[Foxglove2660]

a note: stuff gets bitter if you use too much stevia. Overall I love stevia. I like to use stevia leaves in tea, just steep it along with the rest of the herbs. It does not chemically react the same as sugar - things like meringue cookies would not work with just stevia. I loathe the artificial sweeteners. All of them trigger migraines in my poor head.

[Thistle]

According to the nutritionist author of the Fat Flush Plan, Ann Louis Gittleman, Stevia Plus is the only non-sugar sweetener that does not trigger an insulin release like sugar does. Even though aspartame (Nutra Sweet and Equal) contains no sugar, it not only triggers an insulin release, it also inhibits serotonins; one reason why, among other reasons, people drinking diet soda still have trouble losing weight. And though sucralose (Splenda) is derived from sugar, what prevents it from behaving like sugar is a complex chlorine molecule that replaces part of to the sugar molecule; sadly chlorine is a xeno-estrogen that can lead to weight gain and hormonal problems (though studies have not been done specifically for Splenda in that regard, and it appears the chlorine does not separate from the molecule as once believed). Saccharin has its own issues.
So, though expensive, if you're using an artificial sweetener to help lose weight, Stevia seems to be the best choice. Splenda is still up in the air.

Good wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_substitute that covers the basics.

[Lady Autumne]

Thanks for the info on stevia - I'd tried it before and I guess was using too much because as Foxglove2660 said, my tea was bitter.
Thanks to all for all the good information!

[Thistle]

Just bought 4 small stevia plants the other day. Haven't tried them yet, but the instructions say just dipping a leaf in my tea should work. But some plants are sweater than others, and they say they're even sweater in the fall, and even sweater if you dry the leaves first and crush them with a mortar and pestle. Seems like a lot of work, and I want my tea sweet NOW!