Stevia is a plant that is native to South America. It is probably best known as a source of natural sweeteners. In fact, native people in South America have used stevia as a sweetener for hundreds of years. But the leaves are also used to make medicine. Stevia is used as a weight loss aid; for treating diabetes, high blood pressure and heartburn; for lowering uric acid levels; for preventing pregnancy; and for increasing the strength of the muscle contractions that pump blood from the heart. In foods, stevia is used as a non-caloric sweetener and flavor enhancer. Stevia was originally available as a "dietary supplement" in the U.S. It wasn’t allowed as a “food additive” until 2008. That’s when the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status to rebaudioside A, one of the chemicals in stevia that makes it sweet. Stevia is also available as a sweetener in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Russia, Israel, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Columbia, Brazil, and Argentina.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 23:25:10 +0000
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