Health Benefits of Stevia Plant

Stevia is a plant which is native to S.America. It is most probably the best known source of natural sweeteners. In fact, people in South America have used Stevia as a sweetener for several years. But, the leaves are even used to prepare medicine.
Stevia is useful as a weight loss supplement; for treatment of diabetes, for lowering uric acid levels; high blood pressure and heartburn; for increasing the strength of the muscle contractions that pump blood from the heart and for preventing pregnancy.

Serving Ideas For Stevia

Farm fresh Stevia plant leaves could be used directly in soft drinks as a sweetener. However, most often than not it’s refined Stevioside / dried powder/ Stevia syrup are regularly used in cooking.

Remember to use dried Stevia as a sugar in small quantities, as it is almost thirty times sweeter than cane sugar itself. Roughly, 1 teaspoonful of dried leaves powder is equivalent to 1 cup of sugar; hence, use it in very small quantities adjusting the total amount to achieve your desired levels of sweetness.

Advantages of Stevia

For those of you watching your caloric or carbohydrate intake, Stevia is both calorie-free and carb free. This makes it quite possible for dieters to satisfy their sweet cravings without wrecking their consumption plans.

Lowers Blood Pressure - Stevia has been proved, in many studies, to lower blood pressure. This even makes it an ideal sweetener for patients with high blood pressure.

Lowers Blood Sugar - For patients with high blood sugar levels, Stevia has the benefit of lowering their sugar levels. This makes it possibly acceptable substitute for those with insulin deficiency.

Side-effect Of Stevia

Stevia plant and its processed products are not being consumed in the European countries because of their suspected mutagenic effects. In the U.S, Stevia leaf and its extract is limited to legally use as a dietary supplement only. However, Rebaudioside-A, a processed Stevia glycoside is safely consumed in several countries.
Stevia is used in many advanced countries such as Japan and for ages by the Guarani tribes of South America and found to be quite harmless for human use even during pregnancy.

Stevia and its chemicals, including Rebaudioside A and Stevioside, are generally safe when consumed as a plain sweetener in edible foods. Rebaudioside A has mostly been recognized as safe (GRAS) usage status in USA as a sweetener for all foods.