Everybody seeking healthy, low carb foods should embrace liquid stevia sweetener, the completely natural, zero calorie alternative to sugar or artificial sweeteners. A sizable majority of tests and studies regarding stevia have concluded that it may be the one sweetener that is truly useful for people. It has been revealed that liquid stevia can help healthy individuals support normal blood sugar levels, and it is a zero calorie sweetener, which is great news for diabetics.
To begin with, let’s take a look at the origins of stevia and how it has gained notice with the rise in demand for low carb foods and smarter alternatives to sugar and artificial sweeteners. Stevia has been applied for centuries by native South American tribes as a sweetener in their herbal teas and beverages as well as for heartburn symptoms and other medicinal purposes. Stevia is a bush in the Chrysanthemum family, which grows throughout Brazil and Paraguay. The extracts from the plant are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, but have a negligible impact on blood glucose. That is why liquid stevia sweetener is gaining awareness as a healthy sugar substitute that can help people preserve normal blood sugar levels.
Since the early 1970′s, Japan has led the way in growing and using stevia as a replacement for artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame, which are alleged carcinogens. Commercially implemented in Japan since 1977, stevia sweeteners are repeatedly employed in that country for low carb foods and soft drinks. Japan currently accounts for just about 40% of the world’s consumption of stevia sweetener, more than any other nation. It is now widely used throughout the world, particularly in East Asia, South America and Israel. Stevia has been available as a dietary supplement in North America since the mid ’80′s. Because it registers zero on the Glycemix index, many smart consumers worldwide are now using liquid stevia sweetener to enhance the flavor of natural health drinks that do not contain sugar or artificial sweeteners.
In 1984, Dr. Tei-Fu Chen, an American herbalist from Taiwan, created a method to extricate the sweetness from stevia without using chemicals. This technique is acknowledged today as the most advantageous way to make stevia products for consumption. Dr. Chen’s company, Sunrider, victoriously petitioned the FDA in 1995 to lift the import alert on stevia extract. Sunrider was one of the first companies to introduce liquid stevia to the market with the product Sunectar, in 1984, and later a variation known as SunnyDew.
Some consumers and politicians suspect the FDA has so far acted in response to industry demands from sugar and artificial sweetener lobbyists. In fact, Arizona congressman, Jon Kyl, called the government regulations against stevia sweetener “a restraint of trade to benefit the artificial sweetener industry”. Nonetheless, pressure from consumers is beginning to require the FDA to cautiously study its current ban on stevia sweetener as a food additive. In fact, some forms of stevia have more recently been approved as a food additive.
Most importantly, stevia contains zero calories and that is favorable to everybody, especially those that are diabetic or on a low carbohydrate diet. It is assumed that stevia is healthy for the pancreas, which can help uphold normal blood sugar levels. Anybody searching for quality nutrition in low carb foods is sensible to study liquid stevia sweetener and make it a part of a healthy, balanced, low carbohydrate diet.