Stevia: The Zero Calorie Sweetner Safe For Diabetics

Stevia is a plant that's widely available, unpatentable and most of all cheap. That's what terrifies the big money players in the sweetener industry and they're doing everything possible to prevent Stevia from being sold on the shelves and in food as a sweetener.

The fight begins

In the 1980s several big U.S. companies, including Celestial Seasonings, began using Stevia to enhance the flavor of its teas. Sensing a growing popularity of the herb, The FDA immediately placed a nationwide ban on Stevia, staging embargoes, search and seizures and completely preventing it from entering the country. Stevia was labeled an "illegal substance" and treated as if it were a narcotic or drug and not an all-natural herbal plant.

So, while Stevia was seeing an increased popularity throughout Asia and Europe, the United States wouldn't see Stevia again until 1994 when the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act paved the way for Stevia to reenter the US labeled as a food supplement. However, the FDA still won't allow any labeling of it as a sweetener or allow any products to be sold using Stevia as a sweetener.

Stevia finds a home in the U.S.

While Stevia won't be found in the sugar and sweetener isle in grocery stores or even as a sweetener ingredient, you will find it widely available in health and nutrition stores as well as online. Stevia can easily be substituted for sugar in recipes and there are hundreds of websites with information and recipes. Stevia comes in a variety of forms, each with a slightly different sweetness and taste. Stevia can be purchased as a live plant, dried leaves, powdered or as a liquid extract. For many, the liquid, which comes in a bottle with dropper is the easiest to use, as it just takes a few drops to sweeten an entire recipe.

In Japan, Stevia is widely used in commercial foods and beverages - everything from soy sauce to ice cream. More and more Americans are learning about the natural benefits of Stevia and demanding answers from the FDA as to why it hasn't been approved as a sweetener. The FDA's decades-old answer that there is not enough information available on its safety is becoming obsolete as more countries safely continue its use for years and years. Scientists, researchers and independent studies are all repeatedly saying the same thing: Stevia is safe. Not only is Stevia safe, it's safer than sugar, Aspartame, Splenda or any other sugar substitute.

Cooking with stevia can be tricky at first because it's so much sweeter then sugar that it takes some experimenting to get the right amount in your recipes.

Here's some common sugar to stevia conversions to help you get in the ballpark with your cooking:

1 tablespoon sugar = 1/4 teaspoon stevia powder or 6 to 9 drops of stevia extract

1 cup of sugar = 1 teaspoon stevia powder or 1 teaspoon of stevia extract

One helpful tip is to start using stevia in your drinks such as coffee, tea, and lemonade until you get a feel for how stevia sweetens your food before moving on to baked goods.