Stevia

So what's the deal with Stevia?

My understanding is that stevia is a natural sweetner, just like sugar is a natural sweetener. The differences, (and I only have noticed two so far,) are that Stevia and Sugar come from different plants and Stevia is much more potent. Therefore, you can only use a fraction of stevia for the same amount of sweetness you'd get from sugar.

The Big Deal with stevia is that it cannot be sold in the US unless it is marked "dietary supplement." My take on it is that big business (the huge American mega industry of sugar and sugar substitutes) is afraid of little old stevia because it's better for you (doesn't show up on glycemic index and doesn't show any negative side effects even in Japan where they have been using it extensively for years) so if stevia starts to be promoted as a sweetner instead of a dietary supplement, sugar and sugar substitutes will bomb. But that's just my opinion.

Here's some more information you may want to check out to make up your own mind:

~Stevia.net