[Dairy Fairy]

I just ordered a bottle of stevia extract in the hopes of giving up aspartame and splenda. I've been meaning to for a while, but one of the posts here on 3fc really spurred me to order the stevia. Anyway, I want to know what it is like and how I can use it. I am assuming it is just like a drop for a cup for tea or coffee, right? It said 1 tsp= 1 cup of sugar. Thanks!

[pumpingiron]

I have tried it. It doesn't taste exactly like sugar....but if you're already on Splenda, then it may not bother you.
I only use it occasionally, I still think a little sugar is OK!

[nelie]

I've used stevia before after finding it in the store. It is expensive but I like it. Natural stevia is very very sweet and they use fiber to cut it down to a sugar like sweetness. I believe if you are getting the powdered form then use it as you would use sugar. If you are getting the liquid form, then I'd be careful about how much you use.

[Valerie Joy]

I use stevia in my tea and I love it. I have the powdered from NOW and it is not cut down. You only need a pinch to sweeten your tea!

[Jynical]

Another Stevia fan...yes...love it. And I agree...just a pinch.

[sarahyu]

I got a bottle from Trader Joes, and didn't really like it. It tasted bitter to me. Maybe I was using too much, but I only used a pinch because I've heard that it was so much sweeter then other sweeteners.
Sarah

[Ready2ShedLBS]

Im a Raw Sugar girl myself. But I have tried Stevia and its not that bad. It is VERY VERY sweet. Supposedly its good for your teeth too.

I would stick with Stevia if your only other options are aspartame or Splenda. Stick with the naturals, not something grown in a lab. The reason I dont still use Stevia is because its not something I would do long term, so raw sugar is a better option for me. Plus I only use it in my coffee.

[Dairy Fairy]

I actually don't really enjoy sugar in beverages anymore...it makes stuff taste heavier or sticker. I hope that makes sense, but I have lived with people who have diabetes all my life and it's just not "weird tasting" to me to have the blue stuff or splenda. It's more normal.

Anybody have stevia during pregnancy? I'm not pregnant, but hoping to be in the future. I only plan on drinking it in a cup or so of coffee and maybe a couple of glasses of iced tea. I definitely don't want to do any of the manufactured artificial sweeteners then.

It's really odd that stevia is treated like marijuana or something by the F.D.A just because "not enough is known" yet the stuff we do know about the artificial stuff is pretty scary. I guess the stevia lobby isn't big in Washington yet....

[Suzanne 3FC]

I have been considering trying Stevia, but have mixed feelings about some of the health concerns.

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1677.html

The most significant issue is that a large intake of stevia may cause infertility. Other concerns include its cancer-causing potential and interference with the processing of carbohydrates. The U.S., Canada, EU, and a United Nations expert panel all came to the same conclusion: there isn't enough information to prove the safety of stevia. And if approved, there would be no way to limit the intake for each person. If stevia were permitted in foods and beverages, takers may over-indulge.

[Dairy Fairy]

The cancer and carb-processing portions of that are concerning, but hasn't it been proven that what we are currently using in the U.S. as artificial sweeteners definitely do those two things? Ya just can't win...if obesity doesn't kill you, sweeteners might

[Ready2ShedLBS]

lol go with sugar in the raw its in its natural state. its brown because its not refined the molasses is still in it. tastes better than white refined sugar as well. Ive seen no reports of it causing cancer. who knows everything causes cancer these days.

[Suzanne 3FC]

I agree, sugar should be fine! It all depends on how much you consume. The World Health Organization, in response to the global problem of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, recommends that we limit sugar to 10% of our daily calories per day. This is in regards to added sugars (any type of added sugar whether it's the white stuff or honey or whatever) and is not regarding the sugar that occurs naturally in our foods such as fruits and dairy. After their recommendation was released, the soft drink industry complained and wanted it changed to 25%

[Dairy Fairy]

I'm from the south... That isn't even one glass of sweet tea!!! A life of water and milk... Too depressing!

[Amarantha2]

I personally think added sugars in any form, including turbinado (raw sugar), is the same thing as adding poison to my food. I actually prefer liquid saccharin and Ace-K, two "artificial" sweeteners that do not affect my blood sugar. Powdered forms of noncaloric sweeteners, including stevia, usually contain dextrose (sugar) or maltodextrin (a high glycemic ingredient that can cause insulin spikes in many people).

Small amounts of liquid stevia, per se, don't seem to me to pose a health risk that would outweigh what added sugar does to my body, but I don't really like stevia. I've tried, but it just tastes like tea leaves to me. The health food store does sell liquid stevia "extracts" with interesting flavors like butterscotch that I might try sometime, but mostly I think I'll just stick with the natural sugar that is present in food ... like milk, fruit and vegetables.

[Lyndyn]

I'm a stevia convert. It is used a lot in other countries with no ill effects. Here is a site with info on studies that have been done:
http://www.stevia.net/safety.htm

It is better to start out with less than you think that you need and then add more if it isn't sweet enough. I get it in the little pre-measured packets and use about half a packet in a cup of coffee to equal a scant tea spoon of sugar.

Honestly, at the dose I'm using, I really don't notice any difference between it and sugar in taste.

I avoid Splenda when I can. I prefer to use Stevia instead. Stevia has been used for a long time in other countries (it is derived from an herb), but hasn't been approved over here yet as a substitute sweetener. You can buy it in healthfood stores and some pharmacies as a "nutritional supplement", though. It comes in several different forms - dried leaves, liquid extract, powder extract and powder extract cut with other ingredients and packaged into little single serving size packets (like they do for other sub. sweeteners.)

I find that I only use 1/2 packet per cup of coffee and that (to my taste) equals the 1 teaspoon of sugar that I was using in my coffee.

The only trouble with using stevia is in some recipes that require the bulk of sugar or a sugar sub. like Splenda. I use stevia in all other instances, though.

The trick is to start out with less and add more - it packs a sweet wallop! If you use too much, you may get a licorishy aftertaste or bitterness. It is pricey (though splenda is, too) but you will be amazed at how little stevia you have to use.

You can also grow the herb in your garden - though it doesn't over winter well in zone 5 where I live - so I treat it as an annual. You can brew the leaves with tea and it tastes great.

I switched because I wanted something a little less chemistry lab that had a track record of safety.

It is not approved by the FDA here, but it is used extensively in Japan and Europe and has been for decades.

I believe that the Curves brand protein shakes are sweetened with stevia. Uh, I mean supplemented with stevia, (in case the FDA gods are watching.)

PS: quite a lot of controversy surrounds the whole stevia FDA issue - some folks suspect that Big Business doesn't want stevia to be approved as it would cut into the profits of other sweeteners...you can find more info on the internet if you are interested in more info.