I'm a fan of Dr. Weil and ran across a question someone sent in on the safety of Stevia. I copy/pasted some of his answer and yes Stevia is safe according to Dr. Weil. But he doesn't like the bitter after taste of Stevia and prefers Erythritol. I placed an order for it after googling it, today it arrived and it's really delicious. It tastes just like sugar, no after taste and has similar texture to sugar. I was curious if anyone else has tried it. If you're already a user and cooked/baked with it, please let me know how your foods turned out. Below is part of the articles from Dr. Weil and the company I ordered it from:
Taken from Dr. Weil web site
Personally, I don't care for the taste of stevia, and I don't like the flavor it imparts to foods and beverages, but I consider it safer than aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose and have seen no compelling evidence that stevia poses a threat to human health.
Erthyritol has a clean, sweet taste. I've found that it’s more similar in taste to sugar than other natural sweeteners such as stevia (which can be bitter).
From XylitolNow company I order it from:
Erythritol is a Safe, natural sweetener
• Healthy sugar substitute
• Virtually zero calories
• Great taste, no aftertaste
• 70% as sweet as sugar
• Does not promote tooth decay
• Safe for diabetics
• Mixes well with other ingredients
• Can cook with it (heat stable)
• High digestive tolerance
(NO gas, bloating, or diarea
Erthyritol has a clean, sweet taste. I've found that it’s more similar in taste to sugar than other natural sweeteners such as stevia (which can be bitter).

You can order erithritol as the new ZSweet brand. I got the packets and the bulk for cooking.

The packets just aren't sweet enough for me, it took about 3 packets to be as sweet as 1 packet of Splenda.

The bulk is very good for cooking. It does have a "cool" taste and sweetens much better when mixed with another sweetener.

Can't beat it for the granular texture that's just like real sugar.

I prefer Stevia but it took me awhile to get used to it. Maybe because after abstaining from sugar for a while I found that I can be satisfied with a much lower intensity of sweetness. Initially I liked erythritol better since I could oversweeten things to my heart's content w/o the bitterness. However, if you overdo it you notice there's a certain kind of "sensation" that you get on the tongue with eryth., especially if you use in it smoothies and such. The effect is probably not noticeable in baked goods.

You need much less Stevia than other subs. The bitter taste comes when you use too much. DH loves stevia.

Erythritol can actually cause the same problems as other sugar alcohols - so if you are sensitive to these, erythritol will likely affect you the same way.

I apologize in advance for hijacking this thread. I found some stevia in the bulk food section at my local health food coop this weekend, so I purchased a small bag. It says to use 1/3 teaspoon to equal 1 cup of sugar. I'm kind of at a loss for how to use it. I really only use Splenda in my oatmeal or in smoothies. Can I really just use a few grains of stevia instead of the Tablespoon of splenda?

Zepher...The sensation you get in your mouth from Erythritol, is that common?
Fiberlover...That should be my name, I average over 50 grams of fiber per day. I think that's the reason I'm consistently losing weight. Maybe I was using too much Stevia in my Ice Tea, (bitter) but I didn't like the after taste either.
Wyo Rose...What did you cook/bake with it? Does the food turn out like real sugar. I made some Zucchini Blueberry bread this morning but chickened out in using Erythritol. I used real sugar, I just won't eat any.
Jtammy...that's a good question for someone that uses it, I'd be interested in the answer too!

Quote:
However, if you overdo it you notice there's a certain kind of "sensation" that you get on the tongue with eryth., especially if you use in it smoothies and such

I use liquid stevia. i have two bottles one is vanilla I use that in plain yogurt and smoothies, just a few drops is all I use. The other flavor is Lemon, I bought that for iced tea. I wish that had more of a lemon flavor. I have found if I use too much it has an aftertaste....I would describe it as being similar to black licorice.

I sometimes like stevia and sometimes don't because for me it is hard to regulate. There is a stevia site if you google it and it shows a conversion chart on how to use the different types if stevia. I have root beer, lemon, grape, orange and english toffee stevia. I use six small drops in about 1/2 cup of homemade yogurt. I use about three to four in a cold glass of water and ice for a sf drink. I have more luck baking with Splenda than the stevia. And that might be because I haven't really tried too many things cooked with stevia. Suppose to be good for your teeth.

Bobbolink,
The sensation seems to be common. I've tried 2 different brands (Zero Natural and Zsweet) and saw the same effect with both. I guess it "over-tickles" your sweet taste buds after a certain limit. What I used to do was combine stevia with erythritol -- put in as much stevia as possible w/o bitterness and then top off with erythritol.