Stevia

Stevia sweetener is naturally sweet and is a calorie-free leafy green herb that is much sweeter than sugar. The stevia plant is related to lettuce, marigold and chicory, has been been used safely for hundreds of years to sweeten foods.

Stevia has also been used for centuries to treat heartburn and other ailments, and has recently been found to potentially treat obesity, high blood pressure, and hypertension. Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, in some cases even enhancing glucose tolerance, making it attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carb-controlled diets. Used as a sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar.

Stevia has shown promise in the treatment of osteoporosis, by research that suggest eggshell breakage can be reduced by 75% by adding a small percentage of stevia leaf powder to chicken feed, and that pigs given 2% stevia leaf powder in their feed experienced a doubling of serum calcium.

Stevia is one of approximately 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family, native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. The species Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet flavored leaves.