PROFILE:

Stevia is the Sweetest Substance on Earth! It’s a herb with an abundance of positive effects. Stevia is a natural, non-caloric, sweet-tasting plant used around the world for its pleasant sweet taste, as well as for its increasingly researched potential for inhibiting fat absorption and lowering blood pressure. The whole leaves contain numerous phyto-nutrients and trace minerals and is much sweeter than sugar with out negative effects. This sweet herb of Paraguay, South America was being used for over 1500 years by the native Guarani Indians. Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni produces, in its leaves, just such an alternative with the added advantage that stevia sweetener are natural plant products.

USAGE:

The sweet steviol glycosides have functional and sensory properties superior to those of many other high potency sweeteners. It can sweeten any drink with no calories, no carbohydrates, and no tooth decay and is diabetic safe. Stevia nourishes the pancreas and does not raise blood glucose levels, making it not only safe for diabetics but also beneficial. Since there are no calories or carbohydrates, stevia is an excellent weight loss aid. It does not contain the negative side effects reported with the use of artificial or conventional sweeteners. Add stevia to your diet on a regular basis, it has also been reported that it can help minimize hunger sensations, cravings for sweets or fatty foods, aide in digestion, decrease hypertension without effecting normal blood pressure, stabilize blood glucose levels, shorten recovery time from cold and flu and aide in addictions to tobacco and alcohol. When used in toothpaste or mouthwash, cavities and gum disease is reduced due to its antibacterial properties.

HISTORY OF CULTIVATION AND USAGE:

Stevia Rebaudiana Bert is one of 154 members of the genus Stevia and one of only two that produce sweet steviol glycosides. It is native to the valley of the Rio Monday in highlands of Paraguay where it grows in sandy soils near streams. Stevia was first brought to the attention of Europeans in 1887 when Mr. M.S. Bertoni learned of its unique properties from the Paraguayan Indians and Mestizos. Various reports indicated that it was long known to the Guarani Indians of the Paraguayan highlands who called it caá-êhê, meaning sweet herb. The leaves were used either to sweeten maté or as a general sweetening agent.

The Guarani Indians of Paraguay call it kaa jheéé and have used it to sweeten their yerba matéétea for centuries. They have also used stevia to sweeten other teas and foods and have used it medicinally as a cardio tonic, for obesity, hypertension, and heartburn, and to help lower uric acid levels

In addition to being a sweetener, stevia is considered (in Brazilian herbal medicine) to be hypoglycemic, hypotensive, diuretic, cardio tonic, contraceptive, and tonic. The leaf is used for diabetes, obesity, dental caries, hypertension, fatigue, depression, sweet cravings, and infections. The leaf is employed in traditional medical systems in Paraguay for the same purposes as in Brazil.

DOCUMENTED PROPERTIES AND ACTIONS:

Antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiyeast, cardio tonic, diuretic, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, tonic, vasodilator.

PLANT CHEMICALS INCLUDE:

Apigenin-4'-o-beta-d-glucoside, austroinulin, avicularin, beta-sitosterol, caffeic acid, campesterol, caryophyllene, centaureidin, chlorogenic acid, chlorophyll, cosmosiin, cynaroside, daucosterol, diterpene glycosides, dulcosides A-B, foeniculin, formic acid, gibberellic acid, gibberellin, indole-3-acetonitrile, isoquercitrin, isosteviol, jhanol, kaempferol-3-o-rhamnoside, kaurene, lupeol, luteolin-7-o-glucoside, polystachoside, quercetin, quercitrin, rebaudioside A-F, scopoletin, sterebin A-H, steviol, steviolbioside, steviolmonoside, stevioside, stevioside a-3, stigma sterol, umbelliferone, xanthophyll

It is rich in terpenes and flavonoids. The constituents responsible for stevia's sweetness were documented in 1931, when eight novel phytochemicals called glycosides were discovered and named. Of these eight glycosides, one called stevioside is considered the sweetest - and has been tested to be approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevioside, comprising 6-18% of the stevia leaf, is also the most prevalent glycoside in the leaf. Stevioside is considered 300 times sweeter than sucrose at 0.4% sucrose concentration, 150 times sweeter at 4% sucrose, and 100 times sweeter at 10% sucrose concentration. Other sweet constituents include steviolbioside, rebausiosides A-E, and dulcoside A.

COOKING AND RECIPEIES

Cooking with stevia does require a learning curve, but since the advantages of reducing sugar in your diet (as well as eliminating your consumption of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners) are so important, it's well worth the effort.

The most important thing to remember is not to use too much, which can result in excessive sweetness and an after taste. Always start with the exact amount called for in a recipe, or even a little less, then taste before you add any more. Stevia is delicious in almost any recipe using fruit or dairy products, but does present a bit of a challenge when used for baking, since it lacks sugar's abilities to add texture, help soften batter, caramelize, enhance the browning process, and feed the fermentation of yeast. On the other hand, one of the excellent facets of stevia is that high temperatures (even up to 180° C) do not affect its sweetening properties.

You may find that mixing stevia with other sweeteners, like honey or maple syrup, is a good way to start using stevia. It will enable you to reduce the amounts of these other sweeteners (as well as calories) while getting used to cooking with this wonderful herb. Also, keep in mind that dried or powdered leaves will not dissolve in liquids, and thus are not suitable for beverages; first a liquid concentrate is to be made. To make the liquid concentrate boil few leaves with four times water at low temperature until the water is reduced to ¾ volumes. Now filter the decoction and use the liquid concentrate accordingly.

LEMONADE (Not recommended for persons with gastric ulcers or likewise)

Yield: 10 to 8 ounce serving’s. Take 2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice, 8 cups water, 2 teaspoons stevia liquid concentrate, ice cubes and lemon slices to garnish.
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir until well blended
2. Pour into ice-filled 10-ounce glasses, garnish with lemon slices, and serve.
From "The Stevia Cookbook," copyright 1999. By Ray Sahelian and Donna Gates

NOTE: If you are a diabetic, it is important to work closely with your health care practitioner when you change your diet. Diabetics can safely use STEVIA usually in small amounts. Please consult your healthcare practitioner.

CAUTIONS / CONTRAINDICATION:

Stevia leaf (at dosages higher than used for sweetening purposes) has been documented to have a hypoglycemic effect. Those with diabetes who use high amounts of stevia should be cautious and monitor their blood sugar levels as medications may need adjusting. Stevia leaf has been documented to have a hypotensive, or blood pressure lowering effect. Persons with low blood pressure and those taking antihypertensive drugs should avoid using large amounts of stevia and monitor their blood pressure levels accordingly for these possible effects. Stevia has been shown to reduce heart rate. Those with bradycardia or those on medications that decrease heart rate should avoid using large amounts of stevia.

Drug Interactions: None reported, however; at dosages higher than normally used for sweetening it: May potentiate antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, antidiabetic and diuretic medications.

IMPORTANT:

The information so provided is intended for education and information purposes only. This information is not intended to be used to diagnose, prescribe or replace proper medical care. The plant / product described herein are not intended to treat, cure, diagnose, mitigate or prevent any disease or ailments. Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. However this product can be used as an adjuvant to the regular course of therapy, after the consultation of your family doctor. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or change in diet pattern.

Please note that Anmol Stevia is recommended for use as Natural sweetener but neither as a medicine nor as a nutritional supplement. Many products made with Stevia are available with us.