Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Stevia, The Perfect Sweetener, Whoops supplement!

We are all aware that sugar is not our friend. Sugar increases insulin levels and may lead to a myriad of diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, inflammation, premature aging and so on.

Artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) and Splenda come with their own set of debilitating and damaging effects. These chemical substitutes are not the answer for good health or for caloric restriction. Aspartame for example has been linked to brain cancer, emotional disorders, seizures, and birth defects. More than 75% of all non-drug complaints to the FDA are about Aspartame. These side effects are but a small sampling of the 100’s of adverse reactions caused by Aspartame.

Animal research has linked Splenda (succulous) with enlarged liver and kidneys, shrunken thymus glands, reduced growth rate and aborted pregnancies. Available only since 1999, the reports of adverse effects on humans is beginning to evolve, but understand that people having adverse reactions may not make the connection.

Reducing or quitting sugar altogether is beneficial to good health. Yet, we all know how very hard this is to do. In our house, we have consciously reduced sugar to almost nothing. We do however, need a bit of sweetener on occasion, for example to sweeten lemon aid, ice tea, coffee, whole grain cereal, oatmeal etc. We therefore recommend choosing Stevia over sugar or artificial sweeteners.

What is Stevia?

To find out more on Stevia click here!

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