Stevia is simply a South American herb and has been finally stated by the FDA to be “general” recognized as safe. We can expect to see it in a lot more health food stores and available for more cooking uses, finally.
Stevia will not only help us gluten-free cooks ( celiac and gluten sensitive) but it will help those with any troubles with their glucose. It does not raise glucose levels and seems to lower blood pressure. Not only that but it does not promote tooth decay and has been shown to inhibit the growth of bacteria that like to attack our teeth.
Stevia is 100 times sweeter than sucrose (our table sugar) so you have to play with it in the kitchen. A good rule of thumb is this: 1tsp. of liquid stevia extract or 1-1-1/2 tsp. powdered for each FULL cup of sugar. It takes some experimenting but once you get accustomed to it, it will open up the door for many more delicious meals, especially yummy deserts.
Share some of your recipes using stevia with me!
Tina Turbin
Tags: Gluten-Free Products, Gluten-Free Stevia
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Some people that are watching their gluten intake also have to (or choose to) watch their sugar intake. With the exception of sodium saccharin tablets and liquids, all artificial sweeteners have sugar in them (as does iodized salt, since that is how the iodine sticks to the salt). The supposed cancer risk is apparently not there after all, according to the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners).
No one says that any of these sweeteners is good for us (they all impact brain chemistry), but I was startled to find out that these sugar replacements all have sugar in them.