Over the last 3 months, and 20 lbs shed, I've become a Stevia disciple. Back in October I mentioned that I like it, and I was trying it under the advice of my primary care physician. Now, I have it tea, coffee, and I recommend it to friends and relatives. It's delicious AND it is good for you. In South America they've been using it to treat type II diabetes for many years.
But beware - there's synthetic imitators, from corporate America. Coke and Cargill announced the availability of Truvia. PepsiCo and Pure Circle announced PureVia. Both are laboratory inventions, not organic, not natural extracts. Even Monsanto, who bought Searle - inventors of Aspartame / Nutrasweet - is working on a patentable Stevia rebaudiana synthetic derivative. Ugh! But, Trader Joe's Stevia is certified organic, and supposedly Sweetleaf is "100% pure".
I'm gonna stick with the natural plant, not the lab mimic. The plant extract has not hurt the Brazilians for centuries, Japanese and Europeans for generations, and health conscious Americans for the last 20 years. The less refined, and more natural, the better - and, I've always been one to root for the little guy, the under-dog (Chicago Cubs, da Bears). My wallet - and my pancreas & liver - are betting on the organic stevia as I feel healthier today than I've been during the terms of the last 3 US Presidents!
[note: a "William Jeff" emailed "Webmaster" (whoever that is) requesting links to "healthynewage" be removed, so the hot links have been modified. The email from "William Jeff" looked very much like spam, so I am not replying to it. Nevertheless, to avoid phishing and snooping, I've modified the hotlines]
9 years ago
We are among the very few that know that Truvia and PureVia actually are not stevia-based. Truvia has 9/10 of 1% Rebiana and masking agent and PureVia has 8/10 of 1% Rebiana. Rebiana is not found in the stevia plant, nor is it found in nature. It is produced by the action of stringent alcohols and chemicals on stevia glycosides. Rebiana is simply the trade name Cargill gave their chemically derived product in 2008. The FDA noted that there are residues of ethanol and methanol in Rebiana. The other 99+% of both Truvia and Purevia are sugars.
ReplyDeleteI use SweetLeaf Stevia, and I would venture to verify that it is probably the most pure stevia product on the market. There are no sugars and no chemicals in the product nor used in processing. SweetLeaf is the only one that uses only pure water during the extraction process, so the sweet taste of the leaf remains, as well as the natural nutrients of the leaf( they also use only the highest quality leaves). Other companies extract their product using ethanol, methanol, solvents, alcohols, enzymes, or a combination of these, which may result in a bad aftertase and removal of the nutrients. Some find the need to add masking agents to cover up the taste, but SweetLeaf has no such masking agent. SweetLeaf SteviaPlus (their powder) is blended only with soluble inulin fiber which feeds the good instestinal bateria, which, in turn, stengthens the immune system. Inulin is also a digestive aid. Any form of SweetLeaf retains stevia's natural 0 calorie, 0 carb, and 0 glycemic index properties--I think the only stevia product that retains all three of these properties.
To be fair and accurate, I just want to carify that SweetLeaf is the only one that uses only pure water during the ENTIRE extraction process.
ReplyDeleteI tried putting truvativ in my coffee and it tasted weird.
ReplyDeleteI still think it's better to recalibrate your palate off the sweet rather than sticking with sweeteners.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Ron you've been feeling Iron deficient? =P
ReplyDeleteI have been attempting to replace "sweet" with "salty" in my operant dietary conditioning... il faut voir. I've got a lifetime of programming to try and reverse.