Stevia?

[Zennzay]

does anyone know anything about Stevia? Natalia Rose suggests it a lot...she actually told me personally over email that if I wanted a light dressing for my salads, I should use Stevia and lemon. But for the lesser raw foodists, she even suggest Splenda - which is very very bad for you in my opinion. So what about Stevia? It's sold in a couple of organic markets I go to, but I am always very reluctant to buy it. It's natural and there are no calories. Currently I use raw agave nectar and raw honey...but Stevia interests me. Anyone know?

[greenbunny]

I put my mother on Stevia because she used to use saccharin all the time (deadly!) I think that it tastes a lot like those fake sugars. I hate the stuff. I don't think that it is raw and is often mixed with things to make it a certain consistency that are definitely not raw.

If your major concern is calories and hence losing weight ... going raw brings you to your ideal weight on your body's timing with health and vitality in a way that is maintainable. Honey, agave, licorice and dates and all other raw natural sweeteners have other life and health enhancing elements that make them good to eat. The healthier you are, the better you look.

I know that stevia is better than a lot of those nasty sweeteners out there, but I have never heard of anything good it does for you other than make things sweet without messing up your blood sugars. Maybe someone knows more. Being 100% live I wouldn't eat it. It makes me feel bad even when not all live. I think that tells me more than anything.

If the person that suggests Stevia also suggests Splenda I wouldn't take anything she suggests seriously. I know for a fact that Splenda is deadly stuff. Some raw folks are more transitional than others and incorporate many things that aren't really raw but better than the norm. That's ok to do, but they should let people know that it isn't raw. For instance - manna bread isn't raw even though many raw foodists eat it. It's a thousand times better than regular bread - but cooking at 200 degrees certainly isn't raw. When not all raw I eat lots of manna and do fine. When I'm all raw it brings me down.

Being all raw is a great way to test if something is really raw or good for you. Being all raw at present, my experience with Stevia would suggest that it isn't raw.

I'm not sure if I cleared things up for you or made them muddier. Hope it helped.

Greenbunny

[RawSandi]

I just finished reading Dr. Mercola's book, "Sweet Deception". The evidence against artificial sweeteners is overwhelming, as you've indicated. After reading it, I also threw away my agave nectar.

Stevia extracts are processed sweeteners, just like Splenda and sucrose, so it's not surprising that it makes you feel bad. The stevia plant itself, however is quite different. I use the leaves like any other herb, dropping a few in a smoothie, or mincing finely to use as a recipe ingredient. Whole Foods carries stevia in the produce section, but I've started to grow my own to eliminate waste (a little bit goes a very long way). I have found that it doesn't cause adverse reactions when used in this way. The taste is sweet, but definitely not like other sweeteners--for some it may take some getting used to, but I found it very pleasant--not at all like the stevia extract powder I tried.

HTH,
Sandi

[greenbunny]

Hey Sandi,

That's very interesting. I didn't know that you could even get the whole plant let alone grow it! I'll look at Whole Foods last time I go. What part of the country do you live in and how hard is it to grow stevia? Is it perennial or annual? What kind of soil etc.?

How do they make agave nectar? Why is it toxic? I can eat a little of it in a raw food recipe, but I can't eat it plain - which is a give-away that it isn't all that it's cracked up to be. My mother and husband who aren't raw put it in raw chocolate powder and eat it. I simply can't. I eat raw chocolate with dates instead. I get some raw food goodies from a great raw food juice bar called Daily Juice here in Austin and sometimes the treats make me sick, but I was wondering if it was the coconut oil. It didn't occur to me that it might be the agave.

But then again, I can't eat raw honey either. I can't figure why that is. I'm sure it doesn't have to do with sugar content because I can drink big glasses of fruit juice and gads of dates with no problem. Is raw honey considered a processed sugar too?

Thanks for info on Stevia!!!

Greenbunny

[RawSandi]

Hi Greenbunny,

I live in Southern CA, Zone 9. I have stevia plants in my backyard garden, but I most often use the plant that I grow indoors in a pot in my kitchen window. I found it as easy to grow as any other herb. I grew all my plants from seed purchased at Seed Savers: http://www.seedsavers.org/prodinfo.asp?number=982 .

As for agave nectar, according to "Sweet Deception" by Dr. Mercola, it is a liquid form of sucrose--chemically no different than refined white sugar. And many sources agree that agave nectar cannot be produced without heating above 118 degrees. Whether heated at high temps or not, agave nectar is obtained only through processing, thus is not a raw food.

As for your sensitivity to honey, it seems like the concentration may be your problem. Dates are concentrated, but the fiber slows down the digestion of the sugars and it enters your bloodstream more slowly. Same with fruit juice--while cellulose fiber is removed by juicing, another fiber, pectin, remains and slows the process, though not to the same degree as cellulose.

Stevia and dates are now my only sweeteners, and I have found that I don't need anything else now that I'm used to that.

Sandi

[greenbunny]

Thanks for the explanation Sandi. Makes perfect sense. I'll have to take my diabetic mother off the agave. Sounds like the last thing she needs.

I'm at the point where the only sweetener I use are raw fruits - and lots of those yummy dates. Your explanation of why raw fruit juices don't bother me anyway was enlightening. One doesn't think about pectin. Adding fresh grown stevia would make my culinary world larger. We have a sky light in our kitchen and plants seem to like it there a lot so I was planning on growing some herbs - so I'll try stevia too. How tall does it get? Can you trim off the tops and allow the bottoms to continue to grow like you can with so many herbs? How long does it take to grow? I'm very excited. I live in Austin Texas so it's a different plant culture and it's very dry here so it might not work in my clay yard, but I could grow a crop in my sun room, dry it in my excalibur, and then powder it in my vitamix to make my own powdered sweetener for Mom. That's a bit of work and will have to be in the future, but seems like a good way to have a sweetener around for the family. What do you think of that idea?

Thanks again RawSandi!

Greenbunny