Fw: HERBS: The Many Benefits of Stevia (Available at healingifs.com)

The Many Benefits of Stevia
By James A. May

Stevia is sweeping the natural-food industry. Consumers want to use
it,
stores want to sell it and manufacturers want to include it in their
food
and cosmetic products. Unfortunately, very few people know anything
about
stevia, the various forms in which it comes, how and when to use it
or which
forms offer the maximum benefits.

Prior to 1991, stevia was in widespread use in the United States and
several
other countries. In Japan, it was developed by a complex refining
process
into a sweetener called stevioside -- a white powder 250 to 300 times
sweeter than sugar -- which has a 47 percent market share in the
Japanese
commercial-sweetening industry.

In 1984, stevia importers were informed by the Food and Drug
Administration
(FDA) that they could no longer import concentrated stevia liquid
into the
United States for sale as a sweetener. FDA officials did say that
there was
no problem with importing stevia in tea bags for sale as a tea. The
FDA
imposed an import alert on stevia in May 1991, instructing importation
agents to not allow stevia in any form into the United States. The
agency
later relaxed that order, allowing stevia to be imported and sold
only as a
liquid concentrate for skin care. The FDA issued a revised import
alert
Sept. 18, 1995, informing its agents that stevia could be imported
and sold
if, and only if, it was labeled as a dietary supplement.

Good quality stevia leaves, whether whole, cut and sifted or in tea
bags,
are about 30 times sweeter than sugar and have no calories. The best
quality leaves are imported from South America and Mexico, and are
about 12
percent to 13 percent stevioside. The poorest quality, but most ample
supply, is currently coming from China, where the leaves contain only
5
percent to 6 percent stevioside. A simple taste test quickly
demonstrates
the difference.

A few companies are marketing liquid stevia extracts or concentrates.

The water-based concentrates are superior to the alcohol-based
extracts
because they usually contain a greater concentration of the nutrients
essential to the healing activity. Virtually all research performed
with
whole-leaf stevia has been done with water-based concentrates. Also,
alcohol nullifies much of the plant's healing activity on the skin
and the
scalp. The effectiveness of a water-based concentrate depends on its
purity
and the ratio of leaves to water used in the preparation process.

The more leaves to water, the better and more effective the final
product.

In all of its current forms, stevia has a taste unique to itself.
With all
of its sweetness, there is a bitter taste when the leaf, extract or
stevioside powder is placed in the mouth. This bitter taste
disappears, as
does the slight licorice flavor, when the product is appropriately
diluted
in water or another liquid prior to use. The bitter taste comes from
the
leaf veins. The majority of the veins must be removed during the
cut-and-sift process, or the delightfully sweet taste is overcome by a
strong bitterness.

Whether in dry-leaf or concentrate form, stevia has the wonderful
ability to
help the body regulate blood sugar. Several researchers have
reported that,
in these natural forms, stevia seems to correct both high and low
blood
sugar1. Other scientists have stated that stevia appears to lower
blood
pressure, but does not seem to affect normal blood pressure2. Stevia
leaves
and the water-based concentrate are sold in some South American
countries as
aids for people with diabetes, hypoglycemia and high blood pressure.

Research has demonstrated that stevia liquid concentrate inhibits the
growth
and reproduction of harmful bacteria and other infectious organisms,
including those that are a problem for the food and cosmetic
industries3.
Stevia also inhibits the growth of the bacteria that cause gum
disease and
tooth decay, and in many countries it is used in oral-hygiene
products.
Because such products are not yet allowed by the FDA, many Americans
simply
add several drops of stevia concentrate to a small amount of water,
swish
thoroughly in the mouth and swallow. This ability of stevia to
destroy
infectious organisms may help explain why stevia users report a lower
incidence of colds and flu4.

Less known, but no less remarkable, is the ability of water-based
stevia
concentrate to help heal numerous skin problems, including acne,
seborrhea,
dermatitis and eczema. It also has been observed that placing it in
cuts
and wounds brings more rapid healing without the scarring.

This will cause a severe stinging for several seconds, but is
followed by a
significant lowering of pain5. Physicians have reported using stevia
concentrate to heal psoriasis and burns, while others have reported
that it
is extremely helpful in healing various lip sores.

The stevioside mentioned earlier, although more intensely sweet than
the
leaf or concentrate and certainly safe for diabetics and
hypoglycemics, does
not retain any of the healing properties described above. It is far
too
sweet to be eaten by itself, but it is in high demand by consumers
who want
a noncaloric sweetener.

Virtually all scientific researchers who have studied stevia and
stevioside
have attested to their complete safety. Daniel Mowrey, Ph.D., a
renowned
scientist and director of the American Phytotherapy Research
Laboratory, has
written the following:

"Few substances have ever yielded such consistently negative results
in
toxicity trials as has stevia. Almost every toxicity test imaginable
has
been performed on stevia extract or stevioside at one time or another.

The results are always negative. No abnormalities in weight change,
food
intake, cell or membrane characteristics, enzyme and substrate
utilization
or chromosome characteristics. No cancer, no birth defects, no acute
and no
chronic untoward effects. Nothing6.

Stevia is here. Use it, recommend it, sell it and enjoy it.

- ------------------------

References:

1. Bracht, A.K, Alvarez, M. and Bracht, A., "Effects of Stevia
Rebaudiana
Products on Rat Liver Mitochondria," Biochemical Pharmacology,
Vol.34, 6,
p.873-882, 1985.

2. Boeckh, E.A., "Stevia Rebaudiana (Bert.) Bertoni: Clinical
Evaluation of
its Acute Action on Cardio-Circulatory, Metabolic and Electrolitic
Parameters in 60 Healthy Individuals." Third Brazilian Seminar on
Stevia
Rebaudiana (Bert.), p.22-23, July, 1986.

3. Laboratory analyses performed by BBC Laboratory, Tempe, Ariz., and
ANR
Laboratory, Phoenix, Ariz.

4. Mowrey, D.B., Life With Stevia: How Sweet It Is. P.9

5. Mowrey, op. Cit. P.10.

6. Mowrey, op. Cit. P.12.

James A. May is founder and president of United American Industries
Inc. He
has been using, researching and experimenting with stevia for 14
years, and
he established the method of grading the quality of stevia that is
currently
used in Paraguay.

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