Stevia: The plant that's a super sugar alternative – and free from calories and carb

[arista]

http://www.agraria.org/coltivazionierbacee/aromatiche/stevia.jpg
The sugar substitute comes from a plant that has been used as a sweetener for centuries in Paraguay and Brazil


http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/stevia-wonder-the-plant-thats-a-super-sugar-alternative--and-free-from-calories-and-carbs-9179079.html


We need to grow our own in Lab farms

[Kizzy]

I thought it had been found to be a carcinogen, mind you that could have been invented by the sugar companies?
This article is from 93 there are recent ones but can only find very short extracts, I think the findings are if you don't have cancer it's fine... but if you do some strains can accelerate its spread.

Leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni have been popularly used as a sweetener in foods and beverages for diabetics and obese people due to their potent sweetener stevioside. In this report, stevioside and steviol were tested for mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 and for chromosomal effects on cultured human lymphocytes. Stevioside was not mutagenic at concentrations up to 25 mg/plate, but showed direct mutagenicity to only TA98 at 50 mg/plate. However, steviol did not exhibit mutagenicity in either TA98 or TA100, with or without metabolic activation. No significant chromosomal effect of stevioside and steviol was observed in cultured blood lymphocytes from healthy donors (n = 5). This study indicates that stevioside and steviol are neither mutagenic nor clastogenic in vitro at the limited doses; however, in vivo genotoxic tests and long-term effects of stevioside and steviol are yet to be investigated.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1521159/

[thesheriff443]

we need to cut down on sugar, job done!

[Josy]

This will be made illegal soon no doubt

[MTVN]

Isnt this the stuff Lydia puts in her tea on Breaking Bad

[Crimson Dynamo]

Its a wonder!