For years we’ve been told that reducing our food intake and proper exercise will help us lose weight. However, more and more we are seeing diet plans that recommend cutting down on our sugar intake to reduce not only our weight but our chances of developing diabetes symptoms. Diets such as the Hypoglycemia/Low Sugar Diet, the No Flour, No Sugar Diet, and others are forcing us to take a look at our overall sugar consumption.
It has long been accepted that we consume far too much sugar, in our coffee, our soft drinks and certainly in our desserts. Today, we have hundreds of options for low calorie sweeteners, including Stevia.
Stevia is one of the newer ‘sweeteners’ that is known as a sugar substitute that is available today. The extracts of Stevia (which is created from a group of herbs and shrubs) is widely known for having more than three hundred times the sweetness of sugar, making it an attractive alternative for a sweetener for many, especially those who suffer with diabetes.
If you are searching for an alternate sweetener to compliment your diabetes routine, to cook with more natural sweeteners or if you’re diet calls for a reduced or no sugar diet, Stevia could be the answer for you! Unlike aspartame and other non-sugar sweeteners, Stevia has a distinct benefit of not only being calorie and carbohydrate free, but is also natural – it’s not manufactured – it does take some processing but isn’t laced with chemicals.
With the ever growing concern that we’re becoming an overweight society, more and more ‘sugar free’ diets are coming onto the market. You’ll find fat and sugar free diets, gluten and sugar free diets, and there is even evidence that a diet that is low in sugar and carbohydrates will reduce our risks of developing cancer. The American Diabetes Association says that all of us should do a better job of monitoring our sugar intake, leading to a potential drop in blood sugar, to help ensure we do not develop Type 2 Diabetes which has serious other health risks in addition to a potential lifetime of care.
As a society, we are far behind our counterparts – Asian countries including China, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia have been using Stevia for many years. Japan has been using Stevia as an alternate to saccharin and other artificial sweeteners since the early 1970’s and today, consumes more Stevia than any other country in the world.
While the use of Stevia in the United States is limited, it is currently sold only as a supplement – it is currently in the hands of the FDA being placed there by Coca Cola and Cargill – it is anticipated that it could gain approval as a food supplement in both the United States and Canada as well.
For those who are concerned about their sugar intake, Stevia allows us the option of having a sweetener that is all natural rather than one of the more chemical sweeteners that so many of us depend on today.
Taking advantage of Stevia is a sensible way to maintain our weight, enhance our weight loss plan and allows us to better control our sugar intake as is recommended in so many of todays popular diet plans.
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