Stevia is a kind of plant which is found in South American region. Stevia leaves are very sweet and are used as sweetener in several countries. Tribes, found in the forests of Paraguay and Brazil are using the plant leaves for the centuries as sweetener and also for medicinal purposes. Stevia is more than three hundred times sweeter than the sugar and interesting fact is that it is free of calories. In the decade of eighties, some studies done on Stevia revealed that Stevia is not good for human health and can cause several diseases including lever problem and cancer. After such reports, it was banned in almost all the European countries and also in America. In this paper, we would look at several aspects of this plant and see how it benefits or can cause harm to human health.
Stevia is used and approved by several countries including countries like Japan, Israel, Brazil and china, especially Japan is one of the biggest users of Stevia with a consumption of almost forty percent of world’s total production of Stevia leaves. The United States of America has also started using the purified form of Stevia after the year 2008 when food and drug administration gave its approval to use the plant as sweetener. After the approval by FDA, Stevia is being used at a bigger level in America and it is being used in the soft drinks, food and also as sweetener in the coffee.
A number of researches are going on and new facts and benefits of Stevia are coming up. Doctors and health experts have found Stevia good in treating high blood pressure and diabetes. According to the research reports, Stevia is a very good antioxidant and it benefits the body in detoxifying. There are people who say that banning the Stevia and spreading rumors are a part of a well thought strategy of some companies. Native of South American forests are using this natural herb since centuries and have faced neither a single harm nor any example of any toxic incident have been reported.
A number of tests are done on Stevia but no test shows that Stevia is harmful and it can cause bad effects on the human beings. Companies have started using Stevia for their products and people are happily consuming their products without any harm. People are using Stevia for several reasons and one of the most import and effective reason is that it is natural and thus there are remote chances of it having any kind of toxic material with it.
In Japan, people are relying on Stevia more than any other sweetener product and a number of researches have been done to probe the positive and negative results of Stevia. Positive results are found but there are not negative results found and people are happy with it. The research is still going on but the use and consumption is also not stable, it is also growing day by day.
The Stevia using countries like Japan, china, Israel and Brazil have found the Stevia useful and healthy and this is why people in these countries are using Stevia frequently and no any incident of any harm or injury have been reported. People are in fact, preferring Stevia over other products because it is natural and not costly than the other available products in the market.
Now the question arises that is it safe to using Stevia or should a person wait for more refined results. There are many people who still think that using Stevia may be injurious and it has several negative effects. The rationale behind their argument is that many countries have banned the plant and still it is not being used as the main sweetener irrespective of the fact that it is natural and cheaper.
The answer of such queries is that if there is not a single instance where any person has been suffered due to the negative substance of Stevia then what is the harm in using Stevia. The natural plant has been tested in the laboratories by a number of times by the scientists but there is not a single incident where the report is negative ultimately it seems that some people have spread rumors about the plant and they do not want it to come into the homes of consumers. It has been tested by a number of people. People in Countries like Japan, Israel, china, Brazil are using the plant as sweetener in their homes without harm or any kind of injury then there is no harm or negative effect of Stevia and one should use the plant as sweetener and get the benefit of this amazing plant. Stevia is a good option for the people who prefer natural things over artificial things.
Works Cited
Elkins, Rita. Stevia: Nature's Sweetner. Pleasant Grove: Woodland Publishing, Inc., 1997.
Kinghorn, A. Douglas. Stevia: the genus Stevia. Oxford: Taylor & Francis, 2002.
May, James A. Miracle of Stevia: Discover the Healing Power of Nature's Herbal Sweetener. New York: Kensington Pub Corp, 2003.
Ray Sahelian and Donna Gates. The stevia cookbook. New York: Avery, 1999.
Richard, David. Stevia Rebaudiana : nature's sweet secret. Ridgefield: Vital Health Pub., 1999.
