Stevia Adds Sweetness, But Do Not Call It A Sweetener

By: Holly J. Mottle

Don't sweeten your coffee, "supplement it!" instructs a mysterious box in the nutritional supplement section of the grocery. Showing a white powder being poured into coffee, the box contains packets of refined Stevia- which swelling ranks of initiates have come to know as a South American herb that is far sweeter than sugar, calorie free, and safe for diabetics.

Call it what you like-but not a sweetener. Stevia is not approved as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration and thus can be marketed only as a dietary supplement. However, as it pops up in a growing number of health conscious restaurants and spas-and this fall in groceries like Safeway-the word is spreading among those who want to avoid sugar but do not trust chemical sweeteners. Stevia has about $10 million in annual sales in the United States.

The herb was used historically by Paraguayan Indians and as a sweetener in Japan since the early 1970s, with no reported ill effects. However, research on Stevia remains inadequate to earn it FDA approval. What studies exist are inconclusive. Very large amounts of Stevia reduced sperm count in rats and interfered with carbohydrate metabolism. However, some studies suggest otherwise. And the real concern is in adding Stevia to the food supply, not in sprinkling a bit in one's tea.

Stevia is powerful. By all accounts, Stevia is an acquired taste. Make no mistake.-it is powerfully sweet, and it has a licorice like aftertaste. "People who are used to using NutraSweet or other artificial sweeteners have no problem switching over to Stevia," says grower Mark Langan of Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Huron, Ohio. In US News' unscientific taste test of dried Stevia leaves and Stevia sweetened muffins, a minority made faces at the sweetness, most gave their approval, and one ate the dried leaves like candy.

Even diehards say that Stevia works best as another sweetening option in your cupboard, like honey or molasses. Dedicated cooks are finding ways to use it outright, and for the rest of us, there are several Stevia cookbooks. Lisa Miller, 39, a homemaker and mother of six in Mesa, Arizona, spent two years experimenting with Stevia and now rarely uses sugar. When baking, she adds applesauce to compensate for the bulk lost when subbing Stevia for sugar. "I have two children with attention deficit disorder, and sugar makes them bounce off the walls," she says. Now, "the sugar's put up so high they don't even know where to find it"