Stevia

What is Stevia?

Stevia is the name given to a green leafy herbal plant. The Stevia Herb is native to South and Mexico and Central America but is now grown worldwide. Stevia herb has been used for centuries as a natural sweetener with the added health benefits of regulating blood sugars, increasing energy and preventing tooth decay. The leaves of the stevia herb have around 40 times the sweetness of table sugar. Stevia leaves can be eaten fresh or the leaves harvested and dried for future use.The stevia Herb Plants are a perennial in warmer climates but will not survive frost. Unlike several other herb plants harvests, stevia should be harvested in the fall as the shorter days and cooler temperatures will intensify the sweetness in the leaves.It is always recommended before ingesting any kind of medication or Healing Herbs that you seek the advice of your personal physician. An allergic reaction to may develop – or the healing herb may interfere or negate the effects of prescription drugs.

You may as well buy whole leaves  of this dried herb plants and grind them at home, even though it’s recommended you don’t use homegrown stevia for baking or cooking because of the chemical reactions that can happen. Stevia can as well be used when baking muffins, brownies and cakes and can be found at grocery stores in packets as a dry powder, as a liquid in a base of distilled water and in a liquid in a base of alcohol. The dry powder form and distilled water form are the best to use when baking. Stevia in the alcohol form is great to use as an emergency help when you eat a carbohydrate food high on the glycemic index scale, or too many carbohydrates in a meal. Stevia can as well be used against infections. It has been shown in studies to be antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. Liquid stevia added to water and used as a mouth wash has been shown to help prevent dental cavities. Stevia Herb Plants can as well be used to treat acne and speed healing of skin problems and injuries.

Benefits of Stevia Herbs

The health benefits of Stevia herbs include are:

• Stevia leaves can help control appetite and other cravings, for example for alcohol and tobacco.
• It can be used topically to help heal minor injuries.
• The huge benefits in the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, heartburn, indigestion, influenza, chronic fatigue syndrome, obesity, colds, bacterial infections and skin conditions, throat infections, amongst others.
• Stevia, unlike sugar, helps in increasing bone mineral density and treat osteoporosis.
• Stevia contains numerous sterols and antioxidant compounds including kaempferol.
• Stevia can help keep your blood sugar levels in check.
• It’s as well why stevia is very popular for low-carb diets like Paleo or the Keto Diet.
• This can as well help in controlling excess sugar content in children’s diet.
• Stevia has been found to lessen bacterial formation in the mouth, making it a popular additive for toothpastes and mouthwashes.
• Stevia is beneficial against skin disorders for instance eczema and dermatitis.
• Stevia contains numerous, natural vitamins and minerals that are selectively absent in the artificial sweeteners.
• It as well prevents cavities and gingivitis, which sucrose positively doesn’t do.
• It helps fend off obesity as well as numerous health problems connected with obesity, like diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
• It prevents the spread of bacteria, and in these cases, acts like a steroid.
• It decreases certain stress pathways in the body that contribute to cancer growth.
• Using stevia instead of white sugar can be very useful to diabetics who need to avoid conventional sugar as much as possible on a diabetic Diet Plan.
• It can be effective in lowering blood pressure in hypertensive patients.
• It reduces risk of heart attack and lessens your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack.
• Stevia can help the immune system by helping produce white blood cells.
• It as well stops decay and gingivitis, which is certainly not done by sucrose.
• It can help people build stronger bones and lessen the chances of osteoporosis.
• Stevia may help the immune system by helping produce white blood cells.

By : Natural Health News