Stevia Leaf (Stevia rebaudiana)

Description

tevia leaf is obtained from Stevia rebaudiana, a South American evergreen shrub also known as Sugar Leaf and Sweet Leaf.

For thousands of years, the indigenous peoples of Paraguay and Brazil have used the leaf of this plant as a natural sweetener for various beverages such as chimarr?o, an infusion commonly called yerba mate. Because stevia leaf is virtually free of calories and carbohydrates, it is used as an alternative to cane sugar.

Stevia is an herb cultivated from the leaves of a South American evergreen shrub that was first ?discovered? in Paraguay by 16th century Spanish explorers. There are more than 100 species of stevia distributed throughout the world, but only the South American species used for thousands of years in Paraguay and Brazil contain stevioside, a glycoside that is up to 300 times sweeter than cane sugar. Although the herb started slowly in the U.S., it is now found in many soft drinks, baked goods and other processed foods. Aside from the fact that a little goes a very long way, stevia does not increase blood sugar levels. It is also an alternative to aspartame and other no-calorie, artificial sweeteners.