Stevia is a very special plant in all sense of the word. Right from the moment it was discovered to be useful as a sweetening agent, it had been receiving lots of attention and publicity the world over. The popularity had become so pronounced to the extent that many companies making food products are using only sweeteners gotten from stevia as additive in their food products. If you walk into many of the food stores out there, you will discover that many of them are using only such sweeteners in their products.
Sugar can worsen the health condition of anyone having a health condition like diabetes. Such a person is not supposed to consume excess of sugar. Some medical professionals will even advise complete abstinence from sugar for such a person. Some individuals suffering from obesity too are almost always advised to stay away from sugar and several other carbohydrate rich foods. Sugar contains lots of carbohydrate. When it is consumed, it only adds to the carbohydrate content of the body and increase unwanted fat around the ab.
Such individuals mentioned above may just need to sweeten some of the food and drinks they take. Since sugar is a no go area for them, they just have to look out for an alternative. The alternative they may want to go for is honey, but honey is considerably expensive. Stevia provides sweeteners that are not as expensive as honey. Such individuals can then trust in the solace provided by these stevia-derived sweeteners.
The sweeteners gotten from stevia are very safe. The FDA approves its use as additive to various food products. You can then take it with complete peace of mind. Stevia is being used on commercial basis in different countries around the world today. Japan and China are some of the countries giving so much attention to this product. Canada is growing stevia on a commercial basis. It is also being used as sweetener and additive in various food products. Many of the South American countries are also giving very serious attention to stevia. Some of them even use the plant as medicine for treating some ailments.
Stevia is basically used as sweetener. The main component of the sweetener derived from stevia is rebaudioside A. This component is converted or metabolized to stevioside in the digestive system. This is further broken down by the digestive system into steviol and glucose. The glucose can be absorbed by the tissues and cells of the body. But the steviol is passed out through the faces and urine as a waste product.