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Stevia, a sweet herb from South America, has been proven to be a safe sugar substitute. Stevia is 330 times sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way. Claiming inadequate safety research, the FDA had long refused the herb from being included on the “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) list. Up until last year, all forms of stevia could only be sold as dietary supplements. Once the parent companies of both Pepsi and Coca-Cola discovered how to manipulate and patent stevia, however, it suddenly became safe to use as a sweetener and is now sold on grocery store shelves in packets similar to the artificial sweeteners. The FDA reluctantly added the natural stevia extract to the GRAS list as well. |
