Stevia Stands Strong in The Battle of The Sweeteners
Consciously reducing the intake of processed sugar is acknowledged as one of the most popular consumer actions of recent times. Medical restrictions or dieting attempts, whatever the reason may be, it is safe to say that more people are turning to low-calorie sugar substitutes for satisfying their sweet tooth. A common argument in the sugar reduction business is that of artificial versus natural sweeteners. The latter are organic while artificial sweeteners are made from chemical processes. The use of synthetic sweeteners is looked at suspiciously by many, some even believe it to be potentially carcinogenic. However, there is still a lack of substantive scientific evidence to fully approve or refute such claims. Even in the midst of such controversies surrounding sugar substitutes, there is one name that has managed to stand strong and that is stevia. Sourced from the leaves of a native South African herb, stevia is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar but with a negligible calorie-cou