Stevia

[Frank Woolf]

The fresh leaves are sweet and are a delight to chew. The leaves could be used to sweeten coffee or tea. That's good for those who are dieting because Stevia is claimed to contain no calories. The leaves can be dried and used in drinks, preserves, breads and diet foods. It is also considered a very good tonic with lots of health benefits.

Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.

With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets. Stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan, and it is now available in Canada as a dietary supplement.

Medicinal use
For centuries, the Guaraní tribes of Paraguay and Brazil used stevia, which they called ka'a he'ê ("sweet herb"), as a sweetener in yerba mate and medicinal teas for treating heartburn and other ailments.

More recent medical research has shown promise in treating obesity and hypertension. Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, even enhancing glucose tolerance; therefore, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets.

Possible treatment of osteoporosis has been suggested by observations that eggshell breakage can be reduced by 75% by adding a small percentage of stevia leaf powder to chicken feed, and that pigs given 2% stevia leaf powder in their feed experienced a doubling of serum calcium.

[Razzman]

I was going to tell you about stevia. I've been using it for around 3 years now. Been growing it in may garden and harvesting the leaves. Still, I find it more convenient to buy the processed stevia and use it in my coffee. On my Penalty Box forum, I have been posting about stevia and it's great benefits. Here's some of the info I posted about...

The Stevia story is an interesting one. It is full of drama and even FDA raids on stores selling the product. The FDA outlawed Stevia when the big sugar industry protested to the FDA about Stevia and then two years later, it relented some by allowing health food stores to sell it as a supliment.

It is typical of our government to outlaw something that is beneficial for everyone. Special interests rule the day and that is the case with Stevia. Japan has really embraced Stevia and over half their soft drinks now use Stevia as the sweetener. IN fact half the sweetener consumptions in Japan uses Stevia. South American countries also use it a lot.

Here's the health benefits of Stevia...

http://reid_j.tripod.com/stevia.htm

[Razzman]

It is so hypocritical of the FDA to support a sugar substitute that actually promotes cancer, but ban a natural sweetner as unhealthy. This must be the Bizarro world as the FDA is more into representing a big sugar subsitute industry than doing what's right for the consumer.

Here's another article about the FDA fight against Stevia...

http://www.naturalnews.com/023728_stevia_DNA_the_FDA.html

Another article (below) shows the FDA's fight FOR aspartame, a proven cancer-causing agent, and AGAINST Stevia, a naturally grown herb that has been used safely for thousands of year. Stevia is now the main sweetner for most countries in their diet soft drinks, instead of aspartame. But in America, the FDA is still banning it as if it were actually aspartame, which is the really bad sugar substitute, not Stevia.

http://www.stevia-plant.com/strongarming.cfm

[Frank Woolf]

I have a couple of plants that are supposed to be stevia but they don't look like the plant in your picture. I need to do some checking.

[Razzman]

I have a couple of plants that are supposed to be stevia but they don't look like the plant in your picture. I need to do some checking.

I sent away for the seeds a couple years ago. Don't have the web site on hand, but when I Googled "Stevia seeds" I see there are a lot more sites that offer them, including Burpee...

http://www.burpee.com/category/herbs/stevia.do

[Frank Woolf]

Thanks I will do the same. So many people here selling plants don't know the correct names or they give the same name to many plants like lemon, lime, calamasi, dalandan, etc are all called lemon!

[Razzman]

Thanks I will do the same. So many people here selling plants don't know the correct names or they give the same name to many plants like lemon, lime, calamasi, dalandan, etc are all called lemon!

I did see last year that they were selling stevia seedlings ready to plant at Home Depot last spring. Found the papers with the instructions for stating the seeds here at work, and I got my seeds from this site:

http://prairieoakpublishing.com

They have a lot of info there about stevia, from ordering seeds to growing the plants to recipes. They've really expanded the site. Check it out as there is a lot of tips about starting the seeds, harvesting and then processing the stevia so that it can be used in food and drink.

[Frank Woolf]

My favourite seed supplier for around 40 years has been Thompson and Morgan in England http://www.tandmworldwide.com/ but I will check out these sites, thanks.

[Razzman]

My favourite seed supplier for around 40 years has been Thompson and Morgan in England http://www.tandmworldwide.com/ but I will check out these sites, thanks.

Thanks for the tip. I usually by my seeds at any stores that carry Burpee seeds. They have been my favorites over the years.

Have been growing the stevia from the seeds I planted about 3 years ago. I keep on cutting some of the stems and sticking them in water or directly into potting soil and some of them take. Like munching on the dried leaves I have at work.

[Frank Woolf]

I guess that any plants here will just keep growing as we have no winter. I double checked the two plants I have and on closer inspection they are like yours except they are lighter color and the leaves are a bit wider. The leaves don't taste sweet though.

I took a trailer load of plants, including the Stevia, to the beach lot yesterday and planted them where I know the soil is very good so hopefully they will become a lot stronger and healthier. They are very weak now, probably from being cramped in pots for much too long.

[Razzman]

I guess that any plants here will just keep growing as we have no winter. I double checked the two plants I have and on closer inspection they are like yours except they are lighter color and the leaves are a bit wider. The leaves don't taste sweet though.

I took a trailer load of plants, including the Stevia, to the beach lot yesterday and planted them where I know the soil is very good so hopefully they will become a lot stronger and healthier. They are very weak now, probably from being cramped in pots for much too long.

If the leaves don't taste sweet, then maybe they aren't real stevia, or are not the best variety. The best bet would be to order some real stevia seeds from one of those links I posted above. They say about 75% of the seeds germinate.

If you live in a climate where there isn't winter, you are lucky. Stevia is actually a tropical plant, from South America. It should grow good where you live once you get them out of the seedling stage.

I live in Western New York, so we have some pretty harsh and long winters.

[Frank Woolf]

I have planted them at the beach house where the soil is much better but will do as you suggest and order seed for a known good one.

[Razzman]

I guess that any plants here will just keep growing as we have no winter. I double checked the two plants I have and on closer inspection they are like yours except they are lighter color and the leaves are a bit wider. The leaves don't taste sweet though.



It's strange that the leaves don't taste sweet. The plants I have had even were sweet when they were young. It has a bitter/sweet taste though. It's so sweet that it has a bitter aftertaste.

I may have to give you the link to the pics I took of my stevia a few years ago.

Where do you live if you don't have winter and are close to the beach? Florida?

[Frank Woolf]

I am in Davao, Southern Philippines.

[pinaylover]

Can Stevia be used for cooking? Has any one ever tried this? What is conversion factor for Stevia vs sugar?

Thanks

Mike

[Frank Woolf]

Definitely Stevia can be used for cooking. It is used as a sweetener in many products.

As you can see from the above posts the sweetness varies a lot so I would think if you have plants you would need to experiment a bit with whatever you have.

[Razzman]

Can Stevia be used for cooking? Has any one ever tried this? What is conversion factor for Stevia vs sugar?

Thanks

Mike

I ordered Stevia seeds about 3 years ago. Have had plants growing from those seeds ever since. I have been cutting off small portions of the stevia and putting them in soil and water and they've taken. When I ordered the seeds, I also ordered a book from the same company that had growing tips and a recipe book. I have that one at work, but found this great page with recipes and a conversion chart for the sugar/stevia conversion. Here's the site...

http://www.steviashop.com/additionaluses.php

[Frank Woolf]

Thanks for the info and the link. My Stevia plants died, probably from being in pots for far too long so I will get new ones soon then I will try some of those recipes for sure.

I am pretty good at avoiding sugar due to diabetes but I would really love some apple pie and other favorites I haven't had for years.

[Razzman]

Thanks for the info and the link. My Stevia plants died, probably from being in pots for far too long so I will get new ones soon then I will try some of those recipes for sure.

I am pretty good at avoiding sugar due to diabetes but I would really love some apple pie and other favorites I haven't had for years.

I have a lot of dried stevia leaves from a few years. Was able to bring in a stevia plant that I had growing in a glass of water outside during the summer months. I still prefer the processed stevia as it has a more sugary taste than the actual leaves I eat.

Not sure if you ever went to cancertutor.com, but they have a lot of great info over there. I found about how vitamin C can be used to treat skin cancer. Last September, I had a couple growths of basal cell removed from my cheek. I just bought some vitamin C crystals that you mix with water and swab on. I've read that in a couple weeks, the cancer will scab over and be cured. I'll let you know as I'm treating a small basal cell growth right now.

[Frank Woolf]

Thanks I would really be very interested in the results.

I know people can be cured with an all fresh veggie and fruit diet and that vitamin C can work wonders.

I had surgery for Colon Cancer 5 years ago. Now I take a lot of vitamin C and eat far more fresh fruit and veggies than before. So far there is no sign of the cancer returning.

My low sugar diet plus the veggie and fruit heavy diet means food can get boring so using stevia could liven things up a lot.

The quality of most veggies for sale here is about what you would expect in the trash bin in most other places so I have started growing as much as possible myself.

[Razzman]

Thanks I would really be very interested in the results.

The quality of most veggies for sale here is about what you would expect in the trash bin in most other places so I have started growing as much as possible myself.

I plan to post one of the blogs I wrote on my new Nature's Healing Powers blog site I created a couple weeks ago. One is about how vitamin C can cure skin cancer. I get a lot of my info from that www.cancertutor.com site and Mike Adams Natural News site. Both are excellent sources of natural and alternative cures and treatments. I subscribe to Mike Adams (The Health Ranger) newsletters and he has some very interesting articles.

I have been into organic gardening since the early 80s and try to keep my garden pesticide free. However, I have been using Miracle Gro the past few years, and I guess that's not too bad. Will have to do more research on the ingredients they have in their product.

Having your own garden is even good where I live, where we only have a 3 month growing season. Here, you have to do "speed gardening" to get a harvest.

[Frank Woolf]

Wow three months is very short. I did a lot of gardening in the UK where you start seeds around April and the first frosts are around September. I thought that was short.

Here in the Philippines it is either hot and wet or hotter and dry which means you can be growing things all year round but there are many plants that can't take the heat.

If you have plants like tomatoes, egg plant, okra, cucumber, squash etc that are OK in the heat then you can be harvesting all year round. With many plants we harvest some seeds and plant them for the next crop which is exactly what I will do with Stevia when I get new plants.

[Razzman]

Wow three months is very short. I did a lot of gardening in the UK where you start seeds around April and the first frosts are around September. I thought that was short.

Here in the Philippines it is either hot and wet or hotter and dry which means you can be growing things all year round but there are many plants that can't take the heat.

If you have plants like tomatoes, egg plant, okra, cucumber, squash etc that are OK in the heat then you can be harvesting all year round. With many plants we harvest some seeds and plant them for the next crop which is exactly what I will do with Stevia when I get new plants.

So are you originally from England? My son was over there last year. He went to Ireland, London, Paris and Rome. He's well traveled, while I'm a stick in the mud!

It is almost time for me to start planting. Getting the planters set and going to have my son turn over the soil in the gardens. I now up the leaves as a mulch in the gardens in the fall. It keeps the weeds down until I'm ready to plant. Also, it is a good natural fertilizer when turned over into the garden.

[Frank Woolf]

It took me a while to get my caretaker to stop sweeping up leaves and burning them. The ground was rock hard from being swept and walked on while the leaves were being wasted. I am often amazed that people who have lived on the land all their lives don't know the value of the things they are throwing away. Perhaps if I never had access to the internet I would be doing the same as them.

[Razzman]

I learned about composting back in the 70s and used to subscribe to Organic Gardening magazine. It's a pretty good magazine and I learned a lot from it.

I used to have a compose pile, but became lazy and just threw the leaves on the garden at the end of the year. Then I just turn them over into the garden when I am almost ready to plant. This spring, they worked great to keep the weeds down. Next year, I plan to put the leaves on all the gardens so it won't be so hard to get them ready the next spring.

[Frank Woolf]

I will use both methods.

The compost is very good when you need it but the leaves on the ground for mulch are also very good. Turning them in is also good for the soil but personally I would put another layer of leaves etc very quickly to stop the weeds. In the tropics the layer of leaves etc would also stop the sun baking the soil and killing all the exposed microorganisms.

My compost heaps are in the center of banana/papaya/dragon fruit circles so its very easy to throw all the leaves from the plants in the circles onto the compost heaps.

[Razzman]

Back in the 70s, I was really exploring the compose bin and was going to make one. However, I made a chicken wire and used that for a year. It was hard always turning it over and making sure it was "cooking" right. That's when I just started putting the leaves on the garden. Until last year, I turned the leaves into the soil in the fall. This year, with the leaves still acting as a weed block, I have decided this is the way to go from now on.