Hi, I"m trying to cut our sugar, just had a long glucose blood test and don"t have results yet. I just heard about Stevia a sugar substitute, I quess you buy at health food store, does it leave a bitter after taste like sacrine[ can"t spell it} I won"t use Equile as I think it causes headaches for me, Thanks everone Irene

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Answers

Irene, try these web sites, lots of info about stevia on them, I don't personally use it myself, but it seems to be okay health wise, definitely better than sugar or the diet junk, like aspertame (this stuff is not fit for human consumption). I gave it all up and only use honey from time to time. If you don't want to go that route then stevia might be a reasonable alternative.

http://www.mcs.net/~joyce/stevia.html

and

http://www.fastlane.net/~kirkland/stevia/petition/petition.htm

Good luck.

Namaste,

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Nick uses it.He's diabetic. He likes it a lot and has a source off the internet for getting it bulk and good price.Some people think it bitter,but he thinks they are just using too much.You use just a very little. A slight anise taste,but we like anise. Far better than the alternatives, for him; he's tried them.

Trying to talk his mom into using it now....

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

My friend Jim is diabetic and he uses it too. Sharon is right, you just want to use a tiny bit. You should be able to find it at the health food store in jars or little packets. The boneheads at the FDA refuse to put it on the GRAS (generally regarded as safe) list for food additives, so it's illegal to use it as a sweetener in commercially-prepared products like cakes or muffins. I know that you can't use aspartame (Equal) for baking because it breaks down under heat, I don't know if stevia is heat-stable or not.

Stevia sweetener is made from the leaves of the Stevia plant. I've seen it sold as a houseplant in some gardening catalogs.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Irene, I raise stevia, if you would like a couple of plants, I will gladly send you some for the price of postage. Daryll

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Daryll,

I would very much like a couple of plants. My dad is diabetic and I have not found a local source for the plants where we live. I'd happily pay postage and send you some tomato seeds if you like. We are just starting to harvest our toms and I have several heirloom varieties. When do you plant your tomatoes. When we lived in Miami we grew them in the winter. I guess I shouldn't assume you even grow toms! I must confess I'm an addict and can't imagine anyone not growing them! Cheers. Email me personally if you have a couple of plants to spare. No problem if you dont. Kim

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

i am diabetic and since january have pretty much quit sugar or sugar substitutes almost completely. i find that most of the substitutes cause the same cravings for me as do the sugar. i find now that i can use a tsp of sugar occasionally or a small desert occasionally which because its rare in my diet, does not raise my blood sugar. p.s. i have also lost 30 lbs since january.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Hi Kim, I tried to e-mail you about stevia plants, but it came back as undeliverable. If you would like some stevia, e-mail me at my hotmail address.Daryll

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

I had hypoglycimia and found that chromium picolinate regulated my sugar. There is an excellent article on diabetes in the book: "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" by Drs Balch and Balch, sold in all book and healthfood stores.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Hi Irene

Ann and I have been using the stevia for several months, and have adjusted to the switch.

Kim Could Ann and I trade you something for some Tomato seeds. We have many vegie and flower seeds, but only cucumber and Evening Primrose from Seeds of Change. We have Swiss Chard which seems to be non-hybrid. It never dies (hot or cold), and replants from its seed also.

Let us know. We can send you ours now, as ours are ready to plant, if you are interested.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2001

Tonight I made baked rice pudding with stevia extract. I use the white powder. The green tastes too herbal for more delicately flavored items, and the white powder has no discernable aftertaste. I find stevia alone leaves sweets kind of "empty" tasting, so I supplement with a little sugar. How much is a little? My rice pudding recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 cups of milk, 2 eggs, 1-1/4 cups of rice and some other stuff. I used stevia and added one rounded teaspoon of real sugar for a "full" taste. Quite yummy!

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2001