Stevia Extract?

[pips]

My mom bought this stuff a while ago claiming that it is a healthy sugar alternative. I barely considered it just thinking it was another sugar substitute that I am not fond of. Then last weekend, my sister and I were discussing health and diet, I guess, and stevia extract came up somewhere in the conversation. I was dissing it, and my sister was supporting it, claiming that she has done a little research on it and that she sees nothing wrong with it.

Anyways, my boss has gotten me into Herbalife, and I really like the herbal tea concentrate (http://herbalife.com/catalog/catalog.js ... pid=765549) as a substitute for energy drinks that have been giving me the jitters every now and then. So far, I haven't gotten any jitters with the tea and have not felt groggy at all--no need for energy drinks as my boss pointed out, using me as an example toward another employee she was trying to draw in. Though, the tea alone can be a little bitter, and I have been adding the mix to Lipton's green tea or adding some sugary tea mix to the herbal tea. I really don't want so much sugar in my drink, and for some reason today, I gave the stevia extract a shot. It took the bitterness away, and the tea tastes great.

As I have said, I am not very fond of sugar substitutes, but from a little bit of gossip and maybe 20-30 minutes of my own research, I see nothing wrong with the stuff and knowing that some of you usually have informed opinions on various topics, want to know what you guys have to say about it.

[FlexThis]

My wife and I use stevia as a sugar substitute as well. We use a very small amount about the size of a finger nail. It works great and does not stop your metabolism first thing in the morning like sugar can do.

[Frank_Sinatra]

Careful with that herbalife - seems like various agencies have questioned its safety & the integrity of its ingredients, though its good to see they stopped using ephedrine (weight loss is easier on stimulants). I just read over the Wikipedia article on it. Looks like a lot of debates about it have spilled over onto the wiki itself, though.

[Wasabi]

There's been a lot of talk about sugar substitutes having some sort of link to influencing the growth of cancer or free radicals in your body, but the amount is so minute that it shouldn't phase the human body in any sort of way. Most of my diabetic friends have told me that you would literally have to drink a couple of gallons of a sugar substitute a day in order for something to take effect.

I use Stevia Extract too, and I also just spoon the size of a fingernail to sweeten whatever I'm craving. I'm more into drinking bitter teas and black coffee without any additives, though.