Out with the BAD and in with the GOOD

SUGAR

Out with the BAD and in with the GOOD

Remove the white refined sugar from your diet

Lets talk about Stevia!

Stevia is an all natural, plant-based sweetener, grown in the rain forests of South America and China, as well as other parts of the world. Stevia is a sweet leaf, offering over 200 times the sweetness of sugar. But there’s exciting news. Stevia is now better than ever. Thanks to eight years of cross-pollination and selection, Stevia plants now have a very low Stevioside content and a very high Rebaudioside A (Reb-A) content. Stevioside is the high glycoside in the Stevia plant that imparts a bitter taste. By reducing the amount of stevioside in the plant, researchers have eliminated the bitterness or aftertaste that some consumers experience.

The  New  Stevia  Reb - A  has  the  following  benefits :

• v  *100% Natural, derived from Stevia leaves
• v  *No artificial preservatives, Stevia itself is a safe and natural preservative
• v  *Low gram weight, easy to add to other powders
• v  *Great for hyperactive children
• v  *Helps with avoiding cavities
• v  *Great as a mouth wash or for sore throats
• v  *Special growing cycles remove bitterness associated with some Stevia products
• v  *No refrigeration necessary, totally portable
• v  *200 times the sweetness of sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of Stevia replaces 1 cup sugar
• v  *Helpful for those with blood sugar issues

Stevia leaves have been used for more than two centuries in Latin America as a sweetener and as common dietary component. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal exposed the naturally sweet herb to the world. The magazine disclosed that two of the world's biggest food corporations, Coca-Cola and Cargill, were teaming up to turn stevia into a brand new, calorie-free, low-glycemic index, all-natural, high-intensity sweetener. Not only was it more than 200 times sweeter than sugar, but it had a taste profile like real sugar. Many people can’t even tell the difference between Stevia Reb-A and table sugar other than the way it makes them feel after consuming it.

A closer look into Xylitol

Xylitol is a natural substance found in fibrous vegetables and fruit, as well as in corn cobs and various hardwood trees like birch. It is a natural, intermediate product which regularly occurs in the glucose metabolism of man and other animals, as well as in the metabolism of several plants and micro-organisms. Xylitol is produced naturally in our bodies; in fact, we make up to 15 grams daily during normal metabolism.

Although xylitol tastes and looks exactly like sugar, that is where the similarities end. Xylitol is really sugar's mirror image. While sugar wreaks havoc on the body, xylitol heals and repairs. Xylitol has 40 per cent fewer calories and 75 per cent fewer carbohydrates than sugar and is slowly absorbed and metabolized, resulting in very negligible changes in insulin. About one-third of the xylitol that is consumed is absorbed in the liver. The other two-thirds travels to the intestinal tract where it is broken down by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids.

Xylitol looks, feels and tastes exactly like sugar and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste. It is available in many forms. In its crystalline form, it can replace sugar in cooking, baking or as a sweetener for beverages.

The benefits of xylitol are substantial:

v  Xylitol has 40% less calories than sugar.

v  Xylitol is effective in the prevention of dental caries.

v  It is a natural product found in various foods, especially fruits, even our body produces about 15gr of xylitol per day.

v  It doesn't have any serious side effects and it is not toxic

v  It may play a small but significant role in the prevention and management of diabetes

v  A few studies have shown that it can help increase bone volume and mineral content (Mattila PT et al 2001)

Taking into account all of the above we can conclude that xylitol is a very good alternative to sugar.