Brazil's healthful plants, part dois

Following along the lines of our previous post, Brastilo brings you stevia.  You may have heard of this nifty little sweetener and sugar-substitute, but we have the total spoonful.  Get it? - spoonful of sugar - okay, I'll stop.

What is stevia, you ask?  Well, it's not just some corporate hoax to make you buy more sweets.  According to our best friend Wikipedia, stevia is an herb and shrub based in South America.  "...commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, [it's] widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar...having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar."

300 times the sweetness of sugar?  Oh yeah, and it's calorie-free.  Sold yet?

Well now that we've hooked you, where can you find this miracle, all-natural sweetener from the tropical forests of Brazil?  Not very far away, as it turns out.  SweetLeaf sells numerous sweetener products made with stevia, including packets of stevia to use with coffee and tea.  According to the brand, stevia also contains fiber so it's relatively healthy in comparison to other sugar substitutes.  And it's kosher.

Now, I feel like I'm going on and on about the wonders of stevia.

But in case you still don't believe me, SweetLeaf created this brilliant chart comparing stevia to other sweeteners:

And, as if all this low-cal, sweetener stuff wasn't enough, Wikipedia touts the medical benefits of stevia as well for conditions like obesity and high blood pressure.  It's also great for diabetics because of it's low Glycemic Index.


Yet another healthful tip from your friends at Brastilo!

Look out for more to come...we can't help but be proud of our healthful Brazilian herbs and berries.  And don't forget, Brastilo's use of specially cultivated forests helps keep herbs like stevia alive in our naturally occurring tropical forests throughout Brazil.