Stevia Plant Herbal Nutrition Plant

Stevia plant is a small, sweet-leaf herb of South American origin. Is stevia unscratched volitional to the worldwide sugar in carbohydrate-controlled diets? Does it has any healthy phytonutrient profile unscratched unbearable for human consumption as in line with other herbs such as basil, mint, thyme, etc?

Stevia leaves found special place in the culture of native Guarani tribes of Paraguay since centuries. Recent scientific trials firmly establish that this sweet-leaf herb has, in fact, many health benefiting plant-derived phyto-chemical compounds that help tenancy thoroughbred sugar, cholesterol, thoroughbred pressure in wing to its use as natural sweetener.

Stevia is a small perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae family, in the genus Stevia. Its scientific name is Stevia rebaudiana. Some wontedly referred names are honey leaf plant, sweet chrysanthemum, sweetleaf stevia, sugarleaf…etc.

Stevia plant grows 2-4 feet in height with slender, branched stems, and flourishes well all over temperate, and some parts of tropical regions. It is stuff cultivated as commercial yield in Japan, China, Thailand, Paraguay, and Brazil. Today, China is the leading exporter of stevia products. Almost all the parts of the plant tastes sweet; however, the sweet glycosides are typically well-matured in its dark-green serrated leaves. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay have used its leaves to sweeten drinks and foods, and employed in various traditional medicines. In the modern times, it is used in foods in many parts India, East Asian regions, and South American countries

Health benefits of stevia

• Stevia herb parts are very low in calories. Parts by parts, its dry leaves possess roughly 40 times increasingly sweetness than sugar. This sweetness quality in stevia is due to several glycoside compounds including stevioside, steviolbioside, rebaudiosides A-E, and dulcoside.
• Stevioside is a non-carbohydrate glycoside compound. Hence, it lacks the properties that sucrose and other carbohydrates possess. Stevia extracts, like rebaudioside-A, are found to be 300 times sweeter than sugar. Besides, stuff a near-zero calorie supplies ingredient, stevia extracts have several unique properties such as long shelf life, upper temperature tolerance, non-fermentative.
• Furtehr, stevia plant has many sterols and antioxidant compounds like triterpenes, flavonoids, and tannins. Some of flavonoid polyphenolic anti-oxidant phyto-chemicals present in stevia are kaempferol, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, isoquercitrin, isosteviol…etc. Studies found that kaempferol can reduce risk of pancreatic cancer by 23% (American periodical of epidemiology) [1].

Chlorgenic wounding reduces enzymatic conversion of glycogen to glucose in wing to decreasing traction of glucose in the gut. Thus, it helps reduce thoroughbred sugar levels. Lab studies moreover personize a reduction in thoroughbred glucose levels and an increase in the liver concentrations of glucose-6-phosphate, and of glycogen.

• Certain glycosides in stevia pericope have been found to dilate thoroughbred vessels, increase sodium excretion, and urine output. In effect, stevia, at slightly higher doses than as sweetener, can help lower thoroughbred pressure.
• Being a non-carbohydrate sweetener, stevia would not favor the growth of Streptococcus mutans bacteria in the mouth which is attributed to be a causative wage-earner of dental caries and tooth cavities. On the other hand, unrepealable compounds in stevia rather found to inhibit caries causing yes-man in the mouth.
• In addition, stuff a herb, stevia contain many vitals minerals, vitamins that are selectively woolgathering in the strained sweeteners.

Stevia plant uses in traditional medicine

• Stevia pericope has been in use by native South Americans (where it is known as caa-he-éé or kaa jheéé) to reduce weight; to treat wound infections, inflammatory conditions, swelling in the legs and as a tonic to treat depression.

Selection and storage

In its natural habitat, stevia plant leaves are harvested by handpicking as and when required. However, most of stevia that made misogynist in the markets is grown under greenhouse or at least in supervised farming. If you grow your own stevia plant in the backyard, pick up leaves with short stem for fresh use. In general, fresh leaves can be sundried, powdered and stored in an snapped container for future use.

To store, place it in cool, dark, humid self-ruling place like the one you do it for other zestless herbs such as oregano, where it will stay fresh for several months.

Preparation and serving methods

Remember to use zestless stevia sugar in small proportions, as it is nearly 30 times sweeter than cane sugar. Roughly, one teaspoonful of zestless leaves powder is equivalent to one cup of sugar; therefore, use it in small quantities adjusting the value to unzip your desired levels of sweetness.Farm fresh stevia plant leaves can be used directly in drinks as sweetener. However, most often its zestless powder/ refined stevioside/ stevia syrup are stuff used in the cooking. You can moreover make stevia syrup by subtracting a cup of hot water to 1/4 cup of fresh, finely crushed leaves.This mixture is unliable to settle lanugo for 24 hours, filtered, and then refrigerated. You may moreover want to buy stevia sugar rebaudioside-A which is a white, crystalline powder, approximately 300 times sweeter than cane sugar.

Here are some serving tips:

• In Japan and in many East Asian regions, stevia plant parts are stuff used to sweeten tea, sweets, sauce, confectionary, and soft drinks.
• Stevia extracts are remoter refined for use as table sugar. It can then be widow in jam, yoghurt, ice creams, smoothies, deserts, chewing gum, and sorbets and moreover to sweeten stormy medicines.
• In Brazil, it is used as a remedy to treat diabetes, upper thoroughbred pressure, stress conditions…etc.

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