Today we are going to talk about a little substance that is 300x sweeter than sugar with none of the drawbacks of Aspartame (in my opinion of course!). In fact, it has been used for over 30 years in Japan, and there have been zero reports of any harmful effects. It is a natural herb that can be grown and is gaining a lot of popularity.
This little herb is called Stevia. If you recall in my previous post, I talked about an alternative that I have been using lately… well this is it.
Now first and foremost, I believe it is actually a sugar ALTERNATE… NOT a substitute (although they are trying to market it as a substitute, so I titled it that way). What do I mean by this?
It means use it sparingly. Anything in excess can be harmful in one way or another, this is just common sense. Remember, our brains LOVE sugar… glucose is our most preferred source of energy so it would be pretty stupid to completely deprive our bodies of it.
It would be like forcing your brand new Porsche to run on regular octane fuel when it really requires premium.
Now just like any new substance (well… new in this part of the world) there are going to be controversies. This “dietary supplement” is currently banned by the European Union and by Singapore and Hong Kong. Why? I am not sure… but I believe this ban will be lifted pretty soon.
Now another little thing to be aware of is that the FDA had banned Stevia since it was discovered and it just recently allowed its use as a dietary supplement, but not a food additive. There have been speculations about this.
One reason, which I personally believe in, is that since Stevia is a plant, all you have to do to use it as a sugar alternate is to put it through an extraction process… there is no possible way to patent it, it’s all natural. This means you can grow the plant in your own back yard and use it.
But Aspartame on the other hand, is a formula that some dude came up with (I’m so technical I know), and therefore it has a patent on it. This means that only companies that BUY rights to the patent can make, produce or sell Aspartame.
Can you say “FORCED MONOPOLY?!”
Yeah… Big Corporations are pretty good at that.
So what’s the bottom line? Well in my humble opinion, seeing absolutely no harmful effects from the Japanese after 30 years of use is a pretty solid reputation wouldn’t you say so? (thanks for being the guinea pig Japan, I totally appreciate it)
I am sure more studies will be done on this plant… and the controversies will continue but in the end you have to draw the line and make a choice. If you keep digging your head will spin.
Personally… I use this stuff in my protein shakes and that’s about it. For those who are really concerned with their sugar intake can definitely use it in their morning coffee or tea. Other than that, you should stick to brown or raw sugar.
—WHERE TO GET IT?—
This substance should be available in Pharmacies or Supplement Stores pretty soon, but until then you can check out the following websites:
http://www.healthyshopping.com/sweetleaf/
http://www.replacesugar.com/buy.htm
And if you buy your protein from the same place I buy (www.trueprotein.com) then right before you order, you have a choice of the type of sweetener that you want to add. Stevia is one of the choices available, pick it!
This stuff mixes really well with my Post-Workout shake that I mention in Flawless Fitness. I spent months trying to come up with an after-workout shake that is more than just protein. Taking protein after you workouts is a great idea… but did you know a lot of it doesn’t even get absorbed?
If you are still using plain old standard protein shakes, you are probably wasting 30% of it in the digestion process, you need to make sure that almost 100% of it gets absorbed so it can go where it needs to… RIGH TO YOUR MUSCLES.
To learn more, go here: www.flawlessfitnessbook.com/thebook.html
In the mean time, stay fit and stay healthy!
- FJ
FlawlessFitnessBook.com
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