How is Stevia (not sure if I am spelling it correctly) different from Splenda? Does it contain 1 carb as well? Thanks for any info.!

An article from a health mag:

One of my favorite diet and health secrets is stevia. Pronounced steve-ee-uh, it's a natural sweetener, derived from a plant, that is very sweet, has no calories, and does not cause any effect on blood sugar. With no chemicals, it also doesn't pose some of the concerns that aspartame and the other artificial sweeteners present. Many people, for example, report that aspartame gives them to headaches, and causes nausea, insomnia, dizziness, diarrhea, depression, anxiety, memory loss and even vision changes.

Stevia, however, not only sweetens food without adding calories, but is actually a nutrient for the body, and has no side effects, and no chemicals to cause reactions or sensitivities. The stevia plant, native to Paraguay, is approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar. With a glycemic index of zero and no calories, stevia also reduces cravings for sweets. Hundreds of studies show that stevia lowers elevated blood pressure, helps oral bacteria, and can even regulate blood sugar. Stevia is also versatile, and unlike most artificial sweeteners, it can be used in hot and cold beverages, on fruit and cereals, and as a sugar replacement in baking and cooking.

One of my favorite things is to take natural unsweetened cranberry juice (I get mine at Trader Joe's), and use about a fourth of a glass of cranberry juice, mix with water (or seltzer), add a splash of stevia, and I have a cranberry juice cocktail that has almost no calories or carbs, but intense flavor and sweetness. (Check out the calorie and carb content on a bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice for comparison!) I also use stevia in teas and coffees. Most mornings, I brew up my Hazelnut latte with skim or low-fat milk, and use stevia to sweeten. Tastes like a huge indulgence, and it's actually a pretty healthy part of my diet!

I also put a drop or two of stevia into unsweetened lemon/lime seltzer, and make my own sugar-free, HEALTHY "Sprite." And since it's not a "soda" -- it actually counts toward your daily effort to get 64 or more ounces of water!

I also like to use stevia to naturally sweeten plain yogurt. If you take plain low-fat or fat-free yogurt, mix in fruit and some stevia, you have healthy, low-fat fruit yogurt, without the artificial sweeteners!

Just like when you first switch to any sweetener besides sugar, I'll be honest -- it takes a few days to adjust to the flavor of stevia. But once you're used to it, it's delicious, satisfies your sweet cravings, and regular sugar -- not to mention the artificial sweeteners -- will taste VERY "chemical" to you. You can get various stevia products at most health food and natural food stores as well.

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Lots of people are interested in low carbohydrate eating to help with weight loss, depression, addiction recovery and overall health. But many believe that eating this way means no sweet treats. Not so! Cakes, cookies and other flour/sugar combos may be on the list of foods to eliminate, but deprivation is not part of low carb eating.
There are several low glycemic or non-insulin inducing sweeteners on the market that can be substituted for insulin boosting sweeteners in many recipes. When using these sweeteners you may have to experiment a little to discover how much to use. And for some people, just the taste of sweetness may stimulate insulin release which can then cause food cravings. All of which is to say that we each need to take responsibility for creating the diet that works for us.

Stevia is an herbal sweetener from a plant native to South America where it has been used for centuries. It has been used commercially for decades in Japan. Stevia is 300X sweeter than sugar! You can buy it as a liquid extract or in powder form, at most health food stores.

Splenda is a brand name product that also claims no effect on insulin. It is made from sugar but has zero carbohydrates. You can find out more about Splenda at

http://www.sucra.com

Have a read on the below links - u will have your question answered, and maybe even more:

http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm

http://www.321recipes.com/aspartame.html

http://www.dorway.com/stevia.html

Another bonus to stevia is that in the packet form it's filler is a healthy form of fiber. The fillers used in splenda and other sweetners can be bad for people suffering from candidia and also add empty carbs. It is also easy to buy stevia in liquid forms The only draw back is the FDA consideres it a suppliment and not a grocery item, so it's not as easy to pick up in most grocery stores as other sweetners.

LadyBelle:

While this may be generally true, I'd suggest everyone check the labels every time. I saw some Stevia at a store the other day (Maybe Target?) that used fructose as a granulation agent.

Thusly, check the ingredient labels. If anything is listed with an -ose (except sucralose) suffix, one should count 1g of carbs per packet.

Hogarth

I use the Extract Powder. It has no fillers of any kind and thusly ZERO carbs. The packets and granular Stevias can use anything including: Maltodextrin (BAD), Fructose (BAD), FOS (GOOD), Cellulose (GOOD), and/or Erythritol (???). Avoid anything filled with Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Fructose, or anything else ending in -ose (except sucralose, cellulose, or polydextrose).