Stevia, more specifically Stevia rebaudiana, is an herb that is widely grown and used for its sweet leaves. The extract of this exotic plant are 300 times sweeter than sugar. Not surprisingly, there has been a large push for this plant to be used as a non-caloric sweetner. As of now stevia is approved as a supplement in the United States but not as an additive. The FDA has not approved stevia because of safety concerns regarding its degradation when exposed to sunlight. Well, we may be one step closer to ending the Splenda craze and starting a stevia craze!"In research that eases concerns about stevia's
stability, the scientists studied clear glass containers
of cola and lemon-lime sodas containing the two
major naturally sweet components in stevia. After exposing the
beverages to sunlight for one week, they found no significant
degradation in either component of the natural sweetener."
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