Brief History and safety of Stevia - Brief History and safety of Stevia Stevia has been used as a sweetening ingredient in foods and drinks by South American natives for many centuries, and there is no report of any plant toxicity to the consumers. Stevia has been added to a number of food products in Japan since the mid 1970s. No indications of any significant side effects have yet been reported after more than 20 years of use. Similarly, no reports of any adverse reactions to stevia have been reported in the United States. Donna (co-author of The Stevia Cookbook) and her family have been using stevia since 1990 without any health problems. I have used stevia daily in my morning tea, and to sweeten cocoa powder, since 1997 without any health problems. There are no indications at this point from any source that stevia has shown toxicity in humans. What if there were a natural sweetener that: * Was 300 times sweeter than regular sugar, with minimal aftertaste * Had no calories * Was suitable for diabetics and those with high blood pressure * Appropriate for children * Did not cause cavities * Was heat stable and thus could be used for cooking and baking * Was a great alternative to synthetic sweeteners * Easily blended with other sweeteners, such as honey * And already widely and safely consumed in many countries around the world for decades. Wouldn't you think that you would already know about it? Wouldn't you think that many of our food products would already be sweetened by it instead of artificial sweeteners? Well, this remarkable, no-calorie sweetener called stevia is, unfortunately, not a household name. It should be. I believe that eventually stevia will be one of the most popular and widely used no-calorie sweeteners in the world. With the availability of stevia, there seems to be little reason to use artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin.