Sweetleaf
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana, Asteraceae)
English: sweetleaf, sugarleaf, stevia
The sweetleaf is from Paraguay. The Guaraní have an ancient tradition of using it to sweeten the mate. The sweetleaf contains a glycoside with a sweet taste - 300 times sweeter than sugar, for that reason used as a sweetener.
Nowadays the sweetleaf is cultivated in many countries, in large scale in Japan. In the European Union its use in foods is permitted only in France. But the plant is sold in garden centres, also on Ibiza, so that I could plant it. It is officialy sold to clean teeth, to avoid problems with the law. It inhibits caries.
The leaves of the sweetleaf are eaten as a sweetener, best is to harvest them just before the plant flowers. Negative effects from consumption have not been observed. The prohibition law has been established because of interests of enterprises of artificial sweeteners.
Among the effects of the plants are the regulation of sugar in the blood, a fact that, along with its sweet taste, gives the plant a value for people with diabetes. There are even hints that it regulates the insuline level.
Moreover the sweetleaf reduces the blood pressure if it is too high. It is said that a sweetleaf tea reduces the wish for sweets (with sugar), tobacco and alcohol, therefore it serves to get rid of the habits of taking these drugs.
