Question from Barbara
I am confused about stevia. Is it best to use only the whole leaf in dried or powder form. I mean the green powder as opposed to the white powder that says it is derived from the stevia leaf. Thank you
Debra’s Answer
It’s better to use the dried whole leaf (or fresh whole leaf, of course) or powdered whoe green leaf, rather than the white powder. This is the whole, unrefined stevia as it exists in nature (with water removed).
The white powder is a “fractionated” stevia, just the sweet part removed from the whole leaf. It is much easier to use and is more versatile, but it is “refined”.
The point about this is that nature supplies various substances within a context. For example, vitamin C comes in a package called an “orange”, along with water, fiber, and other nutrients and sugars. Nature’s intention is clearly that vitamin C is intended to be consumed with these other co-factors.
Does this mean we shouldn’t eat pure vitamin C? Well, it would be better if we took it with water and fiber and other nutrients, which is why many supplements say to take them with food.
When we take individual food components out of context, we open the door to imbalance. Nature never isolates and concentrates food components. They are always offered in context. And our bodies are designed to eat them in context. This is why I am moving in the direction of satisfying our natural desire for sweets with naturally sweet foods.
And fresh or dried stevia leaf is one of these naturally sweet foods. I have a living stevia plant right by my back door. As I pass by, if I want something sweet, I just pop a leaf in my mouth! Many edible flowers are sweet too. The red flowers of Pineapple Sage are very sweet, mint leaves are delicious and come in a number of flavors (try chocolate mint!) and anise produces licorice-flavored seeds. These are “natural candies” that require no sweetener, and they can all be grown in pots.
