Stevia is a health saver

by Wim de Gier
(Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Hi there,

After being diagnosed with diabetes 2 years ago, it has been a constant battle for me to keep my glucose levels normal. I don't have a sweet tooth so to speak, but I do love my coffee with sugar. And I drink a lot of it too.

So despite being on pills (metformine, tolbutamide), my glucose levels at the end of the day were generally in the 8 or 9 range. Not too good.

Artificial sweetners were not an option for me, because I loathe the taste of them. Trust me, I have tried most brands and I always went back to sugar. Cane sugar to lull myself into a sense of "it is not as bad".

Then last year I saw an ad for a stevia product about to come on the market here. I figured I would try that and see what it was like. It took me a few months to track it down and the price was a bit of an issue, but I finally managed to get some Pure Via cubes a few weeks ago. And I love it. My glucose levels are picture perfect (between 5 and 6).

Of course I didn't pay attention to the "warning" that is it a lot sweeter than sugar, so I put 3 cubes in my coffee the first time and got a nasty shock... It really IS a lot sweeter. I use one cube now. And sure, the taste is different. But I got used to that soon enough. For me it adds a new level to my coffee experience. Just don't use too much of course, because the more you use, the more pronounced the taste.

All in all, I am very happy to have "discovered" stevia. I feel a lot healthier for it as well.