Another thing Alisha loves

So this no-sugar thing (I know, I know, let it go already) is still biting my ass. But I have found something that makes it hella easier - stevia. Know about this stuff? It's a plant from Japan (she thinks) that's roughly 150 times sweeter than sugar. It's completely natural, no chemical crap to make your eyeballs fall out (NutraSweet, I'm talking to you). They recommend it for diabetics because it regulates blood sugar. It's controversial because it hasn't been FDA approved as a sweetner - only as a "nutritional suppliment" (apparently when rodents were fed truckloads of the stuff there were "inconclusive" results. Again, hello NutraSweet) but c'mon, only a moron would eat it by the bucketful. (Although if they started putting it in pop and candy and cereal - which has been proposed many times - Americans might edge up on that.)

Pro-stevia websites say that the FDA won't approve it because it's cheap and easy to grow and they can't figure out how to make money from it. (Or get kick backs from the companies who figure out how to make money from it.) The Japanese have been using it for thousands of years without a single reported problem. Alls I know is it makes my nasty herbal tea much more palatable and it takes very little. One shake and I'm good. Find it at any health food store.