Stevia is a small shrub native to North and South America, in which the sweetener stevia is extracted from the leaf.  It is also commonly referred to as sweetleaf and/or sugarleaf.

Stevia is a non-toxic antioxidant sweetener. In 2006, the World Health Organization released a statement confirming that stevia is non-toxic, causing neither cancers nor birth defects. This single fact puts stevia health benefits miles ahead of the competition. A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry showed it to be rich in the type of antioxidants that repair cancer-causing DNA damage. In Japan, stevia has safely been used in foods and soft drinks for over twenty years

Another benefit of Stevia is that it is calorie free with a low glycemic index.Stevia is over 300 times as sweet as sugar, with no calories, making it an ideal sweetener for diabetics, and anyone interested in stabilizing their blood sugar. All varieties have a low glycemic index, and recent research suggests that it may even support healthier insulin production and glucose tolerance. With insulin resistance suspected to play a major role in North America's obesity epidemic, stevia and its health benefits as a weight management tool show exciting potential.