NOW Foods Stevia Extract Packets

Stevia is a small perennial plant native to Central and South America with a long and storied history. The Spanish conquistadors found out about Stevia during their sixteenth century exploration of Central America. They reported that the natives used the leaves of this herb to counteract the bitter taste of a popular community drink, mate, and also used it as an herbal remedy for various ailments. In 1887, Antonio Bertoni, a South American scientist, observed Indians of the Guarani tribe of Paraguay who used Stevia to flavor bitter tribal beverages. Bertoni erroneously classified Stevia as a member of the daisy family, but it was later re-assigned to the chrysanthemum family in 1905. Twenty-five years later, two French chemists conducting research on Stevia isolated the primary constituents responsible for Stevia's properties and named them steviosides. NOW Stevia Exttract is based on this research.

Today, Stevia is cultivated in over a dozen countries worldwide. It is a major export product and is widely used in countries such as China, Brazil, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Paraguay and Malaysia. Stevia has also been grown successfully in California, southern Ontario, Canada and even southern England. Although there are several different species of Stevia, the most potent and effective seems to be Stevia rebaudiana, and this species is used in most dietary supplements on the market today. A sweet secret cannot be kept forever!

• Calorie-Free
• Great Natural Herb Taste
• Consumer's Choice
• Aspartame-Free
• Natural Herbal Supplement
• A Dietary Supplement

What is Stevia rebaudiana?
Stevia is an herb indigenous to Paraguay and Brazil that grows 2--3 feet tall and resembles mint in appearance. The South American native Guarani Indians used this green "sweet herb" they called "kaa he-he" for centuries before a European botanist named M.S. Bertoni first learned of this unique plant from the native guides while exploring Paraguay in 1887. Though prior to the early 1900s Stevia was a plant harvested in the wild it soon thereafter was being grown in abundance on plantations. Sometime between 1918 and 1921 the USDA was introduced to this wonderfully sweet herb but because of political and other interests Stevia was not accepted as a natural sweetener. The compounds in Stevia that give the herb its sweet taste called Steviosides were isolated by French scientists in 1931. Since the 1970s Japan has approved and used Stevia extracts as a sweetener in everything from ice cream to soft drinks. Today in the USA our FDA still has not approved Stevia as a sweetener. However, since the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, they have approved it as a dietary supplement.

How is NOW's Stevia produced?
NOW's stevia extract is produced utilizing a patent-pending process which involves extracting from stevia leaves using only water and alcohol. The resulting extract is treated with a vegetarian-source enzyme (glucosyl transferase) to reduce the licorice-like aftertaste of regular stevia extracts. The following are not used and not allowed: pesticides, fumigants, irradiation, other solvents, sulfur dioxide. There are no carriers or flow agents added to the extract other than what we claim on the label. The resulting extract contains no less than 80% Glucosylsteviosides as measured by HPLC testing.

The Stevia Glycerite liquid is now much thicker than it was. Why?
NOW has increased the percentage of Glycerine to help maintain the freshness of the product. Glycerine acts as a natural preservative, as well as having a nice sweet taste, but is low on the glycemic index listing (which shows how much certain foods affect blood sugar).

Should I be concerned that my Stevia Liquid Extract has become cloudy?
Stevia should not be cloudy and it is very rare for this to occur. This usually will occur due to some kind contamination:

• 1. Introduction of another interacting substance
• 2. Bacterial growth due to alcohol evaporation.

Please discard the product.

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The NOW mission is - To provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. NOW Foods is an award-winning and highly respected manufacturer of vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements and natural foods.

In 1948, with the natural food and supplement industry in its infancy, entrepreneur Paul Richard paid $900 for the purchase of Fearn Soya Foods—a Chicago based manufacturer of grain and legume-based products. This began a six-decade legacy of providing health-seeking consumers with high-quality, affordable nutrition products.

History of NOW
In 1968, NOW Foods was founded under the belief that good health was not a luxury available only to the wealthy. For the past forty years, NOW has made it their life's work to offer health food and nutritional supplements of the highest quality, at prices that are fair and affordable to all those who seek them. Today, NOW Foods is one of the top-selling brands in health foods stores, an award-winning manufacturer, a respected advocate of the natural product industry, and a leader in the fields of nutritional science and methods development. And while NOW has grown considerably over the past four decades, one thing has never changed – NOW's commitment to providing products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

NOW Commitments

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