Do you have a sweet tooth? You aren't the only one. Millions of Americans consume tons of sugar on a yearly basis. The average American consumes 135 pounds of sugar in a year. At the beginning of the last century, the average American consumed only 5 pounds of sugar per year.

The use of Stevia is rising and for good reason, but let's look at the problems associated with sugar and artificial sweeteners first.

Diets high in sugar are implicated in a number of health problems. Tooth decay is second only to the common cold in terms of numbers of people affected by a disease. Bacteria in our mouths absolutely love sugar and they use it to form more plaque on our teeth than anything else we put in our mouths. Poor dental health has been linked to cardiovascular disease, increased infections and diabetes.

Speaking of diabetes, sugar is the main contributor to the development of type II diabetes. Not only can diets high in sugar promote obesity (which has a huge number of health consequences as well), but too much sugar has an effect on insulin. Sugar has a high glycemic index meaning that it is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream causing an increase in blood glucose levels. This in turn stimulates the pancreas to release insulin. As far as stevia and diabetes is concerned, there's no risk as stevia doesn't raise blood sugar levels.

When your body receives sugar on a regular basis, insulin resistance develops and your body becomes used to having higher than normal blood glucose levels. This may lead to type II diabetes may develop. The end result? Blood that has too much glucose and becomes sticky leading to atherosclerosis and poor circulation.

There are plenty of reasons to avoid a diet high in sugar, and we've tried to develop quite a few artificial forms of sugar. Saccharin was once a popular artificial sweetener until it was suggested that it caused cancer in laboratory rats. Aspartame (NutraSweet) is still a popular artificial sweetener without the bitter aftertaste of saccharin. However, are there problems with it as well?

The word is still out on aspartame, sucralose (Splenda) and acesulfame k. Splenda is still so new that there simply haven't been enough studies. Strong opponents claim that tests and studies were hidden during the FDA approval process. Though unsubstantiated, this does give cause for concern.

Aspartame is also a bit mysterious. Though the labels clearly state that phenylketonurics (rare genetic metabolic disorder) should not consume aspartame products due to the phenylalanine content, there aren't any other warnings despite studies that suggest a potential link between aspartame and birth defects, increased sugar cravings, and brain tumors.

Acesulfame K is placed in products as a sweetening preservative. It contains methylene chloride that is in fact a carcinogen linked to headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances and cancer in humans.

Should we worry? If there is not positive proof and the FDA still allows the use of these, why should we care? Perhaps a bit now and again in a diet soda is not that harmful, but many people who consume diet sodas drink quite a few AND they also consume other products with artificial sweeteners.

Maybe it's time to return to Mother Nature for the answer to our sweet tooth dilemma. There is an alternative to artificial sweeteners that is just as natural as sugar (if not more), and it doesn't have as many ill health effects.

Stevia is an all-natural sweetener that is derived from an herbal plant in the daisy family. There are virtually no dangers of stevia reported. It has quite a history and many over the years have made the claim that stevia was their discovery. The fact is Native Americans in Paraguay have been using the herb to sweeten tea and medicine for centuries, and the knowledge of the plant has probably been passed down to them for far longer.

Regardless of the history, stevia may be the answer to our sugar problems. Stevia has ZERO calories, ZERO carbohydrates and it is all NATURAL! You don't have to worry about ingesting synthetic concoctions that we may or may not find to be implicated in cancer or birth defects some day. Unlike sugar, you won't have the ill effects of insulin resistance because stevia has no carbohydrates or energy to convert to glucose and raise blood glucose levels.

Studies indicate that Stevia is a safe alternative to sugar. Stevia is extracted from the sweet part of the Stevia rebaudiana plant and then changed into a sweet powder. It can then be blended with other natural ingredients to create a sweetener that can be used much like sugar for sweetening and baking.