Whether you have a sweet tooth, are serious about nutrition, watching your weight or managing diabetes, you’ve probably heard about stevia. If you also prefer companies with a strong sustainability ethic and 100% natural products, you’ve most likely heard of SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener

What is stevia? Stevia is a naturally sweet plant indigenous to South America, where it has been used to sweeten food and beverages for more than 500 years. Unprocessed stevia leaves can be 30 times sweeter than sugar. When processed, the sweetest parts of the plant, called glycosides, are extracted from the leaves, producing a concentration that is 300 times sweeter than sugar.

James May, founder of Wisdom Natural Brands^®, was the first to bring stevia leaves from the deliciously sweet plant to the United States in 1982 after tasting stevia leaves given to him by a Peace Corps volunteer. Today his product, SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener, is the only 100% leaf-derived, chemical-free stevia extract available in the marketplace today with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and zero glycemic index. It was also the first stevia sweetener to receive GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status from the FDA in March 2008.

Despite the recent flood of stevia sweeteners on the market today, SweetLeaf^® remains unique in that it is the only stevia sweetener processed using only cool, purified water and a revolutionary filtration process to extract the sweet glycosides. No chemicals, solvents, enzymes or alcohols are used at any stage of production. SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener contains only stevia leaf extract and inulin, a soluble vegetable fiber.

In addition, SweetLeaf^® is sustainably processed from start to finish. Non-intrusive harvesting methods are used to positively impact the ecology of the land. Following processing, spent water is distributed to local farmers to irrigate their fields and leaf residue becomes cattle feed or ground mulch. Even the SweetLeaf^® box is made from 100% recycled paperboard and is printed with vegetable-based, eco-friendly inks.

To learn more about SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener, available from Wisdom Natural Brands^®, please visit www.sweetleaf.com.

About SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener

It all started with one man who had a dream – James May, Founder of Wisdom Natural Brands^®.

Stevia is a naturally sweet herb native to Paraguay that has been consumed for centuries. After tasting stevia leaves given to him by a Peace Corps worker, May made it his mission to bring the extract from the deliciously sweet plant to the United States. May is world known as “The Father of Stevia.” The process involves taking the highest-quality leaves of the stevia plant and extracting their naturally sweet taste with only cool, purified water – no chemicals, solvents or additives that adulterate and cover up the great taste created by nature.

May first traveled to Paraguay to import stevia in 1982. His most satisfying victory came in 2008, when GRAS Associates and Life Science Research Office, two completely independent panels of scientists, awarded SweetLeaf Stevia^® GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status, pursuant to FDA regulations. This allowed SweetLeaf^® products made from its new, revolutionary extraction technology to be labeled as sweeteners. SweetLeaf^® could finally use the word “sweet” to describe its product, now known as SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener. The FDA granted a no-questions letter to SweetLeaf’s^® GRAS status in 2009, validating all the hard work done by May over more than a quarter of a century.

Wisdom Natural Brands^®, a leading U.S. manufacturer of stevia products, offers SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener in convenient double-serving packets. SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener is sold in boxes containing either 35 or 70 packets. Each packet replaces two teaspoons of sugar. SweetLeaf^® is also sold in the SweetLeaf Stevia Plus^® Shaker Bottle for easy home use and SweetLeaf SteviaTabs^™ Dissolvable Tablets for easy on-the-go use.

Today, May is a leading expert on stevia and travels across the world promoting the benefits of the stevia plant.

For more information, visit www.wisdomnaturalbrands.com.