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Stevia is an herb, originally from South America, though it now grows throughout the world. It is naturally very sweet and considered 100 to 200 times sweeter than sugar, but it doesn't raise blood sugar levels like sugar and other artificial sweeteners do.
People often confuse stevia with another sweetener called Truvia, but they are not the same. Truvia is a blend of compounds, one of which is extracted from stevia leaves. Bottom line: Stevia is a naturally occurring, zero-calorie sweetener. The two major sweet compounds in it are called Stevioside and Rebaudioside A.