THE STEVIA STORY

摘要

It's not our fault we were born with a sweet tooth. Blame evolution. As primates, we evolved from creatures whose penchant for sweetness helped them choose ripened fruit, which provides more fuel and life-sustaining water than unripened fruit. Of course, a primate's preference for sugar goes a bit beyond basic survival: Chimps, for instance, will go to any lengths to obtain the taste they crave, breaking into beehives and braving the sting of angry bees, for instance. We humans carry this fondness for sugar to ridiculous lengths. While most animals seem to know when to say "enough," we've apparently lost touch with that ability. Our intake has grown steadily over the years, and one estimate says that the average American now consumes over 150 pounds of sugar a year. We ingest much of this in the form of high fructose corn syrup found in prepared foods.