Stevia is a member of the daisy family, and Coca Cola teamed with Cargill to bring it onboard as a new sweetener in their family of products.

According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola has filed 24 patent applications for the product, which has been tentatively named Rebiana. It plans to use the sweetener in some of its beverages. Stevia is only approved in the United States as a dietary supplement, not as a food additive. The extract is claimed to be the world's only all-natural sweetener with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and a zero glycemic index.

Extracts are said to have up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar. As a sweetener, Stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar. Lower-calorie sodas are made with artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame and sucralose. A recent report revealed that the US sweetener market is poised to increase 4% annually, to reach over $1 billion in 2010. A company that could offer a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners may have found a new sweet spot in this growing market.

The Diet Channel promotes the headline: eat right, exercise smart, feel great! An authoritative resource for diet and fitness information, The Diet Channel offers several different summaries of the most popular diets, as well as informative articles on nutrition and health.

An article of diabetic interest pertains to those of us who are curious (or downright fixated) on artificial sweeteners. This article warns that it is not always safe to assume that just because a product is made with a sugar substitute, such as Splenda, it is healthier, or lower in calorie content. A thorough list of sweeteners and their key ingredients end the article, along with research findings on the safety of these products.

The Diet Channel offers information on every flavor of diet you can imagine, articles to motivate you to stick with it, and loads of information to keep you coming back. If I didn't know any better - I'd say it looks to be the wikipedia of dieting. And if you've ever found yourself consuming hour after hour digging through wikipedia topics...you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

Decreased brown fat markedly increass the risk to diet-induced obesity, diabetes, and elevated fats in the blood.

Brown fat tissue is present in newborn babies. People with a lot of brown fat have a "furnace" metabolism. They burn body fuels rapidly, and the more they consume, the more they burn, all the while maintaining a stable weight. A furnace metabolism thrives on carbohydrates. The more fuel they throw into the system, the more they burn, just like coals on a fire.

There are ways to change the percentage of brown fat in the body. Although most people normally do not advocate caffeine as a healthful food, research suggests that caffeine stimulates brown fat by increasing the metabolic rate. Caffeine, however, does other things that are not as positive. It can cause heart palpitations (especially in high amounts), and steals some of the vitamins in the body, such as C and B. Increasing multi-vitamins is helpful with any caffeine supplement.

Another way to increase brown fat is to exercise - specifically, to engage in aerobic exercise that uses oxygen. To be effective this exercise must raise the pulse rate from a resting level of about 70 up to 120 or so. A half-hour of vigorous walking four times a week can be very rewarding from a metabolic standpoint.

One last tip: too much sodium in the diet can deactivate the brown fat and promote water retention with consequent weight gain. So slow and steady exercises, pass on the salt, and make mine a Grande sugar-free vanilla latte. Thank you!

Realizing how influential carbohydrates can be on blood sugars, I swore myself to celibacy from baked goods long ago. However, my closed-door policy underwent peace talks after I had the pleasure of speaking with Ramsey Makar, founder of Miracle Muffins. Miracle Muffins are diabetic friendly premium muffin mixes with a plethora of wholesome goodness. Fresh baked, every time -- all you have to do is add water!

Miracle is a strong word. However, when you see the impact these muffins have on blood sugar -- you'll agree it's miraculous. Ramsey wanted to create a muffin that his diabetic mother could enjoy without the rise in her sugar. He concocted a recipe that contains generous amounts of fiber, healthy soy protein, low-glycemic sweeteners, and is very low in fat. Another fact for good measure -- the muffins fit comfortably into the diet programs of Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, LA Weight Loss, Nutra System and Zone.

I saved the best part for last -- the flavors! Each muffin is fresh-baked so you spare nothing on taste. The flavors available are: banana, blueberry, black cherry, chai spiced black tea, cinnamon green tea, chocolate black cherry and gingerbread. The muffin mixes have two versions based on the sweeteners used -- Spnenda or Xylitol. It says something profound about a product that actually helped an Olympic athlete lose weight! When you visit the Miracle Muffin site, take a peek at the You Tube video, read the mesmerizing nutrition details, and indulge yourself in the Miracle Muffin experience. You'll be a believer, too!