Brief introduction A myth is defined as a traditional story that dates back to ancient history. It can also be classified as a natural or common phenomenon that may or may not involve the presence of supernatural individuals or events. Usually, these folklores are considered true or sacred established by the ancients. There are many myths and folklore revolving around stevia. It contains many therapeutic values that have been used by people historically. Despite being a recently established herb, stevia is one of the natural herbs that the Earth is equipped with. Even then, there are a couple of myths about stevia. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay were the first to establish Stevia centuries ago. This can therefore be considered the ancient history of the herb. The Guarani people discovered the herb as a sweet herb only where it was used to sweeten the yerba mate of the Paraguayans. However, it is only thirty years ago that scientists began research on stevia due to the discovery made by a European scientist. Because it is still relatively new on the market, stevia may be devoid of folklore, albeit some interesting ones. There definitely needs to be more folklore to make stevia more interesting. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Stories, myths, superstitionsHistorians have put a lot of effort into researching further folklore related to stevia. Unfortunately, evidence demonstrating the relationship between humans and stevia is lacking (Kinghorn 57). Many authors who have studied stevia for years have observed that many history books did not mention or acknowledge stevia's existence. However, the most popular stevia folklore is the use of the sweet plant to sweeten traditional Paraguayan mate drinks. This natural tea drink has a bitter taste without any added sugar or other sweetening ingredients. Just like any other tea, mate tea is usually steeped in hot water. It is a popular drink that is consumed during holidays and family events. In other words, it is a recreational drink that can be consumed at any time. According to the culture of Paraguayans, despite being a recreational drink, consuming maté tea requires a defined state of mind, a time, a spiritual state (Kinghorn 57). Furthermore, the folklore expression of drinking maté tea with stevia is expressed as friendship. This explains the folklore that has emerged with stevia. Balancing the bitterness of the mate drink with the sweetness is equivalent to finding the perfect match. Bitterness and sweetness in a drink formed a good balance like a friendship. In today's society, people still drink their traditional drink along with stevia. This is one of the folklore that still exists in Paraguay. Additionally, ever since the discovery of stevia, people in Paraguay have loved the plant. It is the reason why the herbaceous plant is used together with their traditional drink. This gives a spiritual meaning to the culture developed by the people of Paraguay. Knowing that stevia is a sweet plant, it was not only used for the drink mate. When stevia was first discovered, people weren't entirely thrilled with it since it only has one winning factor: sweetener. As the knowledge began to spread to other countries, Paraguayans realized they had discovered the future of all sweetening ingredients. Paraguayans used it to cure diseases naturally. Since it is a natural plant, Paraguayans believed that stevia had a lot of healing power. According to other folklore, stevia helps stimulate alertness and defeat tiredness. Furthermore, when tobacco was first discovered, people were addicted to smoking.Basically the number of smokers then continued to increase alarmingly. When smokers began chewing stevia leaves recreationally, it was observed that people smoked less. After consuming stevia tea, people have less desire to smoke or drink alcoholic beverages. This means that stevia has made good use to benefit the society by reducing the bad habit in the society. Additionally, the Guarani believe that stevia helps strengthen the heart and also decreases cardiovascular risk. It is truly a medicinal plant for society. One of the many historical stories about stevia involved the ancient Guarani legend. It happened centuries ago, there was an old Guarani, who was a healer in his village. This healer was very wise in treating his patients with local herbs and plants, as he knew the healing values of each herb. When the moment of his death came, the healer expressly told those present that he would take with him the spirit of stevia and the knowledge of its healing qualities. After its demise, farmers began to lose interest in growing and producing stevia, as knowledge of stevia's healing properties began to fade from generation to generation. Soon there was no market for stevia to compete in. Then, a couple of years ago, a meeting led by the Paraguay Extension Service took place in a small village. A frail elderly man from the village attended the meeting. When asked what brought him to the meeting, the old man said that his grandfather's spirit came to him and told him about Kaa he-he. He had a mission to convey his grandfather's message to people concerned about the growth of stevia in Paraguay. According to his grandfather's spirit, stevia was a sacred herb that was to be used only for virtuous and healing purposes for humanity. Stevia would be a blessing to the world, as the spirit says. In fact, stevia has greatly benefited people in their attempts to reduce chronic ailments such as diabetes. Another folklore was that Paraguayan women used stevia as a form of natural contraceptive. The use of stevia as a contraceptive method has not been found in the historical literature from 1901-1960 (Kinghorn 57). This was only established in the literature around 1968. In the past it was used to reduce fertility. Stevia leaves contain some compounds and substances that may have an effect on reproduction. Traditionally, women in Paraguay drank stevia tea as a contraceptive method. Usually, the dosage women would take is one cup of stevia tea. Stevia tea was made with boiled stevia powder herb. Daily consumption of stevia can negatively affect the menstrual cycle of these women. It was precisely this reason that led the Food and Drug Administration of America to disapprove the sale of stevia on the market. The government body was afraid and wondered if this would affect infertility in both men and women. However, it was later that this particular concern was dismissed by scientific studies. Scientific studies have shown no evidence that consuming stevia can cause infertility. At this point, the folklore has not been supported by any scientific evidence. There is no evidence to suggest that the compound in the stevia plant could contribute to this folklore. At this point, such folklore may be a case of correlational rather than causal fallacy. Paraguayan women may have consumed stevia frequently and may have misunderstood that stevia caused miscarriage. It is difficult to say whether this folklore will ever be proven to be true. Keep in mind: this is..
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