http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/feb/16/natural_may_not_be_better71724/

Stevia

The facts: With zero calories and 200 times the sweetness of sugar, you'd think that stevia would be the perfect sweetener. Especially since it comes from a plant instead of a lab. Not so fast: Until last year, the FDA wouldn't even allow stevia to be sold as a food ingredient because of concerns about potential reproductive harm and infertility. That meant you had to trek all the way to a health-food store to get it.

A newer body of research (supported by the same companies that lobbied the FDA to lift the stevia ban) concludes the stuff is safe. So today, you can find several stevia-derived sweeteners (including Truvia and PureVia) in your local supermarket parked right next to the sugar.

Pretty soon it will be popping up everywhere: Now that stevia is fair game, food manufacturers are scrambling to add it to all kinds of foods and drinks. While it's still unclear exactly how safe stevia is, proponents point out that it has been used in Japan for more than 30 years to sweeten pickles. That's not the strongest argument since the Japanese don't eat pickles all day long the way we swig diet soda.

And if you think this sweetener is a shortcut to a flatter belly, remember that like other calorie-free sweeteners, the part of your brain that's responsible for satiety doesn't recognize stevia, either. So stevia-sweetened foods may not even make you feel satisfied the way a little bit of sugar does.

Our verdict: The occasional stevia-sweetened drink is OK, but we wouldn't use it to fill your sugar bowl just yet.

When it comes to any sweetener, remember that "all natural" doesn't mean "better." After all, cyanide is natural. The best way to enjoy sugar is still in its truly natural forms: as in fruit and other naturally sweet-tasting foods. You can retrain your taste buds by s-l-o-w-l-y weaning yourself off sugary foods. Then, for those occasional times when you do need some sweetness, don't feel guilty about adding a teaspoon (that's a teaspoon, not a tablespoon) of sugar or agave to an otherwise good-for-you food or drink.

The YOU Docs, Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz, are authors of the "YOU: Being Beautiful — The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty." To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs' online home. Distributed by Ki

I will be researching Appleyard Ducks and their care, and may be getting my own this spring, instead of chickens.  Someone north of here is freecycling ducklings.  She's making a project of propagating and dispersing these rare domestic ducks.  Apparently, the ducks are delightful and the eggs big, rich and delicious.  It's not Seed-Saving, but a lot of us do have or are thinking of getting chickens, and I'll be looking at whether ducks seem a good alternative, and sharing with you as I find out, if it seems warranted. - Suzanne