The sweet life, minus the cals

Stevia leaves are 200 to 350 times sweeter than sugar.

Life is sweet for Dr Irfan Unal.

Sure Via, a natural calorie-free sweetener and Dr Sweet, an herbal tea blend can be found at selected health shops.

STEVIA anyone? No, I’m not attempting to matchmake anyone with Steve’s older sister. Stevia’s a plant, a perennial shrub belonging to the Asteraceae or Chrysanthemum family, whose leaves are packed with sweetness. Despite this, it contains absolutely zilcho calories, which makes it a great sugar substitute.

For the record, it’s 200 to 350 times sweeter than sugar. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay, incidentally, have been using stevia leaves for thousands of years for medicinal and nutritional purposes. Its benefits are exactly what the bespectacled Irfan Unal, herbalist, stevia specialist and founder of Stevia Sugar Corporation Bhd wants to extol, as I sit with him in his fragrant-smelling office in Wisma Central sipping a cup of herbal tea laced with stevia.

As far as sweeteners go, we’re probably more familiar with names like saccharin, aspartame and sucralose. But, for Irfan, who’s also an herbal cosmetics specialist, stevia’s the way to go in the future, especially with today’s increased rates of obesity and diabetes. Tobacco cravings, high blood pressure, diabetes, are just some of the conditions that can benefit from stevia, stresses the father-of-six who’s married to a Malaysian.

At the moment, his products, Sure Via, a natural calorie-free sweetener and Dr Sweet, a herbal tea blend can be found in select health shops as well as from his network of distributors. The Gallipoli-born Irfan, who has a PhD in entomology from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, started his stevia company some eight years ago. He’s pioneered stevia research in this country and has successfully developed a special breed of organically grown stevia suited to Malaysia’s tropical climate.

This breed can also yield a higher content of rebaudioside, the compound that gives the sweet pleasant taste. “We have 45 products now for personal consumption but they’re not all on the shelves yet. Some are for the food, agro and farming industries. Some of my products are already being exported to China, Turkey and the Middle East,” he says, beaming proudly.

Irfan was working at University of Istanbul’s Forestry Faculty when he came to Malaysia 21 years ago to do a PhD. Attached to UKM, he was tutoring on subjects that included agriculture and organic chemistry (for controlling pests naturally).

He chanced upon the wondrous stevia shrub when he was researching herbs, and in particular, sweetening plants. “When I started my study on non-sucrose plants, I came across stevia first. I was so excited that I immediately went to Japan, where I had a friend at one of the universities, for research as it was virtually unknown in Malaysia,” recalls Irfan, whose 14-year-old son can already recognise more than 300 plants, their Latin names and their benefits. By the way, he also produces his own organic fertiliser! In 1997, he spent six months in Japan and learnt a lot of things. “Japan became the pioneer of stevia all over the world after 1980, so it was the best place to be,” he adds. When he returned to Malaysia, stevia had yet to be approved as a food ingredient but Irfan was convinced that by 2010, that would change.

“I was right,” says the 48-year-old who relaxes by reading historical books and gardening. “I never let that situation put me off. I went on to China, India and other countries to pursue my research.” Irfan says he was an inquisitive child and was always interested in herbal medicine, the healing properties of plants and their benefits on the human body.

“I’m an expert on fragrant plants too,” he says, smiling without the slightest trace of arrogance. “I have a plantation growing unique tropical fragrant plants and tropical fruits aside from stevia. Some of them you can’t find in any university or botanical garden.” Irfan’s passion in plants and nature can be attributed to his childhood. Home was on a national park area where his father worked in the forestry nursery and his mum as his assistant.

“I’ve worked in forestry management since primary school,” he says, in his Turkish-accented English. “From the age of 11, I was already living in the forest day and night because I was entrusted to man the look-out post, a treehouse in the national park, to look out for forest fires because the area was very arrid. I collected herbs and cooked my own food.” He went on to the University of Istanbul’s Faculty of Forestry and subsequently to the pest control department because “... the botanic department had no space for me,” recalls Irfan. “But my interest remained and I later went on to learn organic chemistry.” Nothing beats the smell of nature, especially plants, he continues. “I tend to go home late. But no matter how late I am, before I go into my house, I always smell the flowers in my garden first. They’re like my children.” Eyes glowing, he adds: “I am so happy when I catch a whiff of ripe fruit on a tree or the perfume of flowers. They are among the most beautiful smells in the world. When I have the stevia touch my tongue, I feel so grateful to God because I’m literally touching, smelling and tasting a miracle.” For info, go to www.stevia.com.my