Re: Dried Licorice Root Fights the Bacteria That Cause Tooth Decay and Gum Disease, Study Finds

An herbalist on Face book told me to get dried licorice root to use instead of stevia. He said I could sweeten foods with this.

Both licorice root and stevia are 50 times sweeter than sugar.  Stevia extracts can be up to 700 times sweeter.

They definitely have different flavors though.  Personally I prefer stevia as a sweetener in most cases since it goes better with most things.  Also I like the stevia extracts because they dissolve easy so it is better for iced teas.

I use licorice root as a sweetener for some hot teas such as I like a weak tea made with licorice root and sage leaf.

Both herbs have been shown to have anti-bacterial properties and both contain beneficial saponins, although I believe stevia is higher.

Licorice root on the other hand is more beneficial to the adrenals and is a steroidal anti-inflammatory.

So one is not really better than the other.  They both have additional benefits beyond sweetening.