All about Stevia

What exactly is stevia?

Unveiling Nature's Sweetness: What is the Healthiest Alternative to Sugar

Stevia, also known as Stevia rebaudiana, is a plant in the chrysanthemum family, a subgroup of the Asteraceae family (ragweed family).

Stevia's sweetness and health benefits are derived from compounds found in the stevia leaf known as steviol glycosides. Among the glycosides that have received the most attention are:

• Stevioside

• Rebaudioside A

• Rebaudioside C

• Rebaudioside D

• Dulcoside

The glycosides are all sweet, but their properties differ. For example, rebaudioside D (used in Switten Stevia products) does not have a bitter aftertaste, which is a common complaint about sweeteners containing rebaudioside A.

Sugar Vs. stevia

Sugar, or sucrose, is extracted from sugar cane and sugar beets grown primarily in tropical climates. Most plants have sugar in their tissues, but only sugar beets and sugar cane have enough to be extracted and converted into white crystalline table sugar efficiently. Stevia, on the other hand, is derived from stevia rebaudiana, a chrysanthemum family member and wild herb native to Paraguay and Brazil. The leaves of the stevia plant contain glycosides, which give it its sweet flavour. In comparison, stevia is 30 times sweeter than sugar in its whole leaf form and nearly 300 times sweeter once refined.

Per teaspoon (tsp) — 4.2 grams (g) — here are the nutritional stats of granulated table sugar:

· Calories: 16

· Protein: 0g

· Fat: 0g

· Carbs: 4g

· Fibre: 0g

· Sugars: 4g

As you can see, table sugar is a carbohydrate. What’s more, all of its carbohydrates (and calories) come from sugar. (And, for reference, other sweeteners, like honey and maple syrup, contain a similar number of calories as traditional granulated sugar.)

Now, here are the nutrition stats for stevia (per 1 g packet):

· Calories: 0

· Protein: 0 g

· Fat: 0 g

· Carbs: 0 g

· Fiber: 0 g

· Sugars: 0 g

Clearly, stevia and sugar are very different, particularly because stevia adds nothing to your daily calorie totals. Other sugar substitutes (aspartame, saccharin, sucralose) are also almost completely free of calories.

Health Benefits of Stevia

Controls Blood Sugar

Because stevia is not a carbohydrate, it does not raise blood sugar levels. This makes it safer for diabetics to consume stevia sweetener rather than sugar. Stevioside is thought to lower blood sugar levels, so stevia is beneficial to diabetics. If you are diabetic, you should consult your doctor before using stevia.

May control weight gain

Because stevia has no calories, it is ideal for those attempting to lose weight. Sugar is high in calories; for example, 32 gm of sugar in an average sweet drink may contain up to 130 calories from sugar alone. By using stevia in your drink, you can avoid the extra calories while still enjoying a sweet drink.

For Dental Health

Stevia is good for your teeth because it is a zero-calorie sweetener with no carbohydrate breakdown in the mouth. Dental caries or tooth decay is delayed because carbohydrates are not broken down to sugars, which feed the plaque in the mouth. It also has some bactericidal properties, which protect the teeth from decay and other issues like gingivitis.

May lower inflammation

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) refers to a group of inflammatory bowel diseases that affect the intestines and cause symptoms such as diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Stevia contains anti-inflammatory compounds that soothe intestinal cells.

Is Stevia Okey for Diabetes Patients?

It is, indeed. According to the American Diabetes Association, non-nutritive sweeteners can play a role in your diabetes diet. According to a scientific statement released in 2012 that included comments on stevia, when used to replace sugar, these can potentially help with glucose control. However, the authors noted that no research has shown that these types of sweeteners help people reduce their calorie or carbohydrate intake in the real world.

Furthermore, you may have heard that stevia can help with blood sugar control. Stevia stimulates a specific protein channel that helps the pancreas release the proper dose of insulin, according to preliminary research on mice published in the journal Nature Communication in March 2017.

Stevia Safety and Side effects

The FDA considers stevia to be generally recognised as safe (GRAS). This means that stevia has been determined to be safe for humans at normal doses by a group of experts.

Other regulatory bodies have established stevia's acceptable daily intake (ADI) at 4 mg per kg bodyweight per day. (The ADI is the daily dose of a substance that is unlikely to cause harm over a lifetime.) A 150-pound woman would need to consume 40 tabletop packets of stevia every day for the rest of her life to reach the ADI. Most people only need a few packets per day.

What about the negative consequences? Stevia appears to have none, according to clinical trials.

Overall, stevia appears to be extremely safe and well-tolerated in humans.

How to use stevia?

Looking to cook or bake with stevia?

Add it as a sweetener in coffee or tea?

First, remember that stevia can be up to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, meaning a little goes a long way. The conversion differs depending on if you’re using a packet or liquid drops;

1 tsp of sugar is equal to one-half a stevia packet or five drops of liquid stevia.

For larger recipes (like baking), ½ cup sugar equates to 12 stevia packets or 1 tsp of liquid stevia.

But if you regularly bake with stevia, consider buying a Switten 1:1 stevia blend with sugar that’s designed for baking (it will say so on the package), which allows you to substitute stevia for sugar in a 1:1 ratio, making the cooking process easier.