As the founder of Cleartrade I always look for products which have a positive impact on human health, and Stevia is one of my favorite products because it provides the good taste so many people look for in sugar, without changing the glycemic index. We use Stevia in our world famous ready to drink (RTD) beverages, mixers, and syrups.
What is Stevia?
Quite simply, Stevia is a sugar substitute. What makes it so unique is that it is a plant, it does not behave like sugar in your body, It is a desirable food ingredients because of what it doesn’t do. Unlike other sugar substitutes, stevia is not made in a lab. It may be a helpful diet alternative for diabetics, as it does not alter the glycemic index after consumption, and it tastes good.
The stevia plant is found in many parts of the world. The most flavorfull species, Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), grows in Paraguay and Brazil, where people have used leaves from the stevia bush to sweeten food for hundreds of years. As part of the Asteraceae family, related to the daisy and ragweed, it can also be found in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.
The native Guarani people, a South American Indian group living mainly in Paraguay and speaking a Tupian language also called Guaraní have used the” kaa-he” (or sweet herb) leaves for centuries. In traditional medicine in these regions, stevia served as a treatment for burns, colic, stomach problems and sometimes as a contraceptive. The leaves were also chewed on their own as a sweet treat.
Around the early 1900’s more farms started growing and harvesting the stevia plant. Stevia quickly went from growing in the wild in certain areas to being a widely available herb.
According to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) high-purity steviol glycosides, an extract of the stevia plant, is considered generally safe for use in food. On the other hand, the FDA stated that stevia leaf and crude stevia extracts are not generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and do not have FDA approval for use in food.
Stevia does not add calories and tastes good. As the industry grows, it is becoming more creative, for example adding Monkfruit to address the aftertaste. Monk fruit sweeteners are made from the fruit’s extract. They may be blended with Stevia ingredients to balance flavor. Today Stevia, and Stevia combinations with other natural ingredients are a vital and growing part of the sugar substitute market. As per the report published by Fior Markets, the global stevia market is expected to grow from USD 694.71 Million in 2018 to USD 1,134.61 Million by 2026. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Americans added more sugar to their diet every year since the 1970s until 2000. When Americans dropped the added sugar, they turned to sugar-like extracts. According to Stistica, over 149Million Americans now use sugar substitutes.
Just 18 percent of U.S. adults used low- or no-calorie sweeteners in 2000. Now, 24 percent of adults and 12 percent of children use the sugar substitutes, according to a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Does stevia work?
Stevia has no calories, and it is 200 times sweeter than sugar in the same concentration. Other studies suggest stevia might have extra health benefits. Published by Statista Research Department, Mar 19, 2018, Stevia is categorized as a natural sweetener which can be derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant and is used as a sugar substitute. The active parts of stevia are steviol glycosides which are estimated to be 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar, supply no calories or carbohydrates, and have no influence on the glycemic index.
According to a 2017 article in the Journal of Medicinal Food, stevia has potential for treating endocrine diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Other studies also suggest stevia could benefit people with Type 2 diabetes, but Catherine Ulbricht, senior pharmacist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and co-founder of Natural Standard Research Collaboration, says “Available research is promising for the use of stevia in hypertension. Ulbricht said Natural Standard gave stevia a “grade B for efficacy” in lowering blood pressure.
A no-calorie source of sweetness is an obvious choice in theory. There still need to be more comprehensive studies to review how replacing sugar with artificial or natural sweeteners may lead to weight loss in real life.
There is evidence that stevia does nothing to change eating habits or hurt metabolism in the short term. A 2010 study in the journal Appetite tested several artificial sweeteners against sugar and each other in 19 lean people and 12 obese people. The study found people did not overeat after consuming a meal made with stevia instead of sugar. Their blood sugar was lower after a meal made with stevia than after eating a meal with sugar, and eating food with stevia resulted in lower insulin levels than eating either sucrose and aspartame.
Stevia is safe as long as you consume the correct part of the plant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved stevia leaves or “crude stevia extracts” for use as food additives. Studies on stevia in those forms raise concerns about the control of blood sugar and effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular, and renal systems, the FDA warns. However, the FDA has allowed companies to use Rebaudioside A, an isolated chemical from stevia, as a food additive in their sweetener products. “In general, Rebaudioside A differs from stevia in that it is a highly purified product. Products marketed as ‘stevia’ are whole leaf Stevia or Stevia extracts of which Rebaudioside A is a component,” the FDA said.
There are some health concerns surrounding the stevia plant. “Caution is advised when using medications that may also lower blood sugar. People taking insulin or drugs for diabetes by mouth should be monitored closely by a qualified health care professional, including a pharmacist,” according to Pharmacist Ulbricht said.
Stevia can provide an alternative to sugar which provides a no calorie, no sugar alternative to pure Kane or processed sugar. Stevia is manufactured in multiple forms for baking, beverages, and other uses, and in general is offered in its pure form. Stevia leaf extract is a safe choice for people with diabetes or people that need to limit their sugar intake. Studies have demonstrated that stevia leaf extract has no effect on blood glucose levels, which explains it growing use year over year.
Additional reporting by Alina Bradford, Live Science contributor.
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