Everything you need to know about stevia

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about stevia and its popular sweeteners.
Everything you need to know about stevia | offadiet.com

How much do you really know about stevia?

Is stevia an all-natural product? Is it safe after all? How much stevia does your sweetener really contain?

Let’s put stevia under the microscope and give answers to most frequently asked questions about the popular sweetener.


A little history of stevia

The use of stevia as a food additive with sweetening properties began in the American continent in 1995. Stevia entered the European market in 2010. Its first appearance was in beverages and products labelled “light”, but as its use as a sweetener was approved for more products, it spread to other areas of the food industry. In recent years, it became one of the most popular sweeteners among people who switch to a healthier lifestyle or try to lose some weight.

Consumers fell in love with stevia and it wasn’t pure luck or a coincidence. It entered the market at a time when the odds were in its favor. The epidemics of obesity and Type II Diabetes had already demonized sugar several years before the appearance of stevia. Other artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame had already tried to overthrow sugar from its sweetening monopoly – and had been doing so for several years. But by the time stevia came along, they had already proven to be particularly harmful for our health. So stevia easily took consumers by storm as a “natural sweetener”.

But how much do we really know about a product that has been on the market for less than a decade? Do we know what stevia actually is? Do we really know the actual content of foods, soft drinks or sweeteners that proudly advertise that they are “naturally sweetened”? If you are a fan of stevia, keep reading because we’ll answer all these questions below.



What exactly is stevia?

Most people tend to use the word when they talk about sweeteners. But the word stevia actually refers to steviol glycosides, substances produced from the leaves of the Stevia plant (Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni) by extraction with the use of water.


Everything you need to know about stevia | offadiet.com



Is stevia a natural product?

The production of stevia is done in two stages. In the first step, steviol glycosides are extracted from the plant leaves after they have been soaked in water. In the second step, however, methanol or ethanol solutions are used for recrystallization. As a result, derivatives that are not original components of the plant leaves can be identified in the final product.

So if we want to be precise, we would say that stevia is a product of natural origin which is processed by physical and chemical means.



Is the use of stevia permitted in the food industry?

As already mentioned, the FDA authorized the use of stevia as a food additive in 1995. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) authorized the use of steviol glycosides in 2010 as an E 960 sweetener. The acceptable daily intake for steviol glycosides has been set at 2 mg per kg of body weight per day for healthy adults. The maximum levels of steviol glycosides in foods vary depending on the product. In addition, steviol glycosides should be at least of 95% purity, meaning they must consist of the major plant glycosides (mainly Stevioside and Rebaudioside A).



Is stevia safe?

The plant of stevia has been cultivated in South America for hundreds of years. In 2007, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with the World Health Organization (WHO) issued maximum safe intake limits and in 2008 stevia products began to enter the FDA’s GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) list.

Therefore, we can say that, from a toxicological point of view, steviol glycosides, when produced in accordance with the regulations and consumed in amounts that do not exceed the recommended daily intake, are safe for human consumption.



How does stevia affect health?

Obesity

Although stevia as a sweetener is used by many people as a sugar substitute, research has not been able to show any association between stevia consumption and weight loss. The consequent reduction in sugar and sugar products that happens when someone chooses alternative sweeteners may be more related. Further studies are needed before safe conclusions can be reached.

Diabetes

Stevia is a sweetener with a low glycemic index and low glycemic load. Although the results of the studies are not yet clear, consumption of stevia appears to help patients with diabetes regulate their blood glucose and insulin resistance.

Hypertension

According to research done in patients with high blood pressure, consumption of stevia seems to significantly help lower blood pressure. The findings, however, are not sufficient for safe conclusions.

Gastrointestinal health

Studies show that stevia may be associated with increased fat deposition in the liver. Also, other types of sweeteners that may be present in stevia products may affect bowel motility and may be responsible for gastrointestinal symptoms.



Is stevia the only ingredient in stevia sweeteners?

No. Steviol glycosides are only one of the ingredients of stevia sweeteners in any form (powder, tablets or liquid). They contain a variety of other substances and often in much higher percentages than that of stevia. Below you can find some information about the most common stevia sweeteners found in the Greek market. Some of them can also be found in the European market and also overseas.



Everything you need to know about stevia | offadiet.com



Sweeteners with stevia

Health-oriented consumers should get in the habit of reading food labels. And not only nutrition labels but – sometimes more importantly – ingredient lists. Sweeteners, as all packaged products, come with labels. And though it may sound strange, they also have a list of ingredients. The average consumer will buy a sweetener because they want to replace sugar. So, even subconsciously, they think that since sugar is made up of one ingredient, so does the sweetener. But the reality is so much different. For steviol glycosides, as already mentioned, there is a recommended daily intake. For example, an adult that weighs 70 kg (154 lb) should not consume more than 280 mg per day. We can understand that a 4-gram teaspoon of sweetener can’t be all stevia. So, the question is not whether there are any additional ingredients in stevia but what kind of ingredients it contains.

After a brief research at the sweeteners department of a Greek super market, here are my own findings:

(Personal research data on 11 different brands of stevia sweeteners: Sweet and Balance, Canderel, Isostevia, Deligiostevia, Linodiet, Sweet n Low, La Mia Stevia, Intermed, Sweete, Pure Via Stevia. The above brands can be found in Greek super markets and most of them in European countries. The data listed below is provided for information purposes only.)

  • The majority of stevia sweeteners contain large amounts of other sweeteners such as erythritol, maltodextrin, sucralose, thaumatin, sodium saccharin, acesulfame K and sodium cyclamate. Some of these substances can cause problems in people with gastrointestinal disorders or other conditions. Erythritol, for example, can aggravate symptoms in people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and in elevated amounts may cause laxative action.
  • Some sweeteners contain lactose which can cause problems to people with hypolactasia or lactose intolerance.
  • Some contain large amounts of salt which makes them unsuitable for people with renal disease or hypertension. In one particular sweetener the salt content was as high as 80%!
  • The exact content of steviol glycosides is found in the labels of very few products. It varies between 3% and 18% but there is also a product containing only 0.2%.
  • Only two manufacturers have included in the label the purity of steviol glycosides, which was 95% and 98% in each product.



Everything you need to know about stevia | offadiet.com



Conclusion

Stevia refers to steviol glycosides which is a processed product of plant origin. Sweeteners with stevia usually contain more sweeteners natural or artificial. As low-glycemic and low-caloric sweeteners, they may help diabetic patients replace sugar and control blood sugar and insulin resistance. However, the other sweeteners and additives contained may not be suitable for some people. Therefore, it is advisable to read the ingredients’ list before choosing which product to use.



Sources

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1537

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30268795

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26430511

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31564473

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20370653

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29995279

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31033578

https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-basics/has-stevia-been-approved-fda-be-used-sweetener

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