STEVIA
from Live Science of Lauren Cox
Stevia is perhaps unique among food ingredients because it is most
valued for what it doesn't do. It doesn't add calories. Unlike other sugar
substitutes, stevia is derived from a plant.
But the prized 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. In traditional medicine in these
regions, stevia also served as a treatment for burns, colic, stomach problems
and sometimes as a contraceptive.
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 sugarlike extracts. The sugar substitute market was estimated to
be worth $10.5 billion in 2012, according an analysis by Markets and Markets
research firm.
And the artificial sweetener market may already be
growing. 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 sugar
substitutes, according to a 2012 review in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition.
Unlike food, Stevia has no calories, and it is 200
times sweeter than sugar in the same concentration.
But new studies suggest stevia might have extra
health benefits.
"Available research is promising for the use
of stevia in hypertension," said Catherine Ulbricht, senior pharmacist at
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and co-founder of Natural Standard Research
Collaboration, which reviews evidence on herbs and supplements. Ulbricht said
Natural Standard gave stevia a "grade B for efficacy" in lowering
blood pressure. Other studies suggest stevia could benefit people with Type 2 diabetes, but Ulbricht says
more research is needed.
A no-calorie source of sweetness is an obvious diet
solution for diabetics in theory. But a few studies show that replacing sugar
with artificial or low-calorie sweeteners may not ultimately lead to weight
loss in real life.
"A number of studies suggest people who
regularly consume ASB [artificially sweetened beverages] are at increased risk
compared with those that do not consume ASB," Dr. Susan E. Swithers said
in a 2013 opinion letter in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Yet there is also 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.
But is stevia safe?
The question of whether stevia is safe to consume
largely depends on what someone means by "stevia." 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 an
isolated chemical from stevia as food additive, calling the chemical "generally
recognized as safe." Now, products such as Truvia and others have the
legal go-ahead to use Rebaudioside A, which is also found in stevia, in their
no-calorie sweeteners.
But there are some health concerns surrounding the
stevia plant. Stevia may cause low blood pressure, which would be of concern to
some taking blood pressure medications.
"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," Ulbricht said.
Stevia may also interact with anti-fungals,
anti-inflammatories, anti-microbials, anti-cancer drugs, anti-virals, appetite
suppressants, calcium channel blockers, cholesterol-lowering drugs, drugs that
increase urination, fertility agents and other medications, Ulbricht said.
People should talk with their doctor before deciding to take stevia in large
amounts, she said.
Initial findings indicate that
the active compound found inside the leaf of the prized species, Stevia
rebaudiana or
“RUBY-A,” attacks the root cause of virtually every non-communicable disease on
earth. It has therefore been teased as Cancer’s Kryptonite., immediatelyreplacement
for the toxic food
