Stevia, The Sweet Low Calorie Substitute Sugar

Stevia is a sweetener and sugar substitute extracted from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana plant. In its home country, Paraguay and Brazil, stevia leaves have been used for hundreds of years as a sweetener of medicine and tea. Stevia is sweet thanks to the content of steviol glycosides present in it. These compounds make stevia feel 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose or ordinary sugar.

Although much sweeter when compared with regular sugar, stevia instead tend to have no calories. Even if there is, it usually comes from other food ingredients are mixed in it. The ingredients are added to reduce the bitterness after drinking and increase the feeling of stevia.

Did you know if stevia will not be stored in the body when consumed? The compounds of steviol glycosides will be broken down into steviol to then be absorbed by the body and removed rapidly in the form of feces and urine.

In addition, stevia also contains a variety of essential nutrients such as vitamins A, B, and C, calcium, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium, protein, and other elements. These factors make stevia allegedly suitable for those who are controlling weight or controlling diabetes. Here are some possible benefits of stevia that we can take.

Diabetes

One study showed that in addition to not containing carbohydrates and calories, stevia also will not affect blood sugar or insulin response. By taking stevia, diabetics were allegedly able to consume more types of food and meet a healthy eating plan.

Other studies reported that stevia is very small, not even having any effect on insulin levels, blood glucose, hypertension, and weight. Blood sugar levels after meals in diabetics were reportedly reduced when taking stevia.

Weight

As mentioned above, stevia contains no calories at all. Therefore, this sugar substitute is considered to help reduce energy intake. In addition, stevia can not be absorbed properly to make it thrown whole-intact from the body.

Blood pressure

Substances in stevia extract are found to be able to dilate blood vessels and increase urinary and sodium excretion. Stevia plants were also suspected to have cardiotonic properties that can normalize blood pressure and regulate heart rate.

Pancreatic cancer

Stevia plants have many antioxidant compounds such as flavonoids, triterpenes, tannins, kaempferol, and so forth. There have been studies that found that kaempferol may reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Although sugar substitutes are low in calories, the use of stevia also should not be haphazard or exaggerated. And remember, eating sugar-free foods, does not mean you are free from calories. Calories can be obtained from other foods or beverages.