Stevia Plants As a Substitute for Sugar, Healthier?

Medical Video: Healthy Ways to Sweeten Your Food

Have you ever heard of food ingredients as a substitute for sugar? There are various sugar substitute ingredients, which are categorized as natural sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and artificial sweeteners. Stevia itself is not included in these three categories. Stevia plants are categorized as new sweeteners (sweeteners novel) Why is that? Is that so, stevia contains many benefits compared to other sweeteners?

What is stevia?

Stevia is extracted from the leaves of plants that enter the Ateraceae family, often associated with plantsdaisy or ragweed. In Paraguay and Brazil, people have used leaves from plants for hundreds of years Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) to sweeten food. Even stevia is used for traditional medicine to treat stomach problems, burns, and sometimes used as contraception in the country.

The following are several types of stevia:

Stevia with green leaves

Processed from all types of stevia
Unique because stevia green leaves do not contain calories or sugar, but it tastes sweet
Used in Japan and South America for thousands of years as a natural sweetener and treatment
It has a very sweet taste, 30-40 times sweeter than sugar
Has benefits associated with blood sugar levels, cancer, cholesterol, high blood pressure
The best way to consume it is to consume it as needed

Stevia extract

Most products extract sweet and slightly bitter parts (rebaudioside) from stevia. There are no health benefits found in stevioside (sweet stevia leaves).
Do not have calories or sugar
Has a sweeter taste than stevia which comes from the leaves
Even 200 times sweeter than sugar

Are stevia plants safe for consumption?

Most people feel fine after consuming stevia, but it should be emphasized that the reaction of stevia in each person will vary. The benefits and effects of consuming stevia depend on what type of stevia you consume. When a low-calorie sweetener has been approved by BPOM, it means that the sweetener is safe to use. However, not all stevia is balanced. There are several types of stevia that are made with more chemical processes than the stevi content. Even with the negative impact, it still needs further research to ensure the negative impact that is really caused by stevia.

Stevia has no calories and is 200 times sweeter than sugar in the same dosage. Because there are no calories in this sugar substitute, obviously we will assume that this sweetener is good for diet. However, there are several studies that show, replacing artificial sweeteners or other low-calorie sweeteners does not automatically make it easier for you to lose weight.

Based on a study in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, a 2004 study in mice showed a low-calorie sweetener made animals overeating. An author of a later study believes that people who use artificial sweeteners can experience health problems related to excess sugar, such as the metabolic syndrome. This syndrome can trigger diabetes.

You need to know, there are other opinions that reveal that stevia has no side effects on short-term metabolic problems. Even a study in 2010, involving 12 people who were obese and 19 people who had thin bodies, did not find excessive eating behavior. Blood sugar after eating which contains stevia meal is also lower compared to foods that contain sugar. Stevia is also able to make insulin levels decrease compared to other artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and sucrose.

What are the benefits of stevia?

Based on the site draxe.com, there are several studies that show the ability of stevia as a natural treatment. These plants can bring benefits to the healing process. What are the benefits claims?

Have anticancer abilities. A Food Chemistry journal published in the Croatian study shows stevia is thought to have potential benefits for natural treatment of colon cancer, combined with blackberry leaves.
Good for diabetes. Using stevia versus sugar will be very helpful for diabetics. According to a journal published in the Journal of the Dietary Supplement, there is an evaluation of how stevia affects rats affected by diabetes, then found rats given about 200 and 500 mg daily decreased levels of blood sugar, triglycerides and alkaline phosphatase. Human studies also show that consuming stevia before meals can reduce blood sugar levels after eating and insulin.
Lowers high blood pressure. Glycosides in stevia extract are found to dilate blood vessels and increase sodium expenditure, both of which can help maintain blood pressure at a healthy level.

Indeed many found various kinds of benefits from stevia, but to consume them, it should be just enough. Keep avoiding consuming it excessively.