Looking for sugar substitutes? If yes, then you probably need to look into a plant called stevia.
A lot of people suffers from blood sugar-related diseases each year. And diabetes is currently the seventh cause of death in the US alone. Worldwide, 2.2 million deaths was caused by high blood glucose each year (1).
So in this article, I will discuss if stevia is safe for people with blood sugar-related disorders especially diabetes. Read on and see if this natural sweetener can help bring back your sweet cravings without giving a negative impact on your health.
What is Stevia?
You probably heard a dozen natural substitutes for sugar like tagatose, monk fruit extract, fenugreek, date sugar, xylitol and coconut palm sugar.
But there are no other herbal plant extract that is quite so popular in the market than the stevia plant.
Now branded as “sugar substitute” by many people, stevia is sourced from the leaves of the stevia plant (chrysanthemum family), which is a subgroup of ragweed plant family.
This plant isn’t new at all as it is already used by Asians and South Americans for years as sweeteners for tea and as a herbal medicinal aid.
It is about 100 times more sweeter than table sugar, but has no carbohydrates, calories or artificial agents (2). And like most herbs, stevia is also packed with antioxidants and you guess it, anti-diabetes properties.
With such as good health reputation, companies are heavily investing on using stevia for their products and market them as “safe for diabetics” or “natural flavors”. This include beverages, supplements and even those sweet energy drinks.
The US Food and Drug Administration (3) has issued a warning to consumers that not all products marketed as “natural flavors” contain safe and natural ingredients. Some ingredients may still be highly processed which are not safe for diabetics.
So ensure that the products you are buying truly contain 100% stevia extract. Otherwise, just plant your own stevia at your own backyard and use the leaves as your sweetener.
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Potential Health Benefits of Stevia
Weight Loss. As mentioned above, this plant extract is zero calories meaning that it is an enticing properties that is hard to resist especially if you are trying to lose weight.
According to this study (4), there is no direct relation between gut micorbiota (an important factor that can initiate metabolism and obesity risk) and stevia consumption. However, taking with prebiotic has shown to alter body composition, food intake, and glucose tolerance.
Though studies were inconclusive when it comes to weight loss, it is still much safer for dieters to take stevia than conventional table sugar.
Lowers Blood Cholesterol Levels. Another factor why this plant extract is beneficial is the fact that it is good for your overall lipid profile.
An animal study (5) has confirmed the positive effects of stevia leaf extract on body weight gain reduction and its anti-hyperlipidemic effects.
But does it also have similar effects on humans?
According to this study (6), female participants consumed at least 20 milliliters of stevia extract each day for a month. The results revealed that this herbal extract reduced the cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL levels significantly, while increasing HDL cholesterol levels.
This shows that stevia may help improve your overall cardiovascular health and is one of the best herbal foods to clean your arteries.
Anti-Cancer Properties. As mentioned above, this herbal extract is also packed with antioxidants particularly polyphenols – hydroxycinnamic acids, quinic acid and chlorogenic acids (a chemical known from green coffee bean extract).
Experts suggest that stevia has certain available mechanisms that helps prevent the onset development of cancer cells in the body such as removal of carcinogenic agents, modulation of cancer cell signaling and antioxidant activities, and induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.
According to this study (7), stevia showed intensive inhibitory activity on human gastrointestinal cancer cells. The researchers suggest that this herb may become a potential chemotherapy agent for cancer treatment.
Anti-Microbial Activity. The anti-microbial properties of stevia is also due to its antioxidant content, particularly polyphenols which were mentioned above, and rebaudioside, another active agent of this herb.
Polyphenols are widely abundant in vegetables and medicinal plants, such as stevia. Researchers have extensively examined its effects on a wide range of microorganisms especially against fungi, bacteria, insects and many others.
There are several anti-microbial studies that focuses on the effects of different stevia extracts – leaf, root, stem, flower and raw extract. Out of these extracts, the root and leaf presented higher antibacterial activity due to its rebaudiana content (8).
Also, methanol extract which is another key compound in stevia, also showed potent effects against five different bacteria – staphylococcus aureis, enterococcus faecalis, pseudomonas aeruginosa, e coli, and candida albicans.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties. Plants have been used to help treat inflammatory disorders and other related diseases for years, and stevia is one of them.
Various studies suggests that the positive effects of herbal plants against inflammation is due to their antioxidant content, again because of polyphenols.
According to this study (9), polyphenol’s anti-inflammatory activities include inhibition of enzymes associated with proinflammatory properties, radical scavenging activities, regulation of cellular activities in inflammatory cells and many others.
Stevia’s chlorogenic acid, methanol, chloroform extracts and caffeic acids, are all proven to be a potent anti-inflammation agent (10).
So is Stevia Safe for Diabetics?
There are probably thousands of plants that have been tested worldwide and only a handful have been selected to be a natural source of medicine for the treatment of diabetes.
Are you diabetic or have similar-related health issues? If yes, then stevia may help keep these chronic diseases at bay. But how?
Experts believe that phytochemicals found in stevia can provide anti-diabetic properties, especially polyphenols which are proven to have pharmacological effects such as its positive influence on blood glucose, and help control and prevent diabetes (11).
The anti-diabetic activity of leaves of this herb has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase and increases insulin levels in diabetic Wistar rats.
But is stevia effective against diabetes in humans?
A specific study focusing on 31 subjects (19 are healthy and 12 are obese) found that taking stevia helped to significantly preloads reduced postprandial blood glucose and insulin levels (12). In Layman’s term, stevia may assist with glucose regulation.
Experts believe that certain chemicals in this herb are responsible for its anti-diabetic properties. This include cyanidin-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-o-glycoside, caffeic acid, kaempferol, quercetin, apigenin, rozmarinic acid, chlorogenic acid, and dicaffeoylquinic acid.
Can Stevia Trigger Side Effects?
Studies concerning the potential adverse effects of this herb have been deemed slim and is generally recognized as safe for human consumption.
Taking raw, natural stevia leaves as a natural sugar alternative is safe for diabetics and dieters alike. But if you are planning to take supplements that claims to contain stevia as a natural sweetener, you may want to analyze its formula and see if it also contain maltodextrin or dextrose.
Both these compounds are synthetic natural flavor and will not be good for people who are looking to keep their blood sugar levels normal. So ensure that your taking only have natural sweeteners such as stevia.
There are also rumors that this herb may negatively affect the kidneys, reproductive health and even cardiovascular system. It it even reported that too much consumption of stevia may result to sudden drop of blood pressure. But all these reports lacks scientific basis.
How to Use Stevia in Your Diet?
If this is your first time hearing about this wonderful herb, then you are in for a treat!
Stevia can be used as a substitute of your table sugar in your favorite foods or beverages. According to some herb experts, a pinch of this herb is the equivalent of about a teaspoon of white table sugar.
You may use stevia for your favorite brewed coffee or tea, smoothie, shakes, yogurt, cereals, pastries and many others. Yes, you can use stevia for baking.
Conclusion
Now we all know that this herb is quite highly beneficial for our overall health. Stevia can be used not just by diabetics, it is also ideal for dieters who want to lose weight, cancer patients, and those individuals who wants to prevent bacterial infections.
And this herb is also quite safe for us, so you don’t need to worry if this sugar-alternative herb can trigger nasty side effects.
Plus, stevia has a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties, which this herb is quite known for online.
So if you are shopping for a beverage or sugar treat foods, look for stevia on the label and you are good to go!
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References:
Diabetes
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
Stevia, Nature’s Zero-Calorie Sustainable Sweetener
by: Margaret Ashwell
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890837/
What’s in a Name? What Every Consumer Should Know about Foods and Flavors
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/whats-name-what-every-consumer-should-know-about-foods-and-flavors
Low-Dose Stevia (Rebaudoside A) Consumption Perturbs Gut Microbiota and the Mesolimbic Dopamine Reward System
by: Jodi E. Nettleton, Teja Klancic, Alana Schick, Ashley C. Choo, Jane Shearer, Stephanie L. Borgland, Faye Chleilat, Shyamchand Mayengbam, and Raylene A. Reimer
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6627124/
Antihyperlipidemic Efficacy of Aqueous Extract of Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni in Albino Rates
by: Uswa Ahmad, Rabia Shabir Ahmad, Muhammad Sajid Arshad, Zarina Mushtag, Syed Makhdoom Hussain, and Aneela Hameed
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6064095/
Effect of Stevia Extract Intervention on Lipid Profile
by: N Sharma, R Mogra, and B Upadhyay
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09735070.2009.11886351?journalCode=rsen20
Steviol, A Natural Product Inhibits Proliferation of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Cells Intensively
by: Junming Chen, Yongmei Xia, Xiaochen Sui, Qingrui Peng, Tongtong Zhang, Jian Li, and Jue Zhang
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5995179/
In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Potential of Stevia Extract
by: Said S Moselhy, Magdy A Ghoneim, and Jehan A Khan
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5412192/
Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: What Polyphenols Can Do for Us?
by: Tarique Hussain, Bie Tan, Francois Blachier, Myrlene C B Tossou, and Najma Rahu
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5055983/
Polyphenols from Stevia Rebaudiana (Bertoni) Leaves and Their Functional Properties
by: Khaing Zar Myint, Ke Wu, Yongmei Xia, Ye Fan, Jie Shen, Peter Zhang, and Jianxin Gu
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1750-3841.15017
Polyphenols and their Effects on Diabetes Management: A Review
by: Naheed Aryaeian, Sara Khorshidi Sedehi, and Tahereh Arablou
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6014790/
Effects of Stevia, Aspartame, and Sucrose on Food Intake, Satiety, and Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Levels
by: Stephen D Anton, Corby K Martin, Hongmei Han, Sandra Coulon, William T Cefalu, Paula Geiselman, and Donald A Williamson
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2900484/
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