Stevia is a sugar alternative. It’s calorie-free and plant-based, but you should still try to limit your intake of any added sugar.
Stevia is growing in popularity as a plant-based, calorie-free alternative to sugar. Many people prefer it to artificial sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame, as it’s extracted from a plant rather than made in a lab. It also contains little to no carbs and doesn’t rapidly spike your blood sugar, making it popular among those who have diabetes or poor blood sugar control. Nonetheless, it may have some drawbacks.
What is stevia?
Stevia is a sugar alternative extracted from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant.
These leaves have been enjoyed for their sweetness and used as an herbal medicine to treat high blood sugar for hundreds of years. Their sweet taste comes from steviol glycoside molecules, which are 250–300 times sweeter than regular sugar.
To make stevia sweeteners, the glycosides must be extracted from the leaves. Beginning with dry leaves that have been steeped in water, the process is as follows:
- Leaf particles are filtered out from the liquid.
- The liquid is treated with activated carbon to remove additional organic matter.
- The liquid undergoes an ion exchange treatment to remove minerals and metals.
- The glycosides that remain are concentrated into a resin.
What remains is concentrated stevia leaf extract, which is spray dried and ready to be processed into sweeteners.
The extract is usually sold as a highly concentrated liquid or in single-serve packets, both of which are only needed in very small amounts to sweeten food or drinks.
Stevia-based sugar equivalents are also available. These products contain fillers like maltodextrin but have the same volume and sweetening power as sugar, with none of the calories or carbs. They can be used as a 1:1 replacement in baking and cooking.
Keep in mind that many stevia products contain additional ingredients, such as fillers, sugar alcohols, other sweeteners, and natural flavors.If you want to avoid these ingredients, you should seek out products that list only 100% stevia extract on the label.
Stevia nutrition facts
Stevia is essentially calorie- and carb-free. Because it’s so much sweeter than sugar, the small amounts used add no meaningful calories or carbs to your diet. Though stevia leaves contain various vitamins and minerals, most of them are lost when the plant is processed into a sweetener. Furthermore, as some stevia products contain additional ingredients, nutrient contents may vary.
SUMMARY
Stevia leaves can be processed into liquid or powdered stevia extract, which is much sweeter than sugar. The extract is virtually calorie- and carb-free and contains only trace amounts of minerals.
Benefits of stevia
Though it’s a relatively new sweetener, stevia has been linked to several health benefits. Because it’s calorie-free, it may help you lose weight when used as a replacement for regular sugar, which provides about 45 calories per tablespoon (12 grams). Stevia may also help you stay full on fewer calories.
In a study in 31 adults, those who ate a 290-calorie snack made with stevia ate the same amount of food at the next meal as those who ate a 500-calorie snack made with sugar. They also reported similar fullness levels, meaning the stevia group had an overall lower calorie intake while feeling the same satisfaction.
Additionally, in a mouse study, exposure to the steviol glycoside rebaudioside A caused an increase in several appetite-suppressing hormones.
The sweetener may also help you manage your blood sugar. In a study of 12 adults, those who ate a coconut dessert made with 50% stevia and 50% sugar had 16% lower blood sugar levels after eating than those who had the same dessert made with 100% sugar. In animal studies, stevia has been shown to improve sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar by allowing it into cells to be used for energy.
What’s more, some animal research has linked stevia consumption to decreased triglycerides and increased HDL (good) cholesterol levels, both of which are associated with reduced heart disease risk.