Stevia is one of the sweeteners that became popular recently. It helps a lot with weight loss. Besides that, it also benefits general health like protecting against tooth decay and regulating blood sugar levels. But despite all these benefits, many women worry it may have some negative side effects. So today's Fitness Garage team will explore stevia sugar and everything about it.
What is stevia sugar?
Stevia sugar is extracted from the stevia plant. It has zero calories and is sweeter than regular sugar by over 200 times. So when you use it, you should reduce the sugar amount you consume. One of the main benefits of stevia sugar is it lowers blood sugar and bad cholesterol levels in the body.
But the quality of stevia sugar varies from brand to brand. Also, you should know that some kinds are mixed with grape sugar or maltodextrin which changes its properties and benefits. In that case, you need to check the product's quality carefully.
Forms of stevia sugar
There are several forms of stevia sugar in the market, including:
- The most common type: It's stevia blends, basically a heavily processed sugar.
- The best kind: The kind that comes from drying the leaves.
- The third kind: It's the stevia leaves themselves. They are the least processed but also the least tested and purified.
Safe doses for stevia sugar
Some extracts from the stevia plant are approved by the FDA meaning they're safe to use in food products. But the full leaves are not yet approved because there isn't enough research on them. The safe dose for stevia sugar is 1.8 mg per pound of body weight.
Safe doses in special cases
Stevia, as we said before, is safe. But there are some cases where you need to be sure about the right doses because some research suggests that calorie-free sweeteners might be unhealthy for some cases including:
- Diabetics
- You might find stevia sugar a good option if you have diabetes, but be careful before using any kind. Some studies showed a drop in blood sugar levels compared to taking the same amount of corn starch.
- Some studies found that after 8 weeks of using stevia sugar for diabetics, there was a decrease in sugar levels and hemoglobin (which shows long term sugar control). So if you use stevia, make sure it's not mixed with other sweeteners like dextrose or maltodextrin.
- Pregnant women
It's not preferred to use stevia sweeteners during pregnancy, but there are studies confirming it doesn't negatively affect pregnancy or fertility results if used moderately. Make sure the products you use while pregnant are approved by the food and drug authority and contain steviol glycosides, not whole leaves or unknown or unstudied ingredients.
- Children
Stevia often helps reduce added sugar intake. It's known that eating large amounts of added sugar, like what's in ready chocolates, sodas and cans, raises triglyceride levels in the body. This contributes to weight gain which reached 9.1% of kids worldwide, about 60 million children, as of 2020.
Side effects of stevia sugar
There are some harms that stevia sugar can cause:
- It reduces good bacteria that cause inflammation in the intestines, and lowers immunity levels.
- Not eating sugars leads to eating more calories.
- It may cause allergies in the digestive system.
- Some medicines conflict with taking stevia, so you should check with your doctor first.
Fitness Garage always tries to help you with your healthy life, weight loss isn't the goal, but being healthy and able to do everything you want without tiredness is the real goal.
