Stevia is a natural sweetener, used instead of sugar, derived from the Stevia Rebaudiana plant. It was first discovered centuries ago in Paraguay by the native population. In the late 19th century, a Swiss botanist working in South America documented this plant.
Stevia is available in the market in many forms. The most popular form is white extract powder but you can also buy dried stevia leaves, stevia liquid or Stevia drops 30ML. The natural sweetener is also available online at www.herbsjoy.com.
The natural stevia sweetener is different from sugar in many ways. There are several reasons why stevia is a better option than sugar. If you are diabetic or just thinking to adopt a healthier lifestyle, you can use stevia.
Benefits of stevia over sugar
-
The leaves of stevia plant are nearly forty times sweeter than sugar. The powdered sweetener derived from the leaves is up to 200 – 300 times sweeter. This means that just a little bit of stevia will substitute for most of your sugarfree recipes. The shelf life of the sweet leaf is around 5 years.
-
There’s no denying that refined sugar makes you fat. Sucrose contains calories and there are so many sugary products nowadays that it is difficult to avoid them. But luckily, the stevia sweetener contains no calories.
-
We all know, sugar is addictive and artificial sweeteners may not have any calories, but they promote cravings for sweets. Also many consumers have reported negative side effects while using artificial sweeteners, like headaches, dizziness, rashes and stomach pains. Stevia on the other hand does not have any side effects and suppresses cravings.
-
Sugar is bad for diabetics because it contains large amounts of carbohydrates. The glycemic index of stevia is nearly zero. This makes the stevia leaf ideal for keeping your diabetes away without compromising any sweetness of your food.
-
An adhesive layer of bacteria is formed on your teeth, when you eat sugar, it in turn causes dental problems such as cavities in the long run. The sugar alcohols or polyols used in chewing gums and toothpastes cannot be fermented by dental bacteria and thus cannot stick to your teeth. But they contain calories which is harmful for diabetics. Stevia comes with the same benefits, but does not carry the discomforts.
-
Aside from providing sweetness, stevia leaves are also helpful in lowering blood pressure of people suffering from hypertension. Nowadays even doctors officially prescribe medicine containing stevia to control high blood pressure.
-
Candida Albicans is a natural yeast present in human intestines. This yeast population can grow excessively large in some people and lead to an infection called candidiasis. The main reason behind candidiasis is the fermentation of sugar in the intestine. Stevia cannot be fermented by candida albicans and thus prevents candidiasis.
If you are used to sugar, the taste of stevia might require some time to get accustomed to. It mainly contains two sweet components stevioside and rebaudioside A. Stevioside can have a bitter after-taste that can be disliked by many people, so they buy products based on rebaudioside A. But the overall benefits of stevia outweigh the temptations of sugar.