Refined sugar is incredibly harmful. For this reason, people need healthy alternatives. There are many low-calorie sweeteners on the market, but most of them are artificial. However, there are a few natural sweeteners out there that taste just as good.

Stevia is a 100% natural, zero calorie sweetener with a number of health benefits that have been confirmed in human studies.

Stevia plant is a small, sweet-leaf herb of South American origin used by native Guarani tribes of Paraguay since centuries. Is stevia safe alternative to common sugar in carbohydrate-controlled diets? Does it have healthy nutrient profile safe enough for human consumption as in other herbs such as basil, mint, thyme etc?

Recent scientific trials firmly establish that this sweet-leaf herb has, in fact, many health benefiting plant-derived phyto-chemical compounds that help control blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure in addition to its use as natural sweetener. Together with the rise in demand for low-calorie food alternatives, stevia has drawn the attention of health conscious fitness lovers all over the planet.

Stevia is a small perennial herb belongs to the Asteraceae family of the genus Stevia. Its scientific name is Stevia rebaudiana. Some commonly known names are honey leaf plant, sweet chrysanthemum, sweet leaf stevia, sugarloaf...etc.
Stevia plant grows 2-4 feet in height with slender, branched stems and flourishes well all over temperate and some parts of tropical regions. It is being cultivated as commercial crop in Japan, China, Thailand, Paraguay, and Brazil. Today, China is the leading exporter of stevia products.

Almost all the parts of the plant taste sweet; however, the sweet glycosides are typically concentrated more in its dark green serrated leaves. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay have used its leaves to sweeten drinks and foods and in various traditional medicines. In the modern times, it is widely used in foods in many parts East Asian region and South American countries.

Health benefits

Stevia herb parts are very low in calories. Parts by parts its dry leaves are roughly 40 times sweeter than sugar. The sweetness of sugar in stevia is due to several glycoside compounds including stevioside, steviolbioside, rebaudiosides A-E, and dulcoside.

Stevioside is non-carbohydrate glycoside compound. Hence, it lack of properties that sucrose and other carbohydrates have. Stevia extracts, like rebaudioside-A, are found to be 300 times sweeter than sugar. In contrast to sugar, however, stevia extracts have several unique properties such as long shelf life, high temperature tolerance, non-fermentative; but contain near-zero calories.

In addition, stevia plant has many sterols and antioxidant compounds like triterpenes, flavonoids, and tannins. Some of flavonoid polyphenolic anti-oxidant phyto-chemicals present in stevia is kaempferol, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, isoquercitrin, isosteviol…etc. Studies found that kaempferol can reduce risk of pancreatic cancer by 23% (American journal of epidemiology) .

Chlorgenic acid reduces enzymatic conversion of glycogen to glucose in addition to decreasing absorption of glucose in the gut. Thus, it helps reduce blood sugar levels. The lab studies also confirm a reduction in blood glucose levels and an increase in the liver concentrations of glucose-6-phosphate and of glycogen.

Certain glycosides in stevia extract have been found to dilate blood vessels, increase sodium excretion, and urine output. In effect, stevia, at slightly higher doses than as sweetener, can help lower blood pressure.

Being a non-carbohydrate sweetener, stevia would not favour the growth of Streptococcus mutants’ bacteria in the mouth which is attributed to be a causative agent for dental caries and tooth cavities. On the other hand, certain compounds in stevia are rather found to inhibit caries causing bacteria in the mouth.

In addition, being a herb, stevia contain many vitals minerals, vitamins that are selectively absent in the artificial sweeteners.

Diabetic Control: The most important or widely praised aspect of stevia for human health concerns its ability to regulate blood sugar levels in the body. Opposed to sucrose, which is what normal table sugar consists of, stevia sweetens food in a similar way as sugar, but it contains stevioside, which is a non-carbohydrate glycoside compound. As explained above, when stevioside breaks down, the glucose-containing particles are absorbed by the bacteria in the colon, rather than being absorbed by the bloodstream and affecting glucose levels in the body. This is an ideal replacement for normal sugar for diabetics or people on carbohydrate-controlled diets, because they can eat sweet foods without having to worry about diabetic complications.

Weight Loss: Stevia is very low in calories and is anywhere from 40-300x sweeter than sugar, depending on the prevalence of certain extracts in the species variety. This means that people can eat foods like cakes, cookies, and candies made with stevia without worrying about gaining a great deal of calories from sugars, so they won’t hurt their chances of successfully losing weight.

Blood Pressure: As mentioned, stevioside is a type of glycoside, but there are other glycosides in stevia that can actually relax the blood vessels, increase urination, and facilitate the elimination of sodium from the body. This means that less stress is put on the cardiovascular system and there can be a drop in blood pressure, which protects heart health and prevents certain conditions such as atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and strokes.

Oral Health: Stevia has been found to reduce bacterial formation in the mouth, making it a popular additive for toothpastes and mouthwashes. It also prevents cavities and gingivitis, which sucrose certainly doesn’t do!

Skin Health: In a similar antibacterial function as it plays in the mouth, stevia has been found to be a useful topical application for skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis. It inhibits the spread of bacteria and acts as a steroid in these situations, making it a popular option for many people who can’t get relief from these conditions.

Bone Health: Although this hasn’t been extensively tested in humans, certain studies have shown that chickens that have been fed a stevia diet lay significantly thicker shells that contain a much higher content of calcium than average eggs. This has been extrapolated into humans, meaning that it could potentially help build stronger bones and decrease the chances of osteoporosis.

Cancer Prevention: The wide range of antioxidant compounds found in stevia make it an ideal dietary supplement for cancer prevention. Quercetin, kaempferol, and the other glycoside compounds in stevia help to eliminate free radicals in the body, thereby preventing them from mutating healthy cells into cancer cells. Antioxidants also help to prevent premature aging, cognitive malfunction, and various other serious conditions like heart disease.