Often in articles devoted to proper nutrition and weight loss, you can find a mention of stevia as a full-fledged sugar substitute. What is it and how does it help to fight excess weight?
Stevia is a perennial plant of the Asteraceae family that is native to Central and South America. Milled stevia is widely used as a sweetener and is often used in the treatment of obesity. The extracts in stevia are 300 times sweeter than sucrose, so much less stevia is required to achieve a sweet taste in a stevia dish compared to regular sugar.
Some interesting facts about stevia:
- Stevia has been used as a sweetener for several hundred years.
- Stevia has almost no effect on blood glucose levels, therefore it is allowed for diabetics.
- The sensation of sweetness with stevia takes longer than with regular sugar, but lasts longer.
- At high concentrations, stevia can develop a bitter taste.
- The safety of stevia has been controversial for a long time, as studies have yielded conflicting results. However, in 2006, the World Health Organization finally recognized stevia extracts (steviosides and rebaudiosides) as non-toxic, non-carcinogenic and generally harmless to the body.
- Stevia is especially widespread in Japan - here it is used in the production of drinks and many food products.
- Stevia extracts taste like cane sugar, but dried leaves can leave a bitter aftertaste.
How to use stevia for weight loss?
Stevia is a great sugar alternative for those with a sweet tooth who are losing weight. It gives food a sweet taste, but does not add calories (100 g of stevia contains only 18 kcal). There are several forms of stevia-based food supplements: in granules, tablets, powder, and also in the form of syrup. In addition, dried crushed leaves of the plant can be found on sale, for example, in phyto-pharmacies.
You can brew tea with stevia and add it to compotes; stevia-based sweeteners are used in baked goods, desserts, and cereals. Decoctions of stevia leaves are used as an appetite-reducing drink. Eating stevia instead of sugar can reduce the calorie content of the diet by an average of 15%.
Benefit and harm
It is believed that stevia, in addition to having a low calorie content (in syrups, powders and granules, this figure is generally extremely low), also has a good effect on digestion and metabolism. It also contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
The undesirable effects are as follows:
- In case of hypotension, stevia should be used with caution, since the plant has the ability to lower blood pressure.
- Some people may have an allergic reaction to stevia.
- When stevia is consumed with milk, diarrhea may occur.
