Now that big corporations like Coca Cola and Pepsi started adding it to diet products, we can safely say stevia is the next big thing in calorie-free sweeteners. But is it as safe as your local health food store clerk thinks it is?
Is Stevia Safe?
That doesn’t prove anything tangible – but let’s begin by pointing out that stevia is a natural plant. That already places it pretty high on my own confidence scale, if you ask me. Now, being “natural” doesn’t necessarily makes it safe. So let’s see what science has to say about it :
- “Stevia is well tolerated and has no pharmacological effect.”
- “In this 2-year study in Chinese patients with mild hypertension, stevia reduced blood pressure compared with placebo. No significant adverse effects were noted.”
- Stevia is 40 to 300 times sweeter than sugar, so you don’t have to use a lot.
A lot of studies are now proving that stevia is probably safe. That’s why the FDA has now officially approved stevia sweetening agents (but not the real plant, for some reason) – rebaudioside A and stevioside – for safe use in food products. The FDA has come a long way. Back in 1998, they were still burning stevia products and even books about stevia when doing inspections.
Is Your Stevia Real?
The stevia found in 99% of stevia sweeteners is not whole stevia, but the isolated sweetening agent rebaudioside A or stevioside – or a combination of both. It’s still unclear if these isolated sweetening agents are a problem compared to whole stevia, but the latter does show more benefits.
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If you want all the benefits stevia shows, sticking with whole stevia leaf extract or even whole stevia leaf powder is a good idea.
“Stevia Tastes Like Death!”
First of all, if you just swallowed a teaspoon of pure stevia extract and almost choked to death… you’re doing it wrong. The whole stevia plant is at least 40X sweeter than sugar, while the sweetening agents can be up to 350X sweeter than sugar – so adding more than 1/32th of a teaspoon to your drink could make it taste terrible.
“Stevia Tastes Like Cast Iron!”
Stevia is always marketed as tasting the “same as sugar”. I personally never tried a brand of stevia that showed no aftertaste. The stevia plant naturally has hints of licorice and a slightly bitter chlorophyll taste. So expect a stevia product to taste about the same. That being said, rebaudioside A has less aftertaste than whole stevia or stevioside. 100% pure rebaudioside A is very hard to find, but you should be able to find stevia that contains at least 70% of it. In the end, you’ll have to test different brands and find the one you like better.
Choosing Your Stevia
With the hundreds of products out there with different names, claims and gimmicks, finding the right stevia can be a nightmare. This table should give you a better idea of what to choose:
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About “Purevia” and “Stevia In The Raw”
Don’t get fooled by these two stevia brands. They claim to contain only pure stevia, but when you look at the ingredients list, they actually contain mostly dextrose (pure sugar) or maltodextrin (very high GI sugar). They also claim to be calorie-free, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because the FDA allows any food that contains less than 4 calories per serving to be labeled as calorie-free, these two products show portion sizes of 0.5g and sell this “0-calorie pure sugar” in complete legality.
Cooking with Stevia
Stevia can be used in baking, but expect some trial and error. Because of the different forms (powder, blends, liquid) and concentrations, it would be next to impossible to give you clear universal guidelines.
Summary
- Stevia is safe to use and is a much better choice for fat loss and health than artificial sweeteners.
- The whole stevia plant shows more benefits than the extracted sweetening agents rebaudioside A and stevioside.
- Stevia blends (erythritol and stevia) are a good choice, but I personally prefer pure nonGMO erythritol.
- Calorie-free or not; all sweeteners must be consumed in moderation.
