Stevia: A Sweet and Natural Alternative

Do you enjoy a sweet cup of tea or coffee but have cut out sugar? If you’ve also moved away from artificial sweeteners like saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose, you might be wondering how to satisfy your sweet tooth. An herb called stevia could be your new best friend, bringing sweetness back to your treats.

Stevia is a calorie-free sweetener made from the leaves of the stevia plant. Although its use in the U.S. is relatively recent, with approval as a food additive in 2008, it has been used in South America for centuries. The sweetness in stevia comes from steviol glycosides found in the leaves, which are up to 400 times sweeter than sugar. This means you need much less stevia to achieve the same level of sweetness.

The Sweetness Spectrum

To understand stevia's sweetness, let’s compare it to other sweeteners. Here’s how they measure up against table sugar:

Acesulfame Potassium (Sweet One®, Sunett®) is 200 times sweeter.

Advantame (Advantame®) is 20,000 times sweeter.

Aspartame (Nutrasweet®, Equal®, Sugar Twin®) is 200 times sweeter.

Luo Han Guo (Nectresse®, Monk Fruit in the Raw®, PureLo®) is 100 to 250 times sweeter.

Neotame (Newtame®) is 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter.

Saccharin (Sweet and Low®, Sweet Twin®, Sweet'N Low®, Necta Sweet®) is 200 to 700 times sweeter.

Steviol Glycosides (Stevia) (Truvia®, PureVia®, Enliten®) are 200 to 400 times sweeter.

Sucralose (Splenda®) is 600 times sweeter.

Thaumatin (Talin®) is 2,000 to 3,000 times sweeter.

How Stevia is Made

Making stevia extract involves steeping the leaves in water to extract the steviol glycosides, similar to brewing tea. The extract is then purified and dried to produce a powder or granules.

Safety and Use

The FDA considers stevia safe for consumption when used as a 95% pure extract. Many stevia-based sweeteners on the market also contain other sweeteners or sugars, so it’s essential to check labels if you want a product that is purely stevia. The acceptable daily intake (ADI) for stevia is quite high, meaning you’d need to consume about 27 packets a day to reach it, which is a lot given its high sweetness intensity.

Potential Benefits

Research suggests that stevia is safe for people with diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure and may even help prevent these conditions. It has potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and might support kidney health. However, it is not FDA-approved as a treatment for any health conditions, and whole stevia leaves or crude extracts are not FDA-approved either. Always consult a healthcare provider before using stevia if you have a medical condition.

Possible Drawbacks

Some studies have mixed results on stevia's impact on gut health, with some indicating it may cause nausea or bloating. There’s also ongoing research into whether it could disrupt hormones.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a natural sweetener without the calories, stevia is worth trying. With various brands available, you can find one that fits your taste. Remember, stevia is much sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way. Explore its possibilities beyond just sweetening your morning coffee or tea, such as in desserts like baked cinnamon apples, baked cinnamon acorn squash, or banana mousse. Just keep in mind that stevia isn't a 1:1 substitute for sugar, so look for recipes that provide specific measurements for stevia.

Enjoy the sweetness of stevia while keeping your health in check!