Stevia–Health Benefits of The Natural Sweetener
Sugar is not considered to be good for health. Those of you who want to be fit, slim and healthy should give refined sugar a miss. But how will you sweeten your food? The market is full of low calorie sweeteners but the problem is that they are artificial. So, you must go in for natural sweeteners and one among them is stevia that has become vastly popular in the recent times.
If you have been reading our Indian weight loss blog regularly, you will find that stevia is used extensively to sweeten healthy recipes.
Stevia is a zero calorie sweetener and is 100 percent natural! Human studies have confirmed that they have a number of health benefits.
What is Stevia?
Stevia is a plant that is native to South America. It is being used since several centuries due to the medicinal benefits it has to offer. Stevia has a strong and sweet flavour that makes it work as a sweetener.
You can purchase the crushed/whole stevia leaves to sweeten your food. Most often the stevia available is an extract in the form of a liquid or powder. The sweet compounds of the plant are isolated to make a refined version of the sweetener that is also widely available.
Stevia contains two chief sweet compounds are called Stevioside and Rebaudioside A which are isolated from the plant. These 2 compounds are a 100 times sweeter than sugar!
Stevia and blood pressure
When your blood pressure is elevated you are risking your body to several serious illnesses that include kidney failure, heart disease and stroke. Studies have shown that consuming stevia’s sweet compound stevioside can help in reducing blood pressure. But the studies have used really large doses of stevioside and you can’t be consuming that large an amount in your day to day life.
Stevia and diabetes
The biggest health pronlem today is type 2 diabetes. A person suffering from type 2 diabetes has a high blood sugar due to insulin resistance or the inability of the body to produce insulin.
In a study with diabetic patients it was found that those given a gram of stevioside witnessed a reduction in their blood sugar by 18%.
In another study involving sugar, stevia and aspartame(an artificial sweetener), stevia was found to lower blood sugar and insulin levels post meal.
This shows that stevia can be useful for people suffering with type 2 diabetes.
Is Stevia Safe?
Stevia has not shown any negative effects on human health. This has been verified in studies done on humans.
Which Stevia Should be bought?
It is important to get the right kind of stevia because some types of it can have a bad taste. It can be bought in liquid form as well as in powder form. The liquid stevia is known to have an aftertaste but that is probably due to the alcohol added to it. It would be advisable to pick a brand that is organic, has a good flavour and has no artificial additives. Here is the review of a stevia sweetener by Tarun click.
How to Use Stevia?
When using stevia bear I mind that it is 100 times sweeter than sugar. 1 teaspoon of the extract of stevia has the sweetening power equivalent to one whole cup of sugar. The sweetness will vary with brands.
So, stevia is perhaps the only sweetener that is not harmful and has actual health benefits to offer. Fitness experts are in favour of using stevia as a sweetener. So go ahead and sweeten your life with stevia!
Are your ready to use stevia to sweeten your food?
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