Discover the Sweet Benefits of Stevia: The Sugar Substitute That Lowers Blood Sugar

It is generally believed that eating sugar will increase blood sugar, but there is a kind of “sugar” that can lower blood sugar. It was even used to treat diabetes in ancient times. This “sugar” is stevia.

A “sugar” with zero glycemic index and zero calories

In recent years, stevia (Stevia) can be called the most popular natural sugar substitute, it comes from the plant Stevia rebaudiana, also known as stevia, belongs toSunflower (Asteraceae) Family, native to southern Brazil and northern Paraguay in South America. The local Guarani Indians have used stevia since ancient times to sweeten food and beverages and to use it medicinally,fortreat diabetes。

The sweetness of stevia mainly comes from stevioside (Stevioside), the sweetness of stevioside, which is about that of sugar200 to 300 times。

Occurs naturally in the leaves of Stevia8 typesSteviol glycosides, of which stevioside has the largest proportion, accounting for about9.1%. Highly pure stevia extract contains 95% or more steviol glycosides.

Despite its heavenly taste, stevia has zero glycemic index (GI) and zero calories.The glycemic index is the speed and degree to which a food raises blood sugar levels. The measure is glucose, with a GI value of 100.

Due to the commercial potential of stevia andpharmacological propertieshas aroused widespread concern in the food and scientific circles, and now there are plantations of stevia in many countries and regions.

Stevia not only provides sweetness but also fights diabetes

Modern studies have found that stevia can effectivelyfight diabetes。

Specifically, stevia can not only increase insulin secretion and activity, but also reduce insulin resistance. It also maintains blood sugar levels by inhibiting or reducing the liver’s activity in making glucose. Moreover, stevioside and steviol in stevia also control some enzymes to work to avoid hypoglycemia caused by “over-lowering” blood sugar.

A study conducted by scientists at the University of Floridaexperimentmiddle,Thirty-one healthy adult volunteers ate the same breakfast after fasting for 12 hours. After that, 20 minutes before lunch and dinner, they ingested tea and refreshments with added sucrose, artificial sugar aspartame, and stevia, respectively. But what kind of sugar they are ingesting, everyone does not know in advance. Afterwards, they can eat lunch and dinner as much as they want.

Then at various time points, they assessed their hunger and fullness levels and underwent blood tests. All completed 3 full-day tests.

The results showed that people who consumed stevia had significantly lower postprandial blood sugar levels without dramatic fluctuations compared with those who consumed sucrose; compared with those who consumed aspartame, their postprandial blood sugar levels also lower.Postprandial insulin levels were also lower overall in the stevia group than in the aspartame and sucrose groups.

“This suggests that stevia, compared with other types of sweeteners, can help people control blood sugar levels after eating, or keep them within a healthy range.” Professor of the Department of Physiology and Aging at the University of Florida, who participated in the study Stephen Anton, in an interview with The Epoch Times, stated that stevia “provides a better postprandial metabolic state” compared to sucrose and aspartame.

In addition, people who consumed stevia and aspartame consumed significantly fewer calories throughout the day.

Notably, those who ate stevia before meals did not get calories from it, but they did not eat more at lunch or dinner to compensate for the caloric difference compared to those who ate high-calorie sucrose. Also, they had similar levels of satiety.

A 2016 study of people with diabetes published in the Journal of Food and Agricultural Sciencesrandomized controlled trial, further showing the effect of stevia on lowering blood sugar. 20 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into two groups, one group took 1 gram of stevia leaf dry powder every day, and the other group did not take it. The experiment lasted for 60 days.

The results showed that fasting blood sugar and postprandial blood sugar levels were significantly reduced in diabetic patients who took dry stevia leaf powder.

while in an earlierhuman experimentIn the study, 16 healthy volunteers took 5 grams of stevia leaf plant water extract every 6 hours for 3 consecutive days. The results showed that after ingesting the plant water extract of stevia leaves, the subjects’ glucose tolerance was improved. All volunteers had lower plasma glucose levels during the test and after an overnight fast.

“I see that replacing sugar with stevia can really make a big difference, it can change the rules of the game,” said Per Bendix Jepsen, associate professor at the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark (Per Bendix Jeppesen) said in an interview with The Epoch Times. Jepsen is committed to the research of stevia extract as an antidiabetic drug and stevioside as a healthy sugar substitute.

This is because the main ingredients in stevia have a positive effect on the human endocrine system, especially for people with diabetes. While researching the efficacy and purification technology of stevioside, Jepsen also participated in related experiments on antidiabetic drugs.

In addition, modern people’s diet contains a lot of sugar and fat, and lacks physical activity. Regarding this phenomenon, Jepsen said, “Stevia may be a good sugar substitute that allows us to avoid excessive sugar intake. By adding stevia, it will really improve the health of the public, because when we have less When you eat sugar, your calorie intake decreases.”

Stevia is beneficial for metabolism and can lower blood pressure and blood fat

In addition to controlling postprandial blood sugar and fighting diabetes, stevia also contributes to other metabolic activities in the body, including lowering blood pressure and blood lipids.

The principle of stevia lowering blood pressure is that the steviol glycosides it contains can regulate the level of calcium in the blood, therebydilate blood vessels, and reduce arterial constriction. These all help lower blood pressure.

Taiwan conducted a study on hypertensive patientsrandomized double-blind placeboControlled experiment. 174 hypertensive patients were divided into two groups, one group took steviol glycoside capsules 3 times a day, each capsule contained 500 mg steviol glycosides, while the other group took a placebo. After two years, those taking steviol glycosides had significantly improved blood pressure, with systolic blood pressure dropping from an average of 150 mm Hg to 140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure falling from an average of 95 mm Hg to 89 mm Hg.

It is noteworthy that the efficacy of steviol glycosides in hypertensive patients appeared about 1 week after the start of the experiment and continued to exert positive effects throughout the study. Moreover, the overall quality of life scores of patients taking steviol glycosides were also significantly improved.

An additional 462 participantsmeta-analysis, including seven studies and nine randomized controlled trials.analyzeIt showed that compared with taking placebo, steviol glycosides significantly reduced people’s systolic blood pressure by 6.32 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 3.6 mm Hg. And body mass index, fasting blood glucose, and total cholesterol also showed non-significant reductions.

Stevia can also lower blood fat.havereview studyIt is pointed out that consumption of stevia extract can significantly increase the level of high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol), and significantly reduce the level of total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol).

Stevia is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant

Compounds in stevia have more than100 kinds,inRich in beneficial substances, in addition to natural sweeteners and a variety of trace elements, it also contains terpenes, tannins, sterols, volatile acids, vitamins, flavonoids, enzymes, organic acids, polysaccharides and other ingredients. These substances are biologically active.For example, the most polyphenolic constituents in stevia leaves areChlorogenic acidit has excellent antioxidant activity and various therapeutic properties – including antidiabetic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer.

Steviol glycosides can inhibit and control the factors that lead to cell inflammation andanti-inflammatory. Steviol glycosides protect the liver by preventing inflammation in the liver. Steviol glycosides can also enhance a person’s innate immune system.

Stevioside can alsoanti-oxidation. Experiments have found that steviol glycosides protect heart cells damaged by hydrogen peroxide, enhancing their vitality and antioxidant capacity. It also prevents oxidative DNA damage in the liver and kidneys.

Stevia is safer and has fewer side effects

The duration of continuous stevia use in Paraguayover 1500 years，Almost no adverse reactions, and there arereview studyMost reports show no side effects from stevia.

Stevia as a sweetenersafety is recognizedis considered non-toxic, non-mutagenic and non-carcinogenic.

According to the definition of the European Food Safety Authority and the European Commission of the Food Science Committee, the daily intake of stevia dry extract per kilogram of body weight is4mg。

Jepsen introduced that these agencies spent more than ten years to make a rigorous assessment before including stevia on the list, and Japan has widely used stevia since the 1980s, and no adverse effects have been found so far. Report.

there was earlierIndividual animal experimentsproposed that stevia may be harmful to laboratory animalsfertility impact. But the final results of these earlier experiments were generally not accepted, Jepsen said.

How to Choose Stevia

Because stevia itself is too sweet, the stevia products commonly found in most supermarkets are mixed formulas. Such products mainly include:

1. Powdered Stevia

Steviol glycosides in powdered products usually only account for about 1%, and most of the rest are some sugar alcohols, such as erythritol, xylitol, etc. There are also products that use sucrose or jaggery to blend with stevia.

2. Liquid Stevia

Liquid stevia products are mainly water and may have added preservatives such as alcohol. Among them, the colorless and transparent products are formulated with steviol glycosides as raw materials, while the green products themselves are more likely to be directly extracted from stevia plants.

3. Compatible with soluble fiber

Jepsen recommends another type of product that combines soluble fiber and steviol glycosides. Eating such products can not only obtain sweetness without calories, but also consume fiber at the same time. Moreover, the dosage and method of this type of product are similar to sucrose, so it is easy to master when cooking.

Some stevias have a metallic and bitter taste, which comes from steviosides.Jepsen mentioned that with the advancement of extraction technology, the taste of stevia products is getting better and better, and the aftertaste such as metallic taste and bitterness can be avoided, and more and more stevia products will be available in the future.

Also keep in mind when shopping, not all stevia products sold are of high quality. Some products have been found to contain sodium cyclamate and sodium saccharin.Moreover, compared with high-purity stevia sweeteners containing ≥ 95% steviol glycosides, crude stevia extracts may haveCertain sensitization。

Grow Your Own and Enjoy True, Natural Stevia

If you want to eat “natural” thoroughlystevia,You can try growing your own.

Stevia is not squeamish, as long as you ensure a certain amount of light and use light soil with good drainage, its leaves will grow more and the content of steviol glycosides will be higher.

Among the 8 steviol glycosides contained in stevia leaves, rebaudioside A tastes better than steviosidemore pleasant. Some high-quality stevia varieties developed in recent years have higher rebaudioside A content than stevioside. You can pay attention to the label instructions when purchasing, or ask the store.

To get the best flavor out of the leaves, prune off mature buds in good time, as the level of sweeteners in the leaves will change as stevia blooms.A sharp decline。

Also pay attention to adjusting the amount of watering according to the temperature and humidity, and properly applying organic fertilizers. Stevia is not cold-resistant. In colder regions, the plants should be moved indoors in winter, or thick straws should be piled on the roots of the plants to prevent cold.

For less experienced growers, there may be certain obstacles in the process of planting from seed selection, because stevia seeds are difficult to germinate. You may wish to use stevia branches for cuttings, or buy stevia seedlings for cultivation.

2 Easy Ways to Make Homemade Stevia Liquid

Stevia leaves can be harvested multiple times throughout the year. To harvest, simply cut off the branches and remove the leaves.If there are many fresh leaves that cannot be consumed in a short time, they can be dried by hot air drying and then stored.

The drying temperature is 40 °C to 50 °C, which is more suitable to retain the phenolic substances and flavonoids in the stevia leaves to the greatest extent.Although the cool and dry method may retain more active substances, it is easy to mold and rot during the process, which bringspolluteriskis not recommended.

There are two ways to make homemade stevia liquid:

● Hot water soaking to extract steviol glycosides

In order to extract steviol glycosides more effectively from Stevia rebaudiana, the easiest way is to soak the dried leaves in 90°C hot water. And the method of large-scale preliminary extraction of steviol glycosides in factories is also soaking in hot water.This physical extraction method has been provenDoes not affect the quality of steviol glycosides。

● Boil to make stevia syrup

Stevia leaves are boiled over low heat to further concentrate the volume of the extract by about 50% to obtain a homemade stevia syrup. However, it should be noted that because no preservatives are added, this kind of liquid needs to be stored in the refrigerator to avoid contamination when it is taken.

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Editor in charge: Li Fan