STEVIA: PROPERTIES AND CONTRAINDICATIONS OF THE ZERO CALORIE SWEETENER

Stevia is a natural sweetener extracted from stevia rebaudiana, a plant found in cultivation in Brazil and Paraguay. One of the fundamental properties of stevia is the absence of calories, compared to a sweetening power greater than that of sugar and mass sweeteners such as aspartame.

The active ingredients of stevia are stevioside and rebaudioside A, which are found in all parts of the plant, but are more concentrated in the leaves. In fact, it is from the dried leaves that the sweetener is obtained, more powerful than the common sucrose or chemical alternatives: stevia is in fact about 300 times sweeter than sugar, therefore very little is enough to sweeten drinks such as tea or coffee. And unlike sugar and other sweeteners, it has no nutritional value, that is, it has zero calories, making it the ideal sweetener in the low-calorie diet.

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The properties and benefits

Stevia has several properties, being rich in minerals such as iron and manganese, vitamins, carbohydrates and proteins. The peoples of South America used it in ancient times and still today for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It also brings benefits to blood pressure, because with its hypotensive power it allows to control high blood pressure, it is indicated in place of sugar to avoid tooth decay and thanks to the presence of flavonoids in its composition it fights the free radicals responsible for skin aging. , helping to keep her young. Returning to its regulatory power regarding calories, it is indicated in the diets of those who must control blood sugars, such as people suffering from blood sugar and diabetes. It has been shown how stevia helps regulate hyperglycemia, together with hypertension, balancing the presence of blood sugar.

Is stevia bad for you? Contraindications and controversies

After an initial enthusiasm, above all due to the possibility of replacing refined sugar, not recommended in any diet, a suspicion arose from many sides: is stevia bad for you? In fact, there have been alarms from some parts that stevia may be carcinogenic: an excessive amount of its incoming principle, steviol, could cause cancer. The question is actually very controversial and not yet fully clarified, given that it is about dosages of an element of stevia and not of the plant or its extracts. The rumors for and against stevia have in fact produced a controversy concerning the suspicion of wanting to "bury" this natural additive in favor of artificial sweeteners, which would hide enormous commercial interests. In fact, stevia still has fewer side effects and contraindications than artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

Each country or supranational organization has organized itself in its own way: in Japan, stevia is used for example to sweeten Coca Cola Light, while the European Union, including Italy, and the United States, first admitted stevia only as a dietary supplement but not as a food ingredient, and then liberalized its use in the kitchen in 2010. In any case, in the absence of sufficient scientific and laboratory tests, a moderate use of stevia is recommended.

Where can you buy it? How much?

Being a natural product, stevia does not undergo degradation with high temperatures, and that is why it can be used instead of sugar not only for sweetening but also for the preparation of sweets of all kinds. Thanks to its main natural property, the absence of calories, some even recommend it in children's diets. It is found mainly in powder form, in tablets, crystallized in lumps, and even liquid. It is bought in supermarkets and herbalists, and has a price that varies from 10 to 30 euros according to the format and quantity, a thousand stevia tablets, for example, do not exceed 15 euros.

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One of the most followed weight loss diets is that of super metabolism, which helps to process and digest meals quickly by choosing the right foods. Many of these are low in sugar and calories, just like stevia. Discover them all!

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