Stevia, or stevioside, also called sweet leaf, is an extract fromStevia rabaudiana, a bush in the aster family related to daisies and sunflowers. In many countries it is used as a substitute for sugar to sweeten foods. In its native Paraguay the plant has been used for centuries to sweeten beverages. The Japanese cultivate stevia plants and use the extract for about 40 per cent of their food sweetening, including such foods as pickles and various beverages. It is also cultivated and used in Brazil, China, Taiwan, Korea and Israel.
In the United States and Europe it is banned as a food additive, though it is considered safe as a dietary supplement.
In the US it can be purchased in any health food store. It is sold as a sweetener in liquid extracts, as well as in packets under different brand names. Stevia is a great way to sweeten up your foods without upsetting your blood sugar. As well as sweetening up your food and beverages, it actually has the ability to lower blood sugar by acting directly on the beta cells of your pancreas to help you release insulin.
Several studies have been undertaken and published on the effects of stevia. In 2000 the journal Metabolism published an article from Aarhus University in Denmark. Stevioside was shown to stimulate secretion of insulin from the pancreas of mice.
The journal Phytomedicine in 2002 published another article from Aarhus University Hospital, demonstrating a blood sugar-lowering effect in rats after consuming stevia, and the following year Metabolism published a study from the same source showing increased amounts of insulin in the pancreas of rats given this sugar replacement.
Again Metabolism published a further article from Aarhus University Hospital. Twelve diabetic patients were given either stevia or cornstarch with a meal. After the meal the diabetics who consumed stevia had lower blood sugar levels than those who had eaten the cornstarch.
The following year the journal Hormonal and Metabolic Research published the results of a study performed at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. Rats fed stevia were shown to have improved insulin sensitivity when fed diets high in sugar.
Researchers at Vikram University, India compared stevia with the drug glibenclamide in the treatment of diabetic rats. Both lowered the blood sugar levels, but stevia did not produce hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, as glibenclamide did. Stevia was shown to help to revitalize their beta cells, which produce insulin.
The studies performed so far have been intriguing, but have not shown clinical results in large numbers of human beings and some studies have failed to show any medicinal or sugar-lowering effect of stevia. Research goes on, and, in the meantime, stevia is safe to substitute for one or two teaspoons of sugar per day.
For people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, stevia is the perfect sweetener because it does not cause blood sugar levels to spike or fluctuate.
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