Content
- Natural sweetness or dangerous hype?
- Stevia from the supermarket - often not as natural as promised
- Is stevia healthy or harmful?
- Stevia from the garden
- Tips & Tricks
Natural sweetness or dangerous hype?
The leaves of the stevia plant contain sweet-tasting steviosides, which in contrast to sugar do not contain any calories. They also have a reputation for protecting teeth from decay, regulate blood sugar levels and lower blood pressure. However, critics warn against the natural sweetener, as it may not be as harmless as many claim.
Stevia from the supermarket - often not as natural as promised
In South America, the original home of the stevia plant, sweet tooth leaves have been used to sweeten mate tea as well as a gentle remedy since time immemorial. Responsible for the sweetness of the plant is the contained stevioside, which, however, has a slightly different flavor than conventional table sugar. Very sweet, it tastes a bit bitter with a hint of licorice. This change in taste is the reason why so far only a very manageable amount of Stevia sweetened foods can be found on supermarket shelves.
Commercially available stevia differs substantially from the sweet herb that you harvest in your home garden and add to your tea. These powders or sweetener tablets are isolated stevioside which is separated from the other plant substances by solvents and modern laboratory techniques. Since Stevia tastes extremely sweet, it is difficult to dose. Therefore, the sweeteners are added fillers such as maltodextrin, which increase the volume and thereby simplify the use in the kitchen.
Is stevia healthy or harmful?
To date, stevia may only be used in limited quantities and certain foods in the EU. Stevioside must also be declared as additive E960 on the packaging. The European Food Safety Authority considers that an Acceptle Daily Intake (ADI) of four milligrams per kilogram of body weight is safe. It follows in its recommendation a WHO report from 2019. If you do not exceed this recommended intake, you do not have to fear any health risks based on the current state of knowledge.
If you want to reduce your weight, Stevia is a great alternative to other sweeteners. Unlike consumption of sugar, Stevia does not increase blood sugar levels, which makes it easier to lose weight. The high sugar consumption in the industrialized countries leads to obesity as well as other complications such as high blood pressure and tooth decay. You can also reduce these risks by replacing some of the ingested sugar with stevia.
Stevia from the garden
If you consume very large amounts of isolated stevioside, however, you can quickly exceed the recommended intake levels. For self-harvested Stevia leaves, however, this risk is significantly lower than for industrially produced Stevia sweetener. Nevertheless, experts recommend that diabetics, calorie-conscious individuals and children pay attention to what amounts of stevioside they actually consume. As is often the case with Stevia, the dose determines whether something is healthy or harmful.
Tips & Tricks
For sweetening food and drinks, you should prefer stevia, which you have grown yourself. Do not replace conventional table sugar with sweet herbs in all dishes. So you can be sure to enjoy without remorse and not override the recommended maximum levels.
SKb