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Thread: All-Natural Stevia: Nature's Miracle Sugar Substitute

  1. #1

    All-Natural Stevia: Nature's Miracle Sugar Substitute

    https://www.livescience.com/39601-st...ts-safety.html

    What Is Stevia?

    Stevia is perhaps unique among food ingredients because it's most valued for what it doesn't do. It doesn't add calories. Unlike other sugar substitutes, stevia is derived from a plant.

    The stevia plant is part of the Asteraceae family, related to the daisy and ragweed. Several stevia species called "candyleaf" are native to New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.

    But the prized species, Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), grows in Paraguay and Brazil, where people have used leaves from the stevia bush to sweeten food for hundreds of years. In traditional medicine in these regions, stevia also served as a treatment for burns, colic, stomach problems and sometimes as a contraceptive.
    Does stevia work?

    Stevia has no calories, and it is 200 times sweeter than sugar in the same concentration. Other studies suggest stevia might have extra health benefits.

    "Available research is promising for the use of stevia in hypertension," said Catherine Ulbricht, senior pharmacist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and co-founder of Natural Standard Research Collaboration, which reviews evidence on herbs and supplements. Ulbricht said Natural Standard gave stevia a "grade B for efficacy" in lowering blood pressure. Other studies suggest stevia could benefit people with Type 2 diabetes, but Ulbricht says more research is needed.

    A no-calorie source of sweetness is an obvious diet solution in theory. But a few studies show that replacing sugar with artificial or low-calorie sweeteners may not ultimately lead to weight loss in real life.

    A 2004 study in rats found low-calorie sweeteners led the animals to overeat, possibly because of a mismatch between the perceived sweetness and the expected calories from sugar, according to the paper in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. The author of that study later argued that people who use artificial sweeteners may suffer health problems associated with excess sugar, including metabolic syndrome, which can be a precursor to diabetes.

    "A number of studies suggest people who regularly consume ASB [artificially sweetened beverages] are at increased risk compared with those that do not consume ASB," Dr. Susan E. Swithers said in a 2013 opinion letter in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.

    Yet there is also evidence that stevia does nothing to change eating habits or hurt metabolism in the short term. A 2010 study in the journal Appetite tested several artificial sweeteners against sugar and each other in 19 lean people and 12 obese people.

    The study found people did not overeat after consuming a meal made with stevia instead of sugar. Their blood sugar was lower after a meal made with stevia than after eating a meal with sugar, and eating food with stevia resulted in lower insulin levels than eating either sucrose and aspartame.
    Is stevia safe?

    The question of whether stevia is safe to consume largely depends on what someone means by "stevia." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved stevia leaves or "crude stevia extracts" for use as food additives. Studies on stevia in those forms raise concerns about the control of blood sugar and effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular, and renal systems, the FDA warns.

    However, the FDA has allowed companies to use an isolated chemical from stevia as food additive, calling the chemical "generally recognized as safe." Now, products such as Truvia and others have the legal go-ahead to use Rebaudioside A, which is also found in stevia, in their no-calorie sweeteners.

    But there are some health concerns surrounding the stevia plant. Stevia may cause low blood pressure, which would be of concern to some taking blood pressure medications.

    "Caution is advised when using medications that may also lower blood sugar. People taking insulin or drugs for diabetes by mouth should be monitored closely by a qualified health care professional, including a pharmacist," Ulbricht said.

    Stevia may also interact with anti-fungals, anti-inflammatories, anti-microbials, anti-cancer drugs, anti-virals, appetite suppressants, calcium channel blockers, cholesterol-lowering drugs, drugs that increase urination, fertility agents and other medications, Ulbricht said. People should talk with their doctor before deciding to take stevia in large amounts, she said.
    Last edited by angelatc; 08-16-2017 at 05:12 PM.



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  3. #2
    The Stevia war will begin momentarily.

  4. #3
    Abolish the FDA.

  5. #4
    Its too bad it tastes like ass.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by specsaregood View Post
    Its too bad it tastes like ass.
    Wait. How do you know this?

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Citizen View Post
    Wait. How do you know this?
    Prude

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Citizen View Post
    Wait. How do you know this?
    LOLOL
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12

  9. #8
    True Stevia leaf is very sweet. You can dry them out and grind them to add to anything. I would caution anyone not to buy Truvía® at the grocery store. It has GE erythritol (from GMO corn) in it.





    Also this little tid-bit may help a lot of people:



    Stevia Kills Lyme Disease Pathogen Better Than Antibiotics (Preclinical Study)
    http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/ste...clinical-study

    Stevia is the best treatment for Lyme disease, researchers say
    http://nypost.com/2017/07/13/stevia-...searchers-say/

    University of New Haven professor studying whether stevia can kill Lyme disease bacteria
    http://www.nhregister.com/connecticu...g-11309707.php
    “The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner



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