Stevia is a misunderstood shrub that has long been used safely as a sweetener from South America to China. It is banned from most countries in the European Union, however. In addition to having no effect on blood sugar, nutrients found in stevia leaves such as chromium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, zinc and niacin are known to help regulate blood sugar.
The Glycemic Index
According to the Glycemic Index Foundation, the glycemic index, GI, is a ranking of foods on a scale from 0 to 100 based on their effect on blood sugar. The higher the GI ranking, the more rapidly a food is digested and absorbed, producing marked fluctuations in blood sugar. Low GI foods are favored by diabetics and those seeking weight loss because they are absorbed slowly and have minimal impact on blood sugar, with the resulting effect that they control appetite and improve glucose and lipid levels. The international database of the GI rankings of foods is based in the Human Nutrition Unit of the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences at the University of Sydney in Australia.
Stevia
The plant Stevia rebaudiana is a perennial shrub native to South and Central America. It has been used for centuries as a sweetener and is often referred to as "the sweet herb of Paraguay." According to a report published in journal "Phytochemistry," the leaves of the stevia contain between 4 and 20 percent by dry weight the sweet molecules that give stevia its reputation, depending on the variety and the growing conditions. Despite their sweet taste, these chemicals are non-caloric. Products made from stevia extracts have a GI index of 0.
Stevioside
The primary sweetness molecule of stevia is called stevioside. It tastes 300 times sweeter than sugar, but has zero calories. No enzymes in the digestive tract are able to digest stevioside and it is not absorbed in the body. Other sweet compounds in stevia leaf include steviolbioside, rebaudioside or rebiana, and dulcoside. Use of stevioside and stevia-based extracts for sweetening is linked with decreased incidence of dental cavities, but this is only due to reduced intake of sugar.
Controversy
In 1991, stevia was banned by the FDA due to an anonymous petition claiming it was unsafe as a food additive. According to Nutrition Wonderland, some have speculated the complaint came from individuals linked to corporations producing aspartame, a then recently approved artificial non-caloric sweetener. Congress passed a law in 1994 allowing stevia to be sold as an "herbal supplement," but not as a sweetener. In 2008, in response to a query by Cargill, the FDA officially declared rebiana "generally accepted as safe" but was silent on other stevia compounds such as stevioside.
Soda
Later that same year, Coca-Cola announced its plans to release products sweetened by Truvia, a rebiana-based sweetener manufactured in partnership with Cargill. Sprite Green and the Odwalla line of beverages were the first products scheduled for sale with Truvia. PepsiCo followed suit by using another rebiana-based sweetener, called PureVia, in its SoBe brand products. These products take advantage of stevia's all-natural, zero-calorie and 0 GI qualities to reach a growing key U.S. market for non-caloric, non-artificial sweeteners.
