The Stevia rebaudiana is the plant responsible for providing the super sweet powder you can purchase to sweeten your food. The plant is named for Dr. Peter James Esteve, a botanist from Spain who lived in the 1500s. Learning about the uses for the stevia plant can help you decide whether to include the sweetener into your diet.
Identification
Stevia recently became a relatively common part of the American vocabulary, as the Food and Drug Administration only allowed food manufacturer's to sell and market stevia as a safe addition to both foods and beverages in 2008. Before then, the easiest way to purchase stevia was in health food stores or through the Internet. The most common way to purchase stevia is in a powdered form, but you can also find stevia liquid in a concentrate form and occasionally dried stevia leaves. Stevia extract may be 300 times sweeter than regular sugar.
Nutrition
Stevia, because it comes from a plant, is a natural sweetener without the chemical additives of some other zero-calorie sweeteners. However, some derivatives of stevia you may see in the grocery store do contain other ingredients and sweeteners, notes the National Institutes of Health. Read the label before you purchase a stevia product to ensure it contains only extract from the stevia plant. Stevia has zero calories, in contrast to brown and white sugar, which contain 35 and 33 calories per 2 tsp., respectively.
Drinks
It only takes between 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of powdered stevia, or one to two drops of liquid stevia extract to sweeten a drink. If you add too much stevia, your drink may taste bitter and unpleasant. You can use stevia in hot or iced coffees and teas, or to sweeten smoothies and protein shakes. If making a healthy strawberry or banana smoothie, add about 1/2 tsp. of stevia to 1 to 1 1/2 cups of fruit, 1 cup of yogurt and the fruit juice of your choice.
Baking
Yeast rolls, quick breads and sweet desserts are some of the uses for stevia in cooking and baking. You can use stevia in a high -temperature oven, as the sweetener stays stable when heated, notes the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. When baking or cooking with stevia, experiment with your recipe. Substitute part of the sugar in the recipe with stevia, and use natural honey for the other refined sugars. The granulated or brown sugar in recipes adds sweetness, but also affects the texture of the baked good. If making cookies, begin with about 2 to 3 tbsp. of stevia and 2 tbsp. of honey. For yeast breads, use 3 tsp. of stevia in place of sugar or honey.
Medical Considerations
Using stevia in place of sugar may help if you suffer from diabetics or need to control your caloric intake, according to a February 2010 study published in the "International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition." However, without other lifestyle interventions, such as reducing overall caloric consumption, simply substituting stevia for sugar in beverages will not solve a long-term weight problem. If you are a diabetic, follow your doctor's recommendation on sweeteners and food intake.
References
- Union County College; Stevia; T. Ombrello
- National Institutes of Health: Sweet, Huh? The Green Packet
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Sugars, Granulated, Brown
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Stevia; George Jones, et al.; September 2006
- "International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition"; Stevia (Stevia Rebaudiana) a Bio-Sweetener: A Review; S.K. Goyal, et al.; February 2010
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