Excess weight is a health risk, and if you are overweight you are included in the 66 percent of adult Americans who are overweight or obese. How much you weigh in relation to your height, how much weight you have gained since your mid-20s, as well as your size, all affect your chances of developing health problems, including diabetes, gallstones, arthritis, infertility, cardiovascular disease and even certain cancers. Replacing sugar in your diet with stevia may help you in cutting down your consumed calories, which can lead to weight loss.
Stevia
In December 2008, highly purified Rebaudioside A, an extract of the stevia plant, was approved as a sweetener by the United States Food and Nutrition Board. The stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plant is a bush that grows in Central and South America. A dose of approximately 4 to 15 mg for each kg of body weight a day has been shown to produce no adverse side effects in people with types 1 and 2 diabetes as well as those with hypertension, so it is a safe sweetener even for those looking to control their blood sugar.
Weight Loss
The key to losing weight is understanding that your weight is a balancing act, depending on you consuming less calories than you burn a day. One pound of fat is equal to approximately 3,500 calories. Therefore, if you are looking to lose a pound a week, you need to either consume 500 calories a day less than you have been, or burn off an extra 500 calories a day through physical activity. This is possible on almost any diet you decide to follow, as long as you are satisfied enough to stay on the diet.
Stevia for Weight Loss
Stevia is non-nutritive, meaning it is virtually calorie free. One gram of stevia contains zero calories, zero fat, zero carbohydrates, zero sodium and zero protein. To understand how this compares to sugar, 1 g of sugar contains 4 calories, and each teaspoon of sugar you use is 4 g, therefore 16 calories. Consider that one 12 oz. can of sweetened soda contains 8 tsp. of added sugar, which adds 130 calories to your diet. Replacing added sugar in your diet with zero calorie stevia can lower your daily caloric intake, helping you to lose weight, with the caloric difference depending on how much added sugar you currently consume.
Switching to Stevia
Raw stevia is 10 to 15 times sweeter than sugar, and stevia extract is said to be 200 to 300 times as sweet, so you only need a fraction of the amount as you would of sugar. Keep this in mind when using stevia in daily use and adjust the amount needed to your taste. Stevia is heat stable, so it can be used in cooking and baking. To adjust your recipes, use 1 tsp. liquid stevia, or 1/3 to 1/2 tsp. stevia extract powder, equal to 18 to 24 packs of stevia, for every 1 cup of sugar, and be sure to add 1/3 of a cup of liquid, or bulk, to make up for the lost volume. Examples are yogurt, water, egg whites, or fruit purees.
References
- MedLine Plus: Weight Control
- Harvard School of Public Health: How to Get to Your Healthy Weight
- Mayo Clinic; Artificial sweeteners: Understanding these and other sugar substitutes; Oct. 9, 2010
- Stevia Cafe: FDA Approval of Stevia Sweeteners Stirs Debate
- American Dietetic Association; Stevia; Julie Upton, MS, RD, CSSD; June 2009
- Mayo Clinic; Counting calories: Get Back to Weight-Loss Basics; Dec. 19, 2009
Member Comments