If you're a diabetic with a sweet tooth, consider using stevia instead of sugar. This natural sugar substitute reduces your blood sugar level without causing hypoglycemia. Scientific studies performed on rats prove stevia's medicinal properties, but more studies on humans are necessary. Diabetes is a serious health condition and patients should consult a health-care professional before making dietary changes like using stevia as a sweetener.
Stevia
In Western diets, extracts from the stevia plant are an alternative to sugar. People of Paraguay and Brazil use stevia as a medicinal plant, too. Its history of therapeutic use dates back more than 1,500 years. Folk uses of the plant include nourishing the liver, inducing a feeling of vitality and as a natural blood glucose regulator. The extract comes from the steviosides found in the leaves of the plant. Stevia's sweetness is 150 to 300 times greater than sugar. It has hypoclycemic properties, which means it reduces blood sugar.
Hypoglycemia
When you have hypoglycemia, it means your blood sugar is too low -- less than 70 mg/dL is low. You become hypoglycemic when your body uses your blood sugar too quickly and when too much sugar or insulin enters the bloodstream. It's common for people with diabetes to have hypoglycemia. Left untreated, you can lose consciousness and fall into a coma.
Blood Glucose Reduction
Stevia extract reduces blood glucose levels in rats induced with diabetes without causing hypoglycemia, according to a study by Vikram University in India and pubished in the April-June 2011 issue of "Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences." Taking sulfonylurea drugs is a common treatment for insulin-dependent adults with diabetes. These drugs reduce blood glucose levels, but can cause hypoglycemia. The researchers investigated stevia extract as an alternative therapy. In the study, the rats received either 200 mg or 400 mg of stevia extract per kilogram of bodyweight. The data show the rats treated with stevia showed a significant reduction in blood glucose levels, but did not develop hypoglycemia.
High Blood Pressure
Stevia injections lower blood pressure without causing hypoglycemia, according to researchers from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and reported in the March 2003 issue of the medical journal "Metabolism." This is important for diabetics because up to two out of three people with diabetes also have high blood pressure, as reported by the American Diabetes Association. In the study, researchers injected rats with steviocide. The results showed a reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
References
- "Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences"; Antidiabetic Activity of Medium-Polar Extract From the Leaves of Stevia Rebaudiana Bert. (Bertoni) On Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats; Misra Himanshu, et al.; April-June 2011
- American Diabetes Association: High Blood Pressure - Hypertension
- Pub Med Health; Hypoglycemia; May 2010
- "Metabolism"; Antihyperglycemic and Blood Pressure-Reducing Effects of Stevioside In The Diabetic Goto-Kakizaki Rat; P.B. Jeppesen, et al.; March 2003
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