Today we discuss the stevia, a plant that has become popular in its consumption. Surely you have heard that it is the solution to all the problems that the sugar. Sure? Below we analyze the different positions around this natural sweetener. Let's see if it's as good or as bad as they paint it.
Holding back sugar
Sugar is not out of the spotlight. Many people worry about the effects it may have on our health That's right. Its direct relationship with the diabetes, obesity, heart problems and other disorders. That is why we find more and more sugar-free products on the market. Some include the word "zero" in your name to indicate the absence of this ingredient. However, many of the people who quit sugar miss the sweet taste. So they are looking for a sweetener that causes less damage.
La stevia is one of the protagonists of these products. It comes directly from the leaves of a South American plant: Stevia rebaudiana. It has more than 11 components called sweets steviol glycosides! However, it has not always been so well known. Formerly only the Guarani used it in their drinks. However, this changed in 1971, when it began to be exported to Japan. Part of its success is that it is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar.
He kept a low profile throughout the XNUMXth century but made the big leap in the current century. It began to be sold as a substitute with which you save all the damages of sugar. Goodbye to the possibility of having problems with insulin. Its popularity grew and its use in food was approved in USA. in 2008 and in the UE en 2012. The marketing that cataloged it as healthy and natural product it was what contributed the most to its expansion. Today it is used for everything. Even for gin, as we explained in the article on Gynevia.
How natural is stevia?
It is not as natural as you think. The plant needs to be processed so we can get the sweetener. That is why there is a controversy around this sweetener that some nutritionists recommend avoid. His advice is to dispense with the added sugars and, if necessary, the sweet taste. How much can you use miel, which is much more natural and also sweetens. At least this is not related, according to some studies, to infertility, anemia y lack of red blood cells.
If we read the ingredients of the products that contain stevia we find it in very low amounts of steviol glycoside. An example is found in soft drinks that dispense with sugar in pursuit of stevia. In some cases this is from One percent! In addition, for marketing reasons, many brands avoid the name E-960 own of the refined extract. In fact they add products such as maltodextrin to disguise the slight bitter taste of the original leaf. Therefore, how healthy is it to consume a processed product to substitute another processed product?
On the contrary, to the natural stevia untreated some are attributed benefits to health. There are those who blame it for a reduction in the risk of suffering pancreatic cancer. Not to mention that it keeps blood pressure at bay and is a diuretic. Furthermore, there has never been a case of stevia allergy. Other studies (like this one published in PubMed) attributes Antibacterial properties. However, we should not consider it a panacea either. There is still no solid evidence that moves the vast majority of researchers in the same direction. If you want to know more we recommend you read steviados.es.
Something that happens with stevia processed is that it is a product of recent commercialization. Due to the lack of scientific consensus, they recommend consuming moderate amounts just in case. We are not well aware of the long-term effects. Furthermore, animal studies have been done with mixed results. In some the mice were sterile and in others they were not. As the philosopher would say EpicurusWe must enjoy the pleasure of the sweet in a rational way so that it does not cause us pain. On the other hand, natural stevia can leave us calmer. It all depends on the format.
