STEVIA Pages 136 - 143

                Stevia is a safe non-calorific herbal sweetener

Stevia is a sweetener extracted from a South American plant called Stevia Rebaudiana and has a very long history of worldwide use. Stevia leaves have been used to sweeten various teas by diabetic patients in Asian countries for many years, and no side effects have been observed.

The extraordinary sweetness of Stevia is due to a complex molecule called Stevioside, which is a glycoside that is composed of glucose, sophorose and steviol.

Stevia herb in its unprocessed form is very sweet, being about 15 times sweeter than table sugar. Stevia extracts in the form of steviosides are hundreds of times sweeter then table sugar, so you only need tiny amounts.

                                      Different forms of Stevia

Stevia comes in different forms - leaves (fresh & dried), liquid, tablets and powder. The taste of Stevia can vary depending upon the brand name, and some brands will have a slight liquorice aftertaste while others will not. Stevia tastes slightly different from sugar and although pleasant in taste, it can be an acquired taste.

Stevia tablets
These can be dissolved in hot beverages like tea and coffee and are convenient to carry around in your purse. The amount can vary from ½ to 2 tablets per cup.

Stevia leaves
Fresh leaves
If you chew a leaf picked from a stevia plant you will experience a long-lasting very sweet taste that could be compared to liquorice. You may be able to buy some stevia cuttings and plant them in your garden or on the balcony. Stevia grows best outdoors in hot sunny climates. You can use the fresh leaves to sweeten your drinks.

Dried leaves
The dried leaf is a lot sweeter than a fresh leaf. If you add crushed dried leaves to tea or coffee, you will need to adjust the amount to suit your palate - use very small amounts to begin with. Many people make the mistake of using too much stevia, and then complain about the flavour.

Dried stevia leaves can be used to sweeten -
Coffee and tea, spicy curries, sweet and sour stir-fries, sweet sauces and hot breakfast cereals. Generally speaking 2 to 4 dried leaves are required. The dried leaves have more of an after taste than the other forms of stevia.

Stevia powder - green
The powder is produced by grinding dried leaves and is about 20 times sweeter than sugar. Although it can be added to drinks and hot dishes, it has a stronger after taste than other forms of stevia. Generally speaking the white stevia extract powder, stevia tablets or clear liquid stevia are more pleasant with only a slight or negligible after taste.

Stevia powder - white
White stevia extract powder contains 90% of sweet glycosides and is around 300 times sweeter than sugar. It is the most popular form of stevia having the least after taste.

Liquid stevia concentrates
These liquid concentrates are made by mixing the white powder in distilled water, or grain alcohol. Usually only a few drops are needed to sweeten a cup of tea or coffee, a glass of home made lemonade or iced tea. They are found in health food stores and come in dropper-type bottles of various sizes.

Safety of Stevia
Stevia can be used as an alternative to artificial sweeteners and sugar in those with Syndrome X and type 2 diabetes.

According to research, Stevia does not affect blood sugar levels and some studies show that Stevia may reduce blood sugar levels.

Stevioside has been used safely among Indians in Paraguay and Brazil for over 200 years and also in Japan for over 20 years. It has been found to be safe and generally free of side effects and so far there has not been any reports of stevia plant toxicity.

A comprehensive study done at the Chulalongkorn University Primate Research Centre in Bangkok, Thailand (Yodyingyuad, 1991) examined the effects of stevioside in hamsters and their progeny. They tested 4 groups of 20 (one-month-old) hamsters that were equally divided amongst the sexes.

                                            Daily dose of Stevioside

                                      In mg/ kg of hamster body weight

The above doses of stevia given to all 3 groups of hamsters are very large, considering that it would be unlikely that a person would use more than a total amount of 500 milligrams (mg) of stevia per day.

The above study showed that there was no significant difference in the growth of the first generation of hamsters receiving the various amounts of stevioside compared to the control group. The third generation of hamsters showed no significant differences in body weight, irrespective of the stevia doses used. The mating performance of three generations of hamsters receiving various doses of stevia was as good as the controls. There were no abnormalities in reproductive tissue samples of sperm and ovaries in hamsters given stevia. No abnormalities in growth or fertility could be demonstrated in hamsters of both sexes receiving these very high doses of stevia compared to controls. The designers of this study concluded, "The results of this study are astonishing. Stevioside at a dose as high as 2500mg per kilogram of body weight affects neither growth nor reproduction in hamsters. If this is true in other mammalian species including humans, this substance will be of great benefit to industry and medicine, and can be used more widely as a non-caloric sweetener in a variety of foods and drinks, as already seen in Japan and Brazil."

The 1997 June edition of Food and Chemical Toxicity published a paper titled "Assessment of the carcinogenicity of stevioside in rats." It discusses a study carried out by Dr. Toyoda from the National Institute of Health Sciences in Tokyo. Over two years, three groups of laboratory rats, equally divided among the sexes were tested.

                             Stevioside dose in percentage of daily diets

After the two-year study was completed the surviving rats were euthanased. The organs of the rats were tested and almost no difference was found between the rats given stevia and the control rats. It was found that the female rats given stevioside had a lower incidence of breast tumours and the males had a lower incidence of kidney damage. The rats that received the stevioside weighed less than the rats in the control group. This is to be expected, as stevia does not contain any calories. Dr Toyoda and associates concluded, "Stevioside is not carcinogenic in rats under the experimental conditions described." If we look at an average person, the daily intake of stevioside could be estimated at the most, to be around 0.01% of the total daily food intake. The fact that rats given much higher amounts of stevia than this, did not experience an increased incidence of cancer is very positive.

In 1985 a study done at the College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago looked at the effects of stevioside on a bacteria called Salmonella typhimurium. Although stevioside did not cause any toxic reactions, steviol, which is a breakdown product of stevioside, caused some DNA changes in this strain of bacteria. Of great significance is that these DNA changes occurred only in the presence of a liquid fraction made from the livers of rats who had been treated with the chemical called Aroclor 1254 and other chemicals. However no problems were found if steviol was given to the bacteria without first being exposed to the above chemical toxins. Thus this study has no significance to humans because their livers are not damaged by toxic chemicals before they ingest stevia. In 1993 researchers in the Dep't of Biochemistry at Chiang Mai University, Thailand tested stevioside and steviol for mutagenicity (causing changes in DNA) in Salmonella typhurium bacteria and also in cultured human white blood cells. No mutations were caused by the stevioside even in high concentrations.

When a much higher dose was used, weak mutagenicity was seen in the bacteria.

Of huge importance was the finding that no significant chromosomal effects/damage were produced in the human white blood cells from stevioside or steviol. The study concluded "stevioside and steviol are neither mutagenic nor clastogenic (able to damage chromosomes) in vitro (in test tube) at the limited doses." Adequate studies of stevia use during human pregnancy are not available and until properly performed, it is advisable to use stevia in only small amounts while trying to conceive and during pregnancy. We can assess the effect of substances in a test tube, on a bacteria or in a laboratory animal, but we cannot extrapolate from this its effect in the human body with 100% reliability. An assessment of all the studies published on stevia plus the long history of its safe consumption in several countries, reassures me that stevia is very safe for humans. This is particularly so because of the small doses of stevia required for use as an alternative to sugar.

Stevia and Diabetes
Diabetics living in Asian countries have used stevia leaves with no side effects for many years.

Some studies have shown that stevia extract may help to reduce excessive blood sugar levels.

During 1986 scientists from the Universities of Maringa and Sao Paolo studied the effect of stevia on blood sugar levels.

Five grams of stevia leaves in extract form were given to 16 healthy subjects every 6 hours, for 3 days. A GTT was done before and after the administration of the stevia extract. The results of the GTT were compared to those of another group of subjects that did not receive the stevia extract. In those with a predisposition to diabetes, the GTT revealed a marked elevation of blood sugar levels. The subjects that received the stevia were found to have significantly lower blood sugar levels during the GTT. The outcome of this study gives a favourable indication that stevia can be beneficial to diabetics. Even if stevia by itself does not lower blood sugar levels, its use may allow diabetics to consume less sugar, which would be helpful in achieving better blood sugar control. At this time stevia's mode of action in lowering the blood sugar is not fully understood. A trial in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, showed that stevioside improves insulin secretion from mouse pancreas in the presence of glucose. The researchers stated, "Stevioside stimulates insulin secretion via a direct action on pancreatic beta cells. The results indicate that the compounds may have a potential role as an anti-hyperglycaemic agent in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus".

Stevia in its pure form, whether it be called Stevia, Stevia extract, Stevioside, or Stevia concentrate, does not adversely affect blood levels of glucose or insulin, and may be used in those with Syndrome X.

If you are diabetic, your own doctor must guide you. You could begin to use stevia extract to sweeten your tea and coffee or lemonade and see how it affects your blood sugar levels. At the very least by using stevia you will be able to reduce your consumption of sugar and artificial sweeteners. We have also provided some stevia recipes that you may like to try.

Stevia and Weight Loss
Stevia is an exceptional aid to those trying to lose weight because it has ZERO CALORIES One ounce (28grams) of sugar contains 50 calories. One ounce of sugar is approximately 2 teaspoons of sugar and it is not uncommon for an average person to consume 360 grams (13 ounces) of sugar providing 650 calories every day. By replacing the sugar with stevia you will have a valuable aid to long-term weight control. Stevia will be used a lot as a sweetener in the future because extracts of pure stevia are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar.

Other advantages of Stevia
Research has shown that stevioside does not cause tooth decay or tooth cavities.
This is because the substances in stevia that provide its sweetness do not ferment in the presence of bacteria. This is good news for children in whom the excessive consumption of sugar often leads to tooth decay and cavities.

In Japan stevia has been used for 20 years as a successful additive to products such as chewing gum, fizzy drinks, candies, and baked foods. In the near future we hope to see it used in the above ways in many more countries.

Several laboratory studies in rats showed that stevia is able to reduce blood pressure and provide a diuretic effect. A small study in Brazil studied 18 healthy human subjects who were given stevia leaf tea for 30 days. This study showed that stevia tea was able to effect a 10% lowering of pre-trial blood pressure levels. This is a small study and while the results are promising, more studies of stevia and its effects upon the human cardiovascular system are needed.

Some people using Stevia report improved digestion and less stomach upsets.

Stevia can be used as an anti-ageing tool. It is well known from numerous animal studies that reducing total calorie intake can extend life span. One of the factors contributing to ageing is the attachment of glucose to the proteins in the body, which is called the glycosylation of proteins. When glucose attaches to body proteins such as collagen and enzymes, damage to the proteins occurs causing cross-linking of proteins. These damaged proteins become less functional causing disturbances in cells and increasing degenerative diseases associated with ageing. With age the blood sugar levels tend to rise and so does the binding of glucose to our body proteins (glycosylation). This increases the hardening of arteries that supply our vital body organs with blood. Limiting the intake of calories and especially sugar can reduce the undesirable increase in glycosylation of body proteins typically seen with age. The use of stevia to reduce the intake of calories and sugar can only be helpful in preventing these physiological abnormalities of ageing. Although the use of stevia as a therapeutic or medicinal substance has not as yet been fully investigated, we have observed a number of its health promoting effects as discussed above.

How to use Stevia
Stevia can be used to completely replace added sugar in our diet. We can also use stevia with sugar, which will enable us to use less sugar, while still retaining the taste of sugar. We can combine stevia with honey, barley malt, rice syrup, molasses, raw brown sugar or fruit juices to reduce the amount of sugar in a recipe and our total consumption of sugar. Stevia extract can be used in recipes for baked foods, ice cream, puddings and smoothies. It can be added to freshly squeezed lemon juice or other citrus juices with a delicious result. Stevia is stable at high temperatures and thus can be used in hot dishes and baked foods. However baked foods made with stevia do not rise as much as those made with sugar. Stevia is not suitable as the sole sweetener in cakes or breads, which require yeast to rise. This is because sugar is needed to stimulate the rising properties of yeast. In such cases stevia can be used to replace half the sugar amount required in the recipe, with a big reduction in calories. Baking or cooking stevia eliminates its after taste. The white stevia extract powder does not discolour food whereas the green stevia powder may slightly discolour food. Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin have an obvious after taste and aspartame is unstable when heated.
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It is important to realise that stevia extract is 300 times sweeter than sugar, and if you use excessive amounts this can result in excessive sweetness and after taste. It is best to start with tiny amounts of stevia until you find the amount that suits your palate as this can vary a lot between individuals. If you are overly sensitive to an after taste, mixing the stevia with a tiny amount of sugar or honey can eliminate this.
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                                    Conversion rates of Stevia and Sugar

    The above conversions are approximate for the following reasons -
  The sweetness may vary depending upon the brand of stevia used
   Sour or tart foods like lemons, grapefruits, limes, pineapple, green apples or       cranberries need more stevia than naturally sweet foods like pears, ripe kiwi       fruits or bananas
   Personal taste - some like it sweeter than others

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