Is Stevia Good for You?

The FDA approved the safety of stevia in late 2008 for use as a sugar substitute in the U.S., inundating American grocery stores with stevia-spiked sweetness. Also called stevia extract, stevia concentrate, stevioside and rebaudioside A, this calorie-free additive can be found in everything from drinks to gum.

History

• Credit for the discovery of stevia is attributed to an Italian doctor, Dr. Moises Santiago Bertoni, though the plant had been used by Paraguay's indigenous population since early times. Tribespeople of the Guarani nation would pull off the leaves and simply chew them for sweetness, as well as use the leaves to sweeten their naturally bitter mate tea and make medicinal poultices. Settlers were introduced to stevia by Spanish researchers, and soon the substance was in daily use throughout the region (including nearby Brazil and Argentina).

Geography

• The plant from which stevia is extracted is native to Paraguay. It has been cultivated there by the indigenous population (specifically, the Guarani tribe of the region between the Uruguay and lower Paraguay Rivers) since ancient times. The Guaranis call the plant 'Ka'a he'é in ne'e Guaraní (Kaa he-he, colloquially).

Identification

• The plant from which stevia is extracted isn't particularly showy. When full-grown, the plant develops into a large, bushy shrub. Its flowers are small, delicate and white, clustered on the ends of the stalks. Its green, non-descript leaves are the source of stevia's claim to fame. They contain a compound that has a delicious, refreshing taste that on average is about 30 times sweeter than cane sugar.

Benefits

• The human body doesn't have the capability to metabolize stevia's sweet glycosides, so they pass right through the body without providing calories or adversely affecting levels of blood glucose. Of course, this makes stevia a boon for folks with diabetes, pre-diabetes, blood pressure issues or excess weight. Notably, this isn't the only benefit to stevia's nutritional index. Lab testing has discovered that stevia's leaf and essential oil also contains vitamins A and C, protein, fiber, potassium, iron, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, rutin and antioxidant flavonoids.

Theories/Speculation

• A study was conducted in the late '60s by a Purdue University researcher (Professor Joseph Kuc) to determine the truth of rumors he'd heard about stevia's traditional use as a contraceptive. The rats in the study indeed showed that stevia had a contraceptive effect - but, notably, they were given an extremely high dose of stevia (an amount nearly impossible for a human to duplicate in one's diet) in a concentrate that entirely replaced their drinking water.