Positive properties of stevia
Sweeten healthy with Stevia
Stevia is a sweet tasting plant that is processed into a healthy sweetener in many countries around the world. Healthy above all because it contains neither sugar nor calories. Furthermore, Stevia does not affect blood sugar levels and protects teeth from tooth decay.
Sweet and still healthy
There is a great demand for sweet foods that should contain as few calories as possible. Ideally, this should also be gentle on the teeth and not change the blood sugar level. Regular consumption should not make you ill, but should have a much more positive effect on the body's health. Just like with the sweetener Stevia.
There are many sweeteners and sugar substitutes available, but none has as many positive properties as Stevia. In addition, most of them are not produced naturally.
The plant "Stevia rebaudiana", which originates from South America, is also known as honey herb and tastes particularly sweet by nature. Compared to our regular household sugar, the Stevia plant is about 30 times sweeter. At the same time, it contains neither calories nor sugar. The sweetness derived from Stevia is called stevioside and is 300 times sweeter than beet sugar.
Stevia helps you reduce your body weight
Reducing body weight is known to mean consuming fewer calories or burning more calories than eating. Although this is easier said than done, the road to realising these tips is not far off.
The shortest answer is: with Stevia. The stevia plant has almost no calories. That is why it has been used as a sweetener in Japan since the 1970s. Stevia has a 40% market share here.
Stevia lowers blood sugar levels
The fact that Stevia does not affect blood sugar levels is another reason why losing weight with Stevia works so well. A stable blood glucose level can be the key to a healthy weight. WebMD.com (English language portal for medical and health information) writes about studies that show that stevioside could lower blood sugar levels.
Stevia is tooth-friendly
We all know that sugar is not good for our teeth. A sugar-containing diet has led to some people having a very unpleasant visit to the dentist. Since tooth decay cannot be stopped by sugar consumption, even elaborate dental hygiene measures are not useful. The average annual sugar consumption per person in Germany is around 35 to 40 kilograms. In the USA and Switzerland this figure is almost twice as high.
The amount of sugar consumed is not only about the quantities used for coffee or cake dough. It also includes the sugar contained in jam, cocoa drinks, Nutella, juices, soft drinks, chips, biscuits or muesli, for example. The amount of sugar in this type of food is not apparent.
The relief for your teeth, if only a part of the sugar consumed daily is saved, becomes clear. In addition to the caries-inhibiting effect of Stevia, the sweetener is also said to prevent the formation of plaque (dental plaque).
Can Stevia lower blood pressure?
Onakpoya & Heneghan, University of Oxford | Department of Primary Care Health Sciences reports research showing that steviosides can lower high blood pressure. Just recently, the news channel CNN reported that fructose in many foods has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure.
To increase the risk of high blood pressure by this percentage, it is enough to drink two and a half doses of a lemonade sweetened with fructose or sugar. So it would be enough to sweeten at least the drinks like coffee, tea or homemade lemonade with Stevia to protect your blood pressure in the long run.
Using Stevia correctly
There are a variety of foods that can be sweetened easily with Stevia instead of sugar or synthetic sweeteners. One example is homemade tomato sauce.
It is just as easy to make a low-calorie lemonade. Just squeeze some lemon juice into a glass of water. To give the drink the right sweetness, add a little Stevia.
Smoothies can also be made sugar-free. They not only supply the body with many vital substances, but also have a satiating effect. Smoothies can therefore naturally prevent hunger attacks.
If you want to use Stevia for baking, you should definitely follow recipes that have been specially designed for this purpose. Stevia recipes can be found in the relevant literature or on well-known Stevia websites.