What exactly is stevia?
Stevia, also called Stevia rebaudiana, is a plant that is a member of the chrysanthemum family, a subgroup of the Asteraceae family (ragweed family). There’s a big difference between the stevia you buy at the grocery store and the stevia you may grow at home.Stevia products found on grocery store shelves, such as Truvia and Stevia in the Raw, don’t contain whole stevia leaf. They’re made from a highly refined stevia leaf extract called rebaudioside A (Reb-A).
Are there benefits to using stevia?
Stevia is a nonnutritive sweetener. This means it has almost no calories. If you’re trying to lose weight, this aspect may be appealing.
If you have diabetes, stevia may help keep your blood sugar levels in check.
One 2010 studyTrusted Source of 19 healthy, lean participants and 12 obese participants found that stevia significantly lowered insulin and glucose levels. It also left study participants satisfied and full after eating, despite the lower calorie intake.
And according to a 2009 study, stevia leaf powder may help manage cholesterol. Study participants consumed 400 milliliters of stevia extract daily for one month.
The study found stevia lowered total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides with no negative side effects. It also increased HDL (“good”) cholesterol. It’s unclear if occasional stevia use in lower amounts would have the same impact.
