Stevia Health Benefits

The Guarani Indians of Paraguay have been using stevia nutritionally and medicinally for generations. Today, research shows that stevia-extract is a safe, low-caloric and non-carcinogenic natural sweetening option that carries significant health benefits ranging from aiding digestion, pancreatic regulation, blood sugar levels stabilization and reduced blood pressure.

Just some of the many stevia health indicators as cited in clinical studies:

• Weight management: Using stevia-based extracts to sweeten food and beverages leads to a significant reduction in sugar intake. Low calorie and reduced or zero-sugar stevia-extracts carry clear health benefits for people on calorie-controlled diets or seeking weight management solutions.
• Heartburn and indigestion: Throughout South America stevia leaves have been used for centuries to treat gastrointestinal problems, heartburn and indigestion
• Type 1 and 2 diabetes: Steviol is not absorbed by the body and as a sweetener, stevia-extract is both low calorie and zero GI. It can be safely used by patients with diabetes - stimulating the release of insulin and regulating the body’s response to glucose. Several studies, including the Oviedo research project, found a 35.2% reduction in the amount of glucose released into the blood following a meal sweetened with stevia in patients with Type 2 diabetes.
• Reduced blood pressure: Together with weight management, stevioside’s (one of the sweet molecules found in stevia leaves) anti-inflammatory properties are thought to also help decrease blood pressure
• Strengthened immune system: Studies have shown stevioside to be anti-microbial and anti-bacterial, indicating that stevioside can stimulate and strengthen the immune system – increasing the production of antibodies and white blood cell function
• Improved oral care: As a natural sweetener, stevia offers a tooth-friendly sugar substitute; this has been linked with a decline in dental cavities. Studies also show that the anti-bacterial properties of stevia can inhibit the growth of certain bacteria which contributes to the build-up of plaque, tooth decay and gum disease.

References:

• C. Ulbricht et al., Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents in Medicinal Chemistry: An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Stevia by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration; April 2010
• Phytochemistry 64 (2003) 913–921: Stevioside, a Molecule of Interest
• (http://www.steviainfo.com/research_articles/Geuns%20%282003%29.pdf)
• Apparent lack of pharmacological effect of steviol glycosides used as sweeteners in humans. June, 2008, Issue 1, Vol 51
• The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) 2010 Issue 1
• Chan, P., et al., A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2000; 50(3):215-20.
• Hsieh, M.H., et al., Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther 2003; 25(11): 2797-808.
• Effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels
• Anton SD, Martin CK, Han H, Coulon S, Cefalu WT, Geiselman P, Williamson DA.
• Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
• Immune up regulatory response of a non-caloric natural sweetener, stevioside.
• Sehar I, Kaul A, Bani S, Pal HC, Saxena AK.Pharmacology Division, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR), Canal Road, 180001 Jammu, India
• Pinheiro, C. E., et al. “Effect of guarana and Stevia rebaudiana bertoni (leaves) extracts, and stevioside, on the fermentation and synthesis of extracellular insoluble polysaccharides of dental plaque.” Rev. Odont. Usp. 1987; 1(4): 9–13.
• Antihyperglycemic effects of stevioside in type 2 diabetic subjects.
• Gregersen S, Jeppesen PB, Holst JJ, Hermansen K. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism C, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
• Oviedo et al., 1971; Suzuki et al., 1977; Ishit et al., 1986; Boeckh, 1986; Alvarez, 1986.)