John Myers
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Stevia – what is it exactly?
- Stevia is obtained from the stevia plant, also known as sweet herb or honey herb.
- The plant is mainly found in South America, for example in Brazil and Paraguay.
- The natural taste of the plant is strongly sweet with an aftertaste of licorice.
- During the production of stevia, the sweetening parts are isolated and processed into powder.
- The powder is 300 times sweeter than sugar and has no calories. It was approved in the EU at the end of 2011.
Is Stevia Healthy?
- Stevia has a reputation for being significantly healthier than sugar. After all, it has no calories and is used in significantly lower doses.
- Researchers from the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba have now analyzed 37 studies on sweeteners like stevia.
- This shows that there is no link between weight loss and replacing sugar with stevia.
- An experiment on mice showed that sweeteners such as stevia, like sugar, lead to increased glucose levels and thus increase the risk of diabetes.
- The long-term effects of stevia have not yet been thoroughly researched. It should therefore not be consumed excessively.
