THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO KICKING SUGAR by Flora Zhao - HTML preview

Chapter 2

NATURAL SWEETENERS: HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES TO SUGAR

Guaraní people have been using stevia to sweeten their

maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Additionally, stevio-food and beverages for centuries. According to a 2019 me-

side and steviol found in stevia help regulate certain en-ta-analysis published in Nutrients, they have also used it zymes involved in glucose metabolism, which may assist

for medicinal purposes, such as treating diabetes.

in maintaining stable blood sugar levels and preventing

Stevia’s sweetness mainly comes from steviol glyco-

extreme fluctuations.

sides, which are about 200 to 300 times sweeter than su-Researchers from the University of Florida conduct-

crose. High-purity stevia extracts contain 95 percent or

ed an experiment in which 31 adult participants fasted

more steviol glycosides, according to the journal Nutrition for 12 hours and ate the same breakfast. Twenty minutes

Today. A 2023 study published in Molecules found eight

before lunch and dinner, they were given tea and snacks

different types of steviol glycosides that occur naturally containing sucrose, aspartame, or stevia, without knowing in stevia leaves, with stevioside being the most abundant.

which type of sugar they were ingesting. They were then

Because of its commercial potential and pharmaco-

free to eat lunch and dinner as they wished.

logical properties, stevia has attracted widespread atten-Their hunger and satiety levels were evaluated hour-

tion from the food and scientific community. As a result, ly, and blood tests were conducted. All participants com-stevia plantations can now be found in many regions

pleted three days of food tests.

around the world.

The results showed that participants who consumed

Stevia’s glycemic index (GI) and calorie content are

stevia had significantly lower blood sugar levels right after

zero. The glycemic index measures how quickly and to what extent a food increases blood sugar (blood glucose)

levels, with glucose being the standard at a GI value of 100.

The Antidiabetic Sweetener

Modern research has found that stevia exhibits antidia-

betic activity.

Stevia not only increases insulin secretion and ac-

tivity but also reduces insulin resistance. It also inhibits or reduces the liver’s production of glucose, which helps Consumption of stevia resulted in lower blood glucose levels right after lunch.

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