Is Stevia the Best Sugar Substitute for You?

September 09, 2011, By Jack Heffron 2 comments

Jack Heffron

Early this year when I was on a low-carb diet I started to hear about an amazing sweetener called stevia. No calories! No carbs! No fat! No weird artificial aftertaste! A natural alternative to sugar and more than 200 times sweeter! Why hadn’t I heard of it before? And where could I get some of this stuff?

Turned out I was to blame for my own ignorance. Online research revealed information about stevia, though far less is known about it in America than in some other countries, where it’s been available for years. My research also turned up some health questions and a bit of controversy about my new discovery. Seems no miracle cure is truly miraculous. Still, stevia could be a useful addition to your diet if you're looking for an alternative to sugar. 

The Basics

A few facts in case stevia is new to you. It's an herb native to Paraguay, though it is now grown in other South and Central American countries and in China. Also known by such names as “sweet leaf,” it has been used for hundreds of years as a sweetener in its indigenous areas. More recently it has been used as an alternative to sugar because it is far sweeter and contains no calories.

Though it has been used in countries such as Japan since the early 1970s, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) balked at approving its use, as did the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Concerns arose from several studies done in the 1970s, which since have drawn much criticism, that suggested stevia could cause cancer and impact fertility.

In the 1990s, after further research contradicted the earlier studies, the FDA removed its objection to using stevia as a diet supplement, but not until late in 2009 did they issue a “non-objection” to marketing a refined version of stevia as a sweetener. That approval covers products containing rebaudioside A, which is extracted from stevia through a refinement process. The FDA designated stevia as “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS), though only in its refined form. Since then, Coca-Cola has sold it under the brand Truvia, while PepsiCo calls their product PureVia. Other manufacturers also offer stevia extract sweeteners.

It’s available for use in your coffee, tea or anything you usually sweeten with sugar. It also can be used for baking and cooking instead of sugar, though it doesn’t carmelize and therefore isn’t a suitable sugar replacement in all recipes. Good news for weight watchers and particularly for diabetics, right? Well, nutritionists and dieticians still advise caution in how you use stevia.

NEXT: Health Concerns