What is Stevia?
Stevia is a plant native to South America that has been used as a natural sweetener in foods and beverages for hundreds of years. Stevia is a 100% natural sweetener with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and has no effect on the glycemic index, which means it doesn’t affect your blood sugar.
Is Stevia Safe?
The safety of stevia for human consumption has been established through rigorous peer‐reviewed research and the FDA and Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives recognize it as safe.
More than 200 extensive studies have been conducted on stevia attesting to its safety.
Stevia Benefits for Diabetics
Stevia is a good choice for people with diabetes. Studies show that stevia has no effect on blood sugar levels.
In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) performed a thorough evaluation of recent experimental studies of stevioside and steviols conducted on animals and humans, and concluded "stevioside and rebaudioside A are not genotoxic in vitro or in vivo and that the genotoxicity of steviol and some of its oxidative derivatives in vitro is not expressed in vivo." The report also found no evidence of carcinogenic activity. Furthermore, the report noted "stevioside has shown some evidence of pharmacological effects in patients with hypertension or with type-2 diabetes", but concluded further study was required to determine proper dosage. The WHO's Joint Experts Committee on Food Additives has approved, based on long-term studies, an acceptable daily intake of steviol glycoside of up to 4 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
