Stevia: Good for diabetics?

Stevia is a type of herb and shrub that belongs to the sunflower family. These herbs are found in subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. Stevia is also commonly known as sweet leaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia. It is popular for its sweet leaves that are used as sugar substitutes for diabetics.

The extracts of this herb is almost 300 times sweeter than sugar. With the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives, Stevia has been the center of research for quite some time.

Has there been any research on it?

Medical research conducted so far has also indicated the potential benefits of stevia in treating obesity and hypertension. Studies have also revealed that stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, thus making it a popular natural sugar-substitute to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.

Are there disadvantages as herbs can have good and bad properties?

Stevia has had its share of controversies, both health- related and political. This is the reason for its limited availability in various countries across the world. For example, the United States of America banned it in the early 1990s but later approved the sale and consumption of stevia when labelled as a dietary supplement on the basis of its low glycemic index. However, in Dec 2008, the Reb-A extract derived from the Stevia plant, was given the GRAS(Generally Regarded As Safe)  and has since then been commercially available as a sweetener.

The GRAS status follows submissions by various food and beverage manufacturers, like Coca- Cola and PepsiCo, to the FDA. The beverage majors concluded that they had enough documented research information on this particular stevia derivative (Reb-A Extract) to warrant GRAS status. In other countries like Japan and South Americal Stevia is widely used as a sweetener and also as a food additive. In countries like Canada, New Zealand and Australia, it is used as a dietary supplement. However, it is banned in Singapore and many countries belonging to the European Union.

However, it is very important to note here that FDA has not actually permitted the stevia plant itself to be used as a food additive, but only has approved the GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) status to the Reb-A extract.

The easiest way to use the herb is by crushing the leaves and adding them to your tea but please make sure that you have the main leaf of the stevia plant and nothing else.  This is because the herb is very difficult to source and find in many countries.