Stevia - A natural non-nutritive sweetener (NNS)
Stevia leaf (Stevia rebaudiana)
In its natural state, this non-nutritive sweetener is the ground-up leaf of the South American stevia plant.
Stevia is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar and has virtually no calories. Frequent use of any NNS without accompanying carbs may stress the adrenal glands and cause you to gain weight.
NNS – May not be such a sweet deal for your health!
Stevia does not produce a glycemic effect. i.e. it has negligible effect on blood sugar
The sweetness of stevia comes from its steviol glycosides (mainly stevioside and rebaudioside). These compounds have 250-300 times the sweetness of sugar.
Stevia extracts
Stevia-based sweeteners (E.g. Truvia and PureVia) use an extract of stevia (rebaudioside A) combined with erythritol. Reb A is FDA-approved as a food additive (Trade name Rebiana); Reb A is stable in dry form and more so than aspartame or Ace K in liquid form. Extracts likely lose the synergistic health benefits obtained from the whole leaf.
