Stevia: the sweetness of a plant

[zawza1990]

Stevia is virtually calorie sweetening agent, extracted from a plant called stevia rebaudiana.learn mor e about its benefits:

It gives him or her a sweetening power 100 to 300 times higher than white sugar. Stevia is widely used worldwide as a food additives, especially by the Asian food industry.

What about Canada?

Since 30 November 2012, Health Canada allows the use of stevia as a sweetener food additive in several categories of processed foods, many desserts, drinks, bakery products, confectionery, gum to chew and condiments.

It is also available as a white powder (bags or bulk) or liquid formulation. It is also possible to purchase a shrub in a garden center and to use the leaves.

Risk for the health?

Health Canada has assessed the safety of stevia to ensure that its use carries no problem to consumers.

The organization made the following recommendations:

Acceptable daily dose based on the weight of the person in kilograms (kg) for each compound of this element:

4 mg / kg for steviol.

10 mg / kg for stevioside / the mixed steviol glycosides.

50 mg / kg for the leaves of stevia .

As the amount of used it to sweeten food is very small, the risk of exceeding these amounts are low.

Stevia and diabetes

It could reduce blood sugar levels especially if consumed along with other natural supplements hypoglycemic agents such as alpha-lipoic acid, bitter melon, chromium, guar gum, devil's claw, psyllium, etc.

Even though the maximum limits for daily consumption issued by Health Canada are below those that may lower blood sugar levels, Diabetes Québec suggests to be cautious. Before using stevia or a derivative as a sweetener, it is best to consult your pharmacist, doctor or other health professional part of the diabetes care team. If you do the test, Diabetes Québec suggests to measure sugar levels in the blood more often to prevent undesirable variations (hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia).

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