Stevia and Diabetes
When you long for something sweet, you likely grab sugar-filled foods. However sugar, and other natural sweeteners such as honey and molasses, can raise blood sugar levels. Stevia, which comes from the herb Stevia rebaudiana, is commonly used as a sweetener worldwide and is safe for diabetics. Unlike a lot of other sweeteners, stevia can even be grown in a home garden.
Contents
Is Stevia Good for Diabetes?
Sweeter Than Sugar
The whole leaf from stevia is about 30 times sweeter than sugar. Several sweet substances of stevia have actually been separated and named consisting of stevioside, steviobioside, dulcoside A and rebaudiosides A, B, C, D and E. These separated substances differ in sweet taste varying from 50 to 450 times sweeter than sugar. Pure stevia powder is so sweet that you must first liquify it in water then dispense the option by drops. The sweet taste of 1 teaspoon of the liquid is equivalent to a cup of sugar.
Blood Glucose
The result of steviol glycosides, isolated from Stevia rebaudiana, in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics was examined in a research study released in 2008 in the “Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology” journal. The outcomes showed that post-treatment blood glucose levels were not significantly various from baseline measurements in the groups that were given stevia. Furthermore, stevia was well tolerated by the topics and had no side effects.
Insulin Sensitivity
A study published in 2005 in the “Hormone and Metabolic Research” journal examined the result of stevioside, a glycoside in Stevia rebaudiana, in rats fed a diet including 60 percent fructose. Stevioside was found to reduce plasma-glucose concentrations, improve insulin sensitivity and postpone the advancement of insulin resistance in the rats. Based upon these results, the authors concluded that stevia might also be valuable for diabetics.
Weight Control
Stevia has no calories. On the other hand, a gram of sugar contains about 4 calories, and there are about 4 grams of sugar in a teaspoon. If you put 3 teaspoons of sugar in your coffee, that’s 48 calories for simply 1 cup of coffee. Utilizing stevia in location of sugar can assist you maintain and achieve a healthy weight. That’s important since more than 80 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes are obese.
Also read: Honey and Diabetes
