What Is Stevia? Are Natural or Artificial Sweeteners a Healthy Alternative?

Let us examine sweeteners, which frequently appear in daily life and leave us with questions.

Sweeteners are chemicals used instead of ordinary sugar, sweeter but containing less energy. There are two types: natural and artificial.

First sugar, then sweeteners

Ordinary table sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beet. Originally produced only from cane, it almost signified wealth. When production spread worldwide in the early 19th century, it was so profitable that sugar was called white gold . Discovering beet extraction rapidly expanded production and consumption. Within a few centuries, sugar became a dietary staple, with increasing use bringing obesity and other obesity-related diseases . People now use sweeteners extensively to avoid these problems.

Interestingly, although individual table sugar use appears to decline, national and global statistics show total sugar production and consumption rise yearly, as does sweetener consumption. Humanity therefore consumes more each day.

Sweeteners initially met diabetic patients’ desire for sweetness, but are now widely used by overweight people and those protecting fitness and dental health.

Taste as a sensation

Taste receptors in the tongue and pharynx detect flavors. Humans have 4 basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salty.

Like all flavoring substances, sweeteners are sensed through these receptors. Combining them can produce different effects, such as intense sweetness from two used together. Sweetness also changes with temperature, acidity (pH) or having a cold/flu.

Sweetness is measured against a 3% or 4% sucrose solution, considered 1 sweetness unit.

Noteworthy sweetener research:

• Many studies found no evidence of increased cancer risk, but German research found high consumption (1.68 gr daily or more) increased testicular cancer risk.
• Another study found no health harms from sweeteners used in European Union countries.
• A 2004 experiment found animals given low-calorie sweeteners ate more, possibly because of a mismatch between perceived sweetness and expected calories from sugar .
• Aspartame has not been proven carcinogenic.

- Related Topic: Does the artificial sweetener aspartame cause cancer?

Which sweeteners are natural and artificial, and how do they differ?

Artificial sweeteners are obtained by artificially producing natural sweetener molecules in laboratories. Usually containing zero or near-zero calories, some can replace sugar. However, humans did not encounter these chemicals during evolution, so long-term reactions remain unclear, making legal approval for new sweeteners difficult.

• Examples of natural sweeteners: Curculin, erythritol, glycyrrhizin, glycerol, hydrogenated starch, isomalt, lactitol, mabinlin, monellin and pentadin
• Examples of artificial sweeteners: acesulfame potassium, aspartame, cyclamate, neohesperidin, neotame, saccharin, sucralose

What is stevia?

What is this sweetener we hear about everywhere? Is it harmful, or does it have benefits?

Stevia is a daisy-family plant, very sweet but calorie-free, and a natural sweetener with different subtypes. The best-known commercially valuable form is Stevia rebaudiana, discovered in the late 1800s by Italian botanist Moises Santiago Bertoni and also known by his name, bertoni . It has been used for centuries in Paraguay and Brazil as a sweetener and presumed remedy, and in Japan for over thirty years as a sweetener and food additive. Cultivation has also begun in our country. Traditional medicine uses it for burns, colic (abdominal pain), stomach problems and sometimes contraception. Leaves are also chewed for sweetness.

What stevia products exist, and how do they differ?

Stevia is generally used in 3 forms. 

1. Green leaves – 30-40 times sweeter than sugar, with a slightly bitter taste 
2. Stevia extract – 200 times sweeter than sugar, less bitter 
3. Isolated purified stevia compounds – leaves contain many substances with different sweetness, called steviol glycosides (stevioside A and B, steviobioside, rebaudioside A, B, C, D, E). They are the main sweet components of leaf extract, 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar. Some leave an unwanted aftertaste, addressed by blending or converting to rebaudioside A (rebaudioside). The American Food and Drug Administration, FDA, in 2008 considered purified rebaudioside A and stevioside safe and approved the rebaudioside-containing sweetener Truvia. Its lack of calories and heat resistance to 200 °C make it appear suitable for cakes and cookies.

Truvia contains purified rebaudioside A (rebiana), erythritol, another natural sweetener, and other natural flavors whose contents are unclear. Its erythritol is sometimes criticized as genetically modified (GMO).

Research on stevia

• Medicinal Food published a 2017 study suggesting potential for treating obesity, diabetes and hypertension, but more research is needed.
• Appetite published a 2010 study comparing artificial sweeteners with sugar and each other in 19 lean and 12 obese people. After a stevia-sweetened rather than sugar-sweetened meal, participants avoided overeating.
• Several studies show that replacing sugar with artificial or low-calorie sweeteners does not produce weight loss in real life.

- Related Topic: Does replacing sugar with sweeteners help weight loss?

Is stevia safe?

The FDA has not approved stevia leaves or crude extracts as food additives. Studies of crude forms raise concerns about blood sugar control, cardiovascular and kidney effects and male infertility. In contrast, isolated rebaudioside A appears safe as an additive in sweetener products.