Is Stevia Safe?

Now that the dangers of excess sugar are well known1, new developments have uncovered some natural sugar substitutes. One of the most common of which is known as stevia. The stevia leaf is an herb originally from South America, but can now be found all over the world. The herb is naturally sweet, about 200 times sweeter than table sugar. It does not raise blood sugar levels2 as sugar and some other artificial sweeteners do. But is stevia safe to eat?

Health benefits of Stevia in its Natural Form

Some cultures have used Stevia as medication for centuries to treat various types of diseases. Now, the herb can be applied to provide these healing properties3 on a wider scale. It has antioxidant properties4 and can reduce the risk of tooth decay5 when used instead of sugar. Eating stevia occasionally is known to reduce cases of high blood pressure6 and mild hypertension.

Furthermore, it’s known that cancer cells thrive off of sugar7. Reducing the amount of sugar we eat can help ensure cancer cells don’t have much to feed off of! Stevia is being studied to ensure it can deliver these benefits without any serious side effects.

Since it is a natural sweetener, you do not have to worry about added chemicals or any harmful processing. Stevia leaves are ground up into a powder and what you end up with is stevia extract. To make sure you’re consuming the most natural form of this sweetener without fillers or chemicals, try buying it in liquid form. Some brands of powdered stevia can bleach their product8, while liquid forms don’t.

Risks Associated with Stevia

According to some studies, taking extremely high amounts of stevia can result in hormonal imbalances9 in mice. Otherwise, in normal doses, stevia has not been found harmful10 to human health.

Want to Try it Out? Here’s some inspiration!

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