STEVIA - reasons to remove sugar from your diet and replace it with healthier alternatives

5 Reasons Why It is Better to Use Stevia than White Sugar

Stevia contains no calories, does not increase blood sugar and does not damage your teeth. For starters, a lot of reasons to remove sugar from your diet and replace it with healthier alternatives.

Stevia-Healthy Alternative to Sugar!

What is stevia? Stevia is a plant with green leaves (Stevia rebaudiana), also known as ” the sweet leaf of Paraguay ”. Stevia has been used for centuries and contributes to the overall health of people living in Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil and affects the health in so many ways. They usually use this plant as a natural remedy for heartburn. Today, however, science has discovered that stevia contributes to a healthier body in different areas.

Here are the top 5 Reasons Why You Should Replace White Sugar with Stevia:

1. Stevia is useful for people with prediabetes or diabetes.

In contrast to sugar, and other artificial sweeteners, stevia does not increase the blood sugar level so it doesn’t cause insulin reaction in the body. On the contrary, stevia actually increases tolerance to sugar, which makes it an ideal sweetener for people with prediabetes or diabetes.

2. Stevia is good for the heart because it stabilizes blood pressure.

Stevia is good for the heart because it helps to reduce high blood pressure. In one study, participants took either 250 mg of stevia extract or placebo three times daily for a period of one year. In the group that took the extract of stevia there was a significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure within three months.

3. Stevia is useful for obese people.

A group of researchers examined whether consumption of snacks containing stevia compared to a meal consisting of other sugar before meals has any impact on the overall food intake and satiety after that. The results showed that participants who consumed stevia had a lower intake during lunch and dinner but that was not the case with the group that took sugar crystals. Moreover, brunch with crystal sugar contained 203 calories more than the snacks with stevia. The researchers concluded that the use of stevia instead of sugar crystal is a successful strategy for control of food intake and reduction of total calorie intake, which in turn encourages reduction of body weight and burning of body fat.

4. Stevia is good for bones.

Unlike sugar, which causes osteoporosis, stevia contributes to better bone health. One Japanese method uses stevia for the treatment of osteoporosis and it shows that this sweetener may help for better absorption of calcium in the body and contributes to greater bone density. Japanese researchers have investigated the positive effect of stevia on bone strength when used as a medicinal herb a study involving chickens. The study found that in hens who ate foods enriched with stevia has been a significant reduction in breakage of the shell eggs. At first farmers  were giving additional calcium supplement to chicken but it did not affect the shells of their eggs because the absorption of calcium was not in accordance with the production of eggs. After that, farmers gave stevia powder to chickens. The results were really amazing.  They showed that the absorption of calcium significantly improved, with the percentage of breakage of the shell from only 2 to 3 percent, with no decrease in egg production.

5. Stevia contributes to better dental health.

Studies suggest that there is a significant relationship between periodontal disease and bone mineral density. Excluding fractures, periodontal disease and tooth loss are usually the first signs of weakening bones. One study conducted at New York University in Buffalo concluded that postmenopausal women with osteoporosis have 86 % more chances to get periodontal disease than those who do not have osteoporosis. What is the number one cause of tooth decay and periodontal disease? Sugar! Since stevia does not contain sugar, it is automatically a better alternative for your teeth. In addition, stevia prevents the development of Streptococcus mutans. It is facultatively anaerobic, Gram-positive coccus-shaped bacterium commonly found in the human oral cavity and is a significant contributor to tooth decay. It is responsible for the formation of plaque on your teeth.

Stevia contains no calories, does not increase blood sugar and does not damage your teeth