Stevia: the new and natural sweetener

1. Nowadays, light products can no longer be ignored from supermarket shelves. These diet products are often sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin. Research has shown that these sweeteners are not that good for your body at all when taken regularly. There is now a new sweetener on the market: stevia. According to the discoverers, stevia is 100% natural.

Sweeteners

1. As mentioned in the introduction, light products are often sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin. Most diet products contain aspartame (for example, lemonade syrup, double drink, yogurt, quark, cake, chewing gum, vitamin pills, toothpaste) or saccharin. Research has shown that even small amounts of aspartame can cause damage. It can cause headaches and in severe cases it is itself carcinogenic. The light products are not that good for our body; they are artificial and chemical additives that do more harm to our body than it is good.

Stevia

1. Stevia comes from the stevia plant. It is an herb-like plant that grows in Paraguay. Indians used to use the leaves of the stevia plant to sweeten their tea and food. As mentioned, the sweet taste comes from the leaves. The sweetness of the stevia plant is 30 to 45 times sweeter than regular sugar; therefore you need a much smaller amount. The stevia plant is grown on plantations in, for example, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Thailand, China and Israel.

Stevia products

1. You can already order all kinds of stevia products via the internet such as sweeteners, liquid sweetener, chocolate, toothpaste, loose leaves, dried leaves, stevia extract, shampoo, et cetera. You can also find stevia in the supermarket; Canderel has a new packaging with sweetener that contains stevia.

Advantages

1. Stevia is a natural product and in that sense it is already healthier than artificially processed additives in food products. In addition, it can also have a positive effect on the body. One of the features research has shown is that it stimulates and improves pancreatic activity. In addition, stevia ensures a better balance in the blood sugar and it supports obesity. Compared to sugar, it also prevents dental caries because stevia does not or hardly affect the teeth.

Disadvantages

1. Stevia is still a relatively new product in the Netherlands. In any case, it is a product that is 100% natural, but it is not yet known what the consequences of a high dosage can be. for example with aspartame and saccharin this is more evident; it can be carcinogenic, it can have a laxative effect, et cetera. Another drawback is the price; the price of stevia sweetener is generally much higher than the better known and more readily available sweetener varieties.

2. Stevia is still a relatively new product in the Netherlands. In any case, it is a product that is 100% natural, but it is not yet known what the consequences of a high dosage can be. with aspartame and saccharin, for example, this is more pronounced; it can be carcinogenic, it can have a laxative effect, et cetera. Another drawback is the price; the price of stevia sweetener is generally much higher than the better known and more readily available sweetener varieties.