La stevia es el edulcorante de moda, pero, ¿es mejor que los demás endulzantes bajos en calorías?
Let’s start at the beginning: as much as the industry insists on calling it stevia, that is actually its scientific name in Latin. For years, the Royal Academy dictionary has included the Spanish term ‘stevia’, a word with much less commercial appeal than its Latin rival. A few years ago, the sweetener from the stevia plant found its place on the shelves of most supermarkets, dethroning what until then had been the sweetener par excellence, saccharin.
The newcomer stevia (we will use that name that is surely more familiar to the reader) rose with an aura of a healthy sweetener and in a short time it found its way into cookies, chocolates and other baked goods. Or simply as a sweetener for coffee or infusions. A perfect marketing campaign orchestrated by big food companies. Rafael Urrialde, Honorary Academician of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and coordinator of its specialization group in Food Safety, Nutrition and R&D+ i (GE-SANIDi) analyzes how much truth there is in this superiority of stevia.
What is stevia and what are steviol glycosides?
Go ahead and say that stevia is a sweetener, neither more nor less. This means, among other things, that «its only function is to provide sweetness where it is added. A property that is due to steviol glycosides,
a chemical compound extracted from the plant, which has been approved for use since 2012, with its technical name in the European Union E-960,” summarizes Urrialde.
In other words, what is really used as a sweetener and is known as stevia is not the entire plant, nor its leaves, but a part, the so-called steviol glycosides. In fact, today, the consumption of the stevia plant itself is prohibited in the European Union. Since 2017, the community authorities have only authorized the use of the leaves for the preparation of infusions. To use it as a table sweetener, steviol glycosides are combined with erythritol (another sweetener with quite a lot of success among influencers, by the way).
It has a sweetening capacity between 15 and 30 times greater than sugar.
What is stevia used for?
Stevia is part of the group of low-calorie sweeteners, that is, it does not provide us with calories or carbohydrates. Their authorized use is to sweeten the foods they accompany and can be found in powder or liquid format.
When we talk about stevia as ‘natural stevia’ we are actually referring to its botanical origin.
Benefits of consuming stevia
The only benefit approved by the European Union in reference to the consumption of stevia is its ability to provide sweetness. And, by definition and authorization, a sweetener, whatever it is, should only provide sweetness. In no case can it affect the glycemic index.
Is it useful for losing weight? That’s the million dollar question. By replacing sugar and not providing calories, it can help reduce the total calorie count of any diet. And that is, as we will see, a double-edged sword.
Stevia in weight loss diets
It would seem logical to think that replacing sugar with stevia is sound dietary advice for losing weight. And it works in those diets in which excess weight is due to sugar abuse. What happens is that this sugar is usually accompanied by other ingredients that often provide more calories, such as saturated fats or excess carbohydrates.
That is why the expert reminds us that it is of little use to put stevia in coffee with milk, if we accompany it with some cookies, some muffins or some churros. «The sweetener per se «It is not going to help anyone lose weight,» Urrialde emphasizes. «It only reduces or eliminates the sugar load in the diet, which may be responsible for the weight loss that occurs.»
Swap sugar cubes for stevia, or snack on several ounces of chocolate with stevia, these are still gestures typical of a miracle diet and not firm steps to lose weight. For this you have to put yourself in the hands of a professional and not look for shortcuts. «Any diet, especially if it is to lose weight, must always be planned and supervised by a dietitian-nutritionist or an endocrinologist. In short, a professional expert in nutrition,» insists Urrialde.
Stevia for diabetes
Replacing sugar with a low-calorie sweetener is usually the sweetening alternative used by many people living with diabetes. «If a person has any type of pathology, such as diabetes, it is essential that they also carefully review the list of ingredients of the product. In many cases, in addition to including stevia or any other sweetener, it may also contain sugars, both intrinsic as well as additions,» he warns.
Are all sweeteners the same?
Another aspect related to sweeteners is the question of whether stevia is better or worse than other sweeteners for health. Marketing has already convinced us that, since steviol glycosides come from a plant, they have a natural origin and, therefore, are healthier. Urrialde flatly rejects this argument: “All sweeteners are the same.. Each and every one of them has been approved by food safety authorities and, subsequently, approved and authorized by the institutions of the European Union and all countries worldwide».
However, it mentions the existence of lines of research that already reveal new developments in relation to the effects of sweeteners on the intestinal microbiota. «We must not forget that they are not ingested alone, that is, they are always consumed together with other foods. This means that the sweetener interacts with the nutritional matrix of the food to which it is added or with other foods, and also with the intestinal microbiota» , argues Urrialde.
This novel avenue of study constitutes «a new world that opens before us and that needs to be studied. Now, it is necessary that the research be done with clinical trials in humans, not in vitrosince it is proven that the results obtained liveOn many occasions, they differ greatly from those carried out in vitro.
The entry Stevia is the trendy sweetener, but is it better than other low-calorie sweeteners? was first published in Nutriiendo.
