Is Stevia A Good Sugar Substitute?

New evidence has come out Stevia, a plant-based sweeter, may not be as good for you as once thought. Sugar substitutes have been used over the years to help limit sugar intake. Since sugar can cause added weight, diabetes, and inflammation throughout the body, having a substitute is a great thing. However, Stevia has been connected with some gut health issues recently. Over the years, Stevia has been a sugar alternative pushed by scientists. But, new studies are coming out with some alarming results.

Stevia, at its core, is a sugar substitute to help people who are dealing with diabetes, have high blood pressure, or looking to losing weight. There are other sugar substitutes like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, erythritol, and xylitol. You may have to start using one of these with gut issues, causing alarm for some people who use Stevia.

Brazil and Parguay is actually where the plant Stevia was first discovered, and it has been used over the years as a sweetener, even in ancient times. Ironically, Stevia is much sweeter than traditional sugar, like 300 times sweeter. Also, people like Stevia because it is not manufactured. The plant-based product does all the work without any manipulation.

Where Stevia is causing issues in people involves bacteria. You actually need some bacteria in your gut, but it needs to be a healthy balance. Stevia actually kills off bacteria, but it kills some of the good kind as well. Ultimately, you need to balance your Stevia intake instead of it being a complete replacement for sugar.