How is Truvia Natural and No Calories

Kevww1982

I have been wondering how can Truvia be Natural from a plant just like sugar and have no calories what so ever. Sugar comes from Cane or Beets and it contains calories and sugar content. So whats the deal? How can the Stevia plant be so special?

laurenk182004

I have been wondering this as well. I use it in my tea several times a day.

BerryH

It does have calories from carbs but they are not absorbed by the body.

"Truvia sweetener contains some the active sweetening substance in the stevia leaf, along with erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol that is added to mimic the texture and of table sugar. Erythritol is found naturally in fermented fruit and it is classified as a sugar alcohol, which is why it delivers 3 grams of carbohydrate; however, erythritol and stevia are not absorbed."

MrsSWW

Where can you buy it, I've not seen it in any shops!

yogi_meg

I buy the packets where the sweet-n-low is in the grocery store

MrsSWW

I buy the packets where the sweet-n-low is in the grocery store

Thanks

Scorpioangel

I buy it by the coffee and Sweet and Low I love it!

dbutorac

Has anyone tried growing the Stevia Plant? I see they offer it at the spring plant sale, but I am not sure how you turn it into "sugar".

dbutorac

It is called Stevia. Truvia is a brand name.

onedayillbamilf

From what I understand....and anyone is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong...if it has less than 5 calories per serving then they can list the calorie count as zero on the nutrition facts.

I didn't read the comments, so if someone already said that, sorry.

danigirl1011

I try not to question miracles J/k I am glad it's around these days though. I hate the thought and the taste of using the artificial sweetners, so every time i put stevia in my tea i am secretly a tinsy bit giddy. I do, by the way, like stevia better than truvia.

ehunte

Has anyone tried growing the Stevia Plant? I see they offer it at the spring plant sale, but I am not sure how you turn it into "sugar".

I was told you eat the leaves and they are sweet like sugar. (Have not personally tried it though.)

dport7

Never tried growing it, but if i find it at the nursery I will. we grow our own herbs and they're great.

Contrarian

Yeah. It's pretty gross.

killagb

Never tried growing it, but if i find it at the nursery I will. we grow our own herbs and they're great.

Don't bogart, pass it to the left hand side! :smokin:

kittyninja

I'm just wondering about cooking with these "0-calorie but still has some carbs" sweeteners. I don't understand how its carbs are not absorbed by the body. If I use a large amount of stevia in baked goods, like my homemade protein bars, I should count the extra calories and carbs from stevia, shouldn't I? They're right there, in black and white, on the packaging. How does your body just not absorb them?

AshJasper

found this on the website for "stevia in the raw"


"Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is an herb in the compositae family that grows as a small shrub in parts of Paraguay and Brazil. The glycosides in its leaves make it incredibly sweet, a property that is unique among the nearly 300 species of stevia plants. Stevia has been used to sweeten beverages and medicines for over 400 years. A scientist named Antonio Bertoni first recorded its use by native tribes in 1887.

Stevia is now grown and harvested in many countries around the world, predominantly China and Brazil. It has also been vastly popular in Japan for more than three decades, now representing 41% of that country's sugar substitute market. Stevia is also found as an ingredient in many products, such as ice cream, bread and soft drinks, throughout Asia and South America.

Stevia Extract In The Raw gets its delicious, natural sweetness from Rebiana (aka Reb-A) — an extract from the Stevia plant. This extract is the sweetest part of the plant and has recently been isolated to provide pure sweetening power without the licorice-like aftertaste that many of our predecessors exhibited. All you get is the sweet flavor without any calories.

Unlike some of our competitors, Stevia Extract In The Raw does not use additional sweeteners such as erythritol (Truvia™) and isomaltulose and erythritol (PureVia™) to mask the natural sweetness of Reb-A Stevia Extract. The high purity level of our product eliminates any of the licorice-like aftertaste associated with less pure Stevia products currently in the market.

Stevia Extract in The Raw is a perfect natural zero calorie sweetener for your coffee, tea, cereal, yogurt, and much more!"

jeccalou

Go to your garden center, pull off a leaf of stevia the plant and taste it. SWEET!!
But from what I have researched, all stevia based sweeteners are not created equal and may or may not be as natural as they seem. Do your research on the different brands if avoiding artificial sweeteners is your goal.

AshJasper

Go to your garden center, pull off a leaf of stevia the plant and taste it. SWEET!!
But from what I have researched, all stevia based sweeteners are not created equal and may or may not be as natural as they seem. Do your research on the different brands if avoiding artificial sweeteners is your goal.

which is why stevia in the raw would be best. its all natural and even the other zero calorie sweeteners add preservative and chemicals, where is stevia in the raw does not, and it taste great! I love it and I do not miss sugar at all. It's a bit more expensive but you don't have to use nearly as much as you would with regular sugar because it really is super sweet.

live4turns

...

cressievargo

Where do you get Stevia in the Raw? I *Think* I've seen it at Wal-Mart near the Truvia, but can't remember for sure.

Can you bake with it?

danni2332

Where do you get Stevia in the Raw? I *Think* I've seen it at Wal-Mart near the Truvia, but can't remember for sure.

Can you bake with it?

as far as I know its near the rest of the sugar and other sugar substitutes, and yes you can bake with it.

chanelcinq

I know this thread is a months old but I had to comment. Both Stevia In The Raw and Truvia are manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Both are NOT pure stevia. They are MAFE FROM stevia in the same way that Splenda is MADE FROM sugar. Both Stevia In The Raw and Truvia have at least one known carcinogen.

If you are going to use stevia then use brands like NuNaturals, Wisdom Natural, SweetLeaf, or the other many healthy, natural brands. Because if you use Stevia In The Raw or Truvia you may as well be putting Splenda, Equal, or Sweet and Lo on your food.

wolfchild59

From what I understand....and anyone is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong...if it has less than 5 calories per serving then they can list the calorie count as zero on the nutrition facts.

I didn't read the comments, so if someone already said that, sorry.

Most likely this. I know that Splenda actually has four calories per packet, and I vaguely remember reading that Truvia has three calories per packet.

Not a lot on a single packet basis, but important to remember if baking. e.g. a cup of Splenda isn't going to be zero calories, more like 190 or so.

whiteheaddg

I know this thread is a months old but I had to comment. Both Stevia In The Raw and Truvia are manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Both are NOT pure stevia. They are MAFE FROM stevia in the same way that Splenda is MADE FROM sugar. Both Stevia In The Raw and Truvia have at least one known carcinogen.

If you are going to use stevia then use brands like NuNaturals, Wisdom Natural, SweetLeaf, or the other many healthy, natural brands. Because if you use Stevia In The Raw or Truvia you may as well be putting Splenda, Equal, or Sweet and Lo on your food.

Correction...Stevia in the Raw contains a compound that was transformed into a known carcinogen in the lab using a process that may or may not be replicated in the digestive system. I'm basing this off the (widely-panned) livestrong article. While not a subscriber of the primal diet, there is good info at Mark's Daily Apple on the topic.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/stevia/#axzz24Tj9SSKz

FitGirl329

I was coming here to post similarly to what chanelcinq did. I use Sweetleaf for this reason. It's natural and uses Reb-A. I've been researching Stevia since I cut out aspartame and sucralose (Splenda) from my diet.