Stevia Bad?

JKI19
JKI19 Posts: 91 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been using Stevia pretty frequently as a zero cal/zero sugar way to sweeten coffee etc. on top of all this Stevia claims to be all-natural as well. It just seems "too good to be true". Are there any side effects to this that I am not aware of?

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    It's fine.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    The only bad things I've heard about stevia are the taste is too much for some people, and (while rare) you can be allergic to it. Beyond that, go nuts.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    If you haven't experienced any side effects then I wouldn't worry.
  • cmarangi
    cmarangi Posts: 131 Member
    I've heard it's actually beneficial for improving insulin resistance, so sweeten away.
  • babycatchfire
    babycatchfire Posts: 156 Member
    SO good! I use it dailly.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    edited July 2016
    babycatchfire wrote: »
    SO good! I use it dailly.

    I like to get lit up at work with sugar alcohols but stevia does taste better
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    I have not read anything bad about it as far as the effects of it. I just can't stand the taste, personally.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    I use it in my coffee every morning, have been for years and have never had a problem.
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    I don't like the taste of the drops and the packaged Truvia contains sugar alcohols which I try to avoid because of the digestive disturbances (not good if you are with other people!).
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    geneticsteacher wrote: »
    I don't like the taste of the drops and the packaged Truvia contains sugar alcohols which I try to avoid because of the digestive disturbances (not good if you are with other people!).

    yeah it's better to get the real stevia rather than truvia.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Unless you are actually using the stevia plant it's not all natural but I've never heard of any reason to believe it is bad (as in bad for health).
  • LPflaum
    LPflaum Posts: 174 Member
    The only reason I've heard of not to use Stevia (or any non-nutritive sweetener- sweet n lo, equal, truvia, etc), is that it MAY stimulate the insulin response. Its complicated, and further research is needed, but there is some support for the following hypothesis: tastebud-like receptors have been found in the guts of both humans and mice that closely resemble the tastebuds on the tongue that receive "sweet". The hypothesis is that the "sweet' taste on tongue signals receptors in the gut to release a hormone that subsequently tells the pancreas to release insulin. In relation to the hypothesis of why diet soda may actually make you fat, the HYPOTHESIS is that for people who consume a lot of no calorie sweeteners, the response of the gut to the taste of sweet releases less insulin over time (essentially, when the body can't make the sugar-sweet connection any more), and may cause weight gain.

    Here is a good, but very technical article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3319034/

    Again, most of this is only a hypothesis at this point, and as with most things, moderation is key. However, if you have a familial history of type 2 diabetes or other insulin/pancreatic related problems, its definitely something to consider avoiding.

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