Stevia - good and bad

Nutritionists say that granulated sugar and refined sugar are far from the most useful products. They should either be abandoned altogether or replaced with something else: dried fruits, honey. And you can choose one of the sweeteners, which today can be found in any grocery store. The most popular is the sugar from stevia - a perennial plant whose home is America. However, this culture is also found in Russia, where it is widely used in the field of phytotherapy. But far from everyone knows what the benefits and disadvantages of stevia are and whether it is permissible to use it as an alternative to traditional sugar. To understand this issue, you can by studying the properties of this drug.

Benefits and Harms of Natural Sweetener from Stevia

In itself, the plant stevia is a real storehouse of valuable substances. For example, it contains vitamins A and C, vitamins B, vitamin D, nicotinic acid, forfor and calcium, potassium, magnesium, selenium, rutin, quartzitin, etc. In pure form, this herb is able to have a beneficial effect on the digestive tract, the reproductive system , blood, urinary, it has antibacterial properties, heals wounds, relieves inflammation, etc. Of course, the stevia sweetener can not boast of the same number of positive qualities, although it is made solely from vegetable raw materials and is considered to be identical to natural products. The drug has a slightly different task - it preserves the natural sweetness of the herb and its safe-neutral status for health.

The benefit of the stevia sweetener for the body is, above all, that with its help you can completely abandon the traditional white sand and refined sugar. The natural preparation is several times sweeter than sugar, it can be used not only in drinks, but also add to confectionery products, pastries, any other dishes, including homemade canned food. Such a sweetener does not contain calories and can not damage the figure, and it is more difficult to overdo it with it, because it is much easier to dose stevia in tablets than to count spoons of sugar.

Sweetener from vegetable raw materials is not addictive and has no side effects. After all, in its essence it is not a synthetic substance, it does not have any laboratory chemistry. It's just a sweet grass extract that does not contain any extra ingredients.

However, in addition to benefits and harm from stevia, too, can be, so before you begin to take it, it is worth consulting with your doctor. First, a drug in a person may have an individual intolerance to this drug. Secondly, it is not always shown to hypotonic patients, since stevia lowers blood pressure and can cause it to jump. Thirdly, this sugar substitute should be given to patients with a reduced level of glucose in the blood, which can experience hypoglycemic stress.

The benefits and harm of stevia in diabetes mellitus

A natural sweetener is often recommended to patients with diabetes mellitus. It is much more useful than other preparations of synthetic origin. Stevia, in fact, has no contraindications and can be safely added to any food. It optimizes the level of glucose in the blood and does not allow this substance to accumulate.

However, from sugar from stevia, in addition to the benefits, there can be harm, if the drug is abused. It can cause with a drop in blood pressure, tachycardia , as well as indigestion and diarrhea when combined with certain products, such as milk.