First, before you dive deep into this blog…
In short, based on our well-informed, educated and heavily researched view, we believe the whole stevia leaf is a beautifully safe plant. But, before we embark on this discussion, we would love you to not just hear it from us. Please listen to this podcast by Dr Stephen Cabral for a thorough understanding from another perspective. Also, renowned dietician Lily Nichols also recommends stevia to her audience as a safe sweetener alternative for all populations including pregnant women, women trying to conceive, postpartum and beyond. Lily has written about this with research behind all claims in chapter 4 of her book ‘Real Food For Pregnancy’.
Ok, now let’s deep dive into Stevia together!
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a green leaf that has become increasingly popular due to its content of sweet and medicinal compounds, glycosides. There are many artificial sugars and sweeteners that get a bad rap (a lot of the time, it is deserved), but we think stevia leaf has been a little misunderstood. So today, we are going to discuss the nitty gritty elements of stevia leaf, and why we used this lovely plant in Foraged.
What is Stevia?
Stevia, also referred to as “honey leaf”, “sweet-leaf”, or “sweet-herb”, is a South American plant, particularly from Brazil and Paraguay. Whole-leaf stevia has been used in South America for hundreds of years, where it was collected, dried and milled into a fine powder. These days, it comes in many shapes and forms, meaning not all Stevia is created equal. What we see on our supermarket shelves today is generally not the most pure form of stevia.
Stevia is found in the form of stevia leaf powder, but also many forms of extracts and liquid concentrates. This is important to understand, as processing of medicinal compounds and creating extracts isn’t always a bad thing, but it can change the nutritional profile of the substance. In the process of creating an extract or isolate, some of the plant's beneficial compounds are removed. This process is done to make the medicinal extract more potent for a specific desired outcome, but also removes some important elements of the plant that ensure its balance. Hence why stevia extract is SO sweet. Typically, there’s actually a slight bitterness when you consume the plant in its natural form, that modern-day processing removes.
Stevia extract, commonly used as an alternative to other synthetic sweeteners, is approximately 200-300 times sweeter than sugar, which is why only teeny tiny amounts need to be used. These extracts are made by extracting steviol glycosides from the leaves of a stevia plant and processing them to remove any remaining bitterness. Steviol glycosides are not absorbed in the upper GI, which is why they don’t have an impact on blood glucose levels. When they reach the colon, gut microbes feed off of the metabolites. Any remaining steviols are reabsorbed via the portal vein, where they are then metabolised by the liver and excreted in urine.
Stevia leaf powder is made using the whole plant. The whole-leaf is dried, cut, and turned into a green powder. It is only 20-30 times sweeter than sugar, so is weaker in sweetness but is in a more pure state. This green stevia powder is said to be more nutritious, have a stronger licorice-like flavour, and in some cases will not fully dissolve in liquid. Although stevia leaf powder is a no-calorie food, ensuring it’s less sweet than the extract also has its benefits on preventing insulin resistance.
Is Stevia Safe?
YES! Stevia leaf and its many glycosides and medicinal compounds have been studied extensively for its safety and therapeutic benefits, which is why it became increasingly popular amongst people with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Not only was it deemed safe for these populations, but it was observed to have health benefits in the way it improved these medical conditions. Because of these medicinal compounds such as steviol, stevioside, and rebaudioside, stevia has been considered anti-hypertensive, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and improves kidney function. To read all about these benefits, please read this study here. Many of the health benefit studies have been conducted on both rodents and humans, and the studies done on human adults have not reported any adverse effects of stevia.
There was an exceptionally flawed study published years ago where they claimed that stevia potentially causes slightly lower rates of fertility in female rats. In this study, the rats were provided enormous, inhumane dosages such as many tablespoons of stevia, and we are unsure of the type or quality of stevia used. This same claim and study was debunked and discussed in the podcast with Stephen Cabral linked in the first paragraph of this blog. They have never been able to replicate this previous study in rats, however there have since been many studies published that completely debunk their findings, including this one. The flawed study is currently not able to be viewed in full, and we have our suspicions that it was removed due to being so heavily inaccurate, however this is simply an assumption.
The acceptable daily intake (ADI) of steviol glycosides (i.e. the amount that is considered safe by governing bodies to consume), is 4 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. For example, 0.04 mg x 60 kg is 2.4g of glycosides per day, which is safe. An ADI is an amount 100 times less than the quantity of stevia sweeteners found to achieve no adverse effects in toxicology studies. This amount is a cautious quantity that most people will not consume.
Why do we use it in Foraged, and how much?
At Foraged, we use the whole plant, i.e. green stevia leaf powder. This is because we like to use things as close to their natural form as possible, exactly how nature has created it to be consumed. We know this way ensures safety and efficacy for human consumption. By leaving the plant in its natural form, this respects and preserves the nutrient synergy magic that occurs within medicinal plants and foods. By using the whole leaf, it ensures the plant compounds are all present, balancing each other and counteracting each other, perfectly designed by nature. When we sway too far one way, trying to isolate substances and ‘trick’ nature, we more often than not end up with some sort of consequence. Sometimes this is as serious as side effects, but also may just be as simple as poor efficacy and clinical outcomes. Nature is way too smart for us to comprehend!
Within each serve of The Mother’s Blend, there is less than 0.5g of stevia leaf powder - very much below the Acceptable Daily Intake, which means we could actually safely add much more if we wanted to! This also leaves room for you to enjoy other stevia sweetened foods in your diet. We use it to add an element of sweetness to encourage the regular consumption of earthy-tasting foods like kelp and beef liver, however as you now know, stevia has its own plethora of health benefits!
We hope this helps!
With love,
Your Foraged Team of Qualified Practitioners.