Stevia rebaudiana
Bertoni from south America to the world!
This plant
it´s native to the Amambay region in the north east of Paraguay and also occurs
in the neighboring parts of Brazil and Argentina. Nowadays, its cultivation is
spread to some regions of the world such Canada, Asia and Europe.
What makes
stevia sweet is a chemical compound called stevioside established as a
diterpene glycoside in 1952. Years after, in 1970s, other compounds were
isolated, including rebaudioside A, with a sweetening potency even higher than
stevioside.
One
of the characteristic about steviside is it´s 300 times sweeter than saccarose
and it also offer a therapeutic benefits, because it shows an anti-hyperglycemic, antihypertensive,
anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, anti-diarrhoeal, diuretic, and immunomodulatory
effects.
Up to this moment, several
studies were made about stevioside toxicity and all of them showed that this
chemical does not have mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenic effects. And
more, completed studies showed its safety at high dietary intake levels.
Stevia
biochemical nutritional aspects are described below:
- Low calorie sweeten;
- Shows an adequate fat absorption capacity;
- It´s reasonably thermally stable under elevated temperatures, that make it useful in food processing;
- Good source of carbohydrates, protein and crude fibres;
- Roots and leaves show inulin-type fructooligasaccharides with functional properties related to prebiotics, dietary fibre, role lipid metabolis and diabetes control;
- Contained almost all of indispensable amino acids, including tyrosine and cysteine;
- It shows a reasonable amount of potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium. It also shows high amount of iron that helps the maintenance of normal hemoglobin level in the body;
- It contains folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin B2;
Stevia
just show benefits for health. Studies show that regular consumption decrease
the sugar in body, radionuclides, and cholesterol in the blood, and also
improves cell regeneration and blood coagulation.
And
more! It also exhibit choleretic, diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Prevent ulceration in the gastrointestinal tract; it is antihyperglycemic; acts as anti human
rota-virus activities; controls glucose metabolism and renal function.
Stevia
and stevioside have been used in treatment of cancer and substitutes of
sacarosis in the treatment of diabetes, obesity and hypertension
Now if you want get all these advantage you can
drink stevia tea instea of sweetener. You could choose the best way for you.
Stevia plant it already used from native people
from Paraguay and Brazil in the past. They already know all these benefits a long time a
go!
Then, what are you waiting for?
Enjoy! With stevia!!
References:
Mondaca,
R. L.; Veja-Gálvez, A.; Zura-Bravo; Ah-Hen K. (2012); Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni,
source of a high-potency natural sweetener: A comprehensive review on the
biochemical, nutritional and functional aspects. Food Chemistry 132, 1121–1132.
