hey it's Tyler from activebeat and today
we're talking about sugar substitutes
Stevia to be exact sugar substitute sure
can be a contentious topic but we're
going to tackle it active beat style
this video is going to be raising
questions like what the heck is Stevia
what does it do and is it safe to make
it part of your diet we'll be covering
all this and more so stay tuned if you
think of something to add while watching
don't forget to comment all right so
what the heck is Stevia well plain and
simple it's a sugar substitute so let's
break that down some more sugar
substitutes are food additives that
replicate the effect of sugar in taste
but use less food energy there are
natural and artificial substitutes so
why would you replace sugar in the first
place well there are several reasons
first off to help with weight loss
artificial sweeteners often have little
to no food energy compared to high
energy sugar or corn syrup found in food
products then there's the cost sometimes
products with artificial sweeteners are
more affordable people with diabetes may
want to limit their sugar intake by
using artificial sweeteners sugar
substitutes can be a bit more friendly
to your teeth and help prevent tooth
decay so some examples of other
sweeteners include aspartame cyclamate
and sucos with stevia it has
historically been used for more than
1500 years in South America and was
initially commercially produced in Japan
in the early '70s what makes it good
well Stevia has become more popular
because it's at least 200 times sweeter
than sugar doesn't have calories and is
purportedly safer than other
Alternatives so what is it used for
first off Stevia can come in a variety
of forms it starts as a plant but it can
be a liquid and a powdered extract as a
home sweetener Stevia can be used to
sweeten a beverage like iced tea and
lemonade although Stevia comes from a
plant it's so highly refined that it's
considered an artificial sweetener the
extract of stevia is known as Reb a it
is FDA approved as a sweetener so that
means you might be seeing it in sodas
chewing gum candy and even soy sauce so
the big question is is it safe well
Stevia is lotted for being 200 times
sweeter than sugar and not raising blood
sugar that definitely sounds like a good
thing but some scientific research has
raised questions about possible problems
first off despite being used in places
like Japan for over 30 years and South
America for over a thousand years there
are still questions about Stevia as a
refined substance and the side effects
of using it as a sugar replacement some
Research indicates that Stevia may not
be understood enough yet to say that it
is completely safe that it could lead to
potential health issues some Studies
have suggested that it may lead to male
reproductive of problems it's also been
suggested that Stevia may cause low
blood pressure May interact with certain
drugs such as antifungals
anti-inflammatories and others so in
short there hasn't quite been enough
research to conclusively put Stevia in
the clear but it sure looks good on
paper it's important that if you choose
to use Stevia that you do your research
and enjoy in moderation like all things
do you do Stevia add your thoughts in
the comments and let us know if you
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next time
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