Stevia - sweeteners without calories?
1. What is Stevia?
It sounds like a dream: snacking without getting fat - with a natural sweetener. It really works: The leaves of the South American plant Stevia ("Stevia rebaudiana") are so sweet that they can easily replace conventional sugar. And best of all, stevia is up to 300 times sweeter than sucrose, has no calories and does not cause tooth decay.
2. Stevia has been around for a while - as a cosmetic
Stevia sweeteners have been approved in the past as a food additive called steviol glycosides E 960. You could also buy Stevia before, on the Internet, in health food stores and in health food stores. But not as food. The products were officially sold as cosmetics, as a bath additive, for example, or as a basis for making face masks. Product quality and composition were questionable. The sweetener is produced in a complex, multi-step process from the leaves of the stevia plant.
In 2011, the European Commission allowed the use of steviol glycosides as a sweetener on the European market. Manufacturers had to meet set quality criteria in order to sell them as food, so that the consumer gets a better and safer product.
3. In what form is Stevia offered for sale?
There are stevia sweeteners as a powder, in the form of tablets and as a liquid. Be it drinks, sweets or yoghurts: since 2011, a large number of stevia products have been launched on the market, replacing sugar one to one. A spoon of stevia is at least as sweet as a spoonful of sugar. Good news for those who want to bake cakes with stevia, because for cake recipes with a high sugar content, the often highly concentrated stevia sweeteners have not been suitable so far. However, many consumers do not like the bitter aftertaste of Stevia.
4. Are there any lemonade and yogurt with stevia in the supermarket soon?
The first stevia euphoria is flattened. Since the approval of the sweetener, some products have come on the market, but the number is manageable. The breakthrough is missing so far, not least because products containing steviol glycosides are quite expensive and often contain additional sugar. In addition, the sweetness may be included only in certain quantities in the food.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed the safety of the stevia sweetener - but only up to a maximum of four milligrams per kilo of body weight per day. For drinks, therefore, for example, only 30 percent of the current sweetness can be replaced by Stevia. For the remaining two-thirds, other sweeteners or just sugar should again serve. The benefits to the industry are therefore limited.
5. Should I sweeten with stevia rather than with sugar?
Anyone looking for a natural sweetener from Stevia will be disappointed: "The now approved steviol glycosides are obtained through a complex chemical process and have nothing to do with the naturalness of the plant," says Dr. Udo Kienle, agricultural scientist at the University of Hohenheim. For example, about 86 kilos of aluminum salts are needed to process a ton of stevia leaves. Kienle: "In China, the aluminum salts are applied as fertilizer on the fields, which would be a criminal offense in Germany for environmental reasons." Sustainable production of Steviolglykosiden so far can be no question.
6. Can not I just use the leaves of the stevia plant?
The marketing of the stevia plant is still not permitted in Germany. The reason: According to the Novel Food Regulation of 1997, it is considered a novel food in Europe. Because from the point of view of the authorities, Stevia has not been consumed to any appreciable extent. Therefore, the health safety must first be proven beyond doubt in order for it to be approved.
Stevia advocates argue that the leaves of the plant have been used for centuries by the Indian Guaraní ethnic group in Paraguay for sweetening, without any problems. However, these stevia have not been used in as large quantities as we would today. They were only 30 to 35 years old. The comparison with the indigenous people lags from the perspective of science, since nobody knows the health consequences of a longer and more intensive use. A grotesque situation, considering that the negative effects of sugar on health are known, and despite tooth decay and more and more people suffering from diabetes, no one would think of banning sugar.
7thA few leaves to sweeten can not be so bad, right?
Natural Stevia can be purchased in various forms or produced by itself: as fresh or dried leaves, as a green powder of dried leaves and as an aqueous or alcoholic extract.
However, you should be careful when eating stevia leaves, no matter in which form you use them: The stevia plant is no longer there. "The wild plant is virtually extinct, the cultivated plant is now available worldwide and has been heavily cultivated for higher yields, patents on stevia plants and patents can only be submitted for genetically modified plants," explains Udo Kienle. The question is how the ingredients have changed. We do not know what we are buying. Only an approval of the plant would help to establish a safe standard of unity. From the point of view of Kienle, the approval requires comprehensive toxicological studies confirming that the product is 100% safe for human health.
8. Why was only the sweetener and not the plant approved?
A marketing authorization is intended to guarantee that the consumer receives a product that is harmless to health - even with lifelong consumption. For a plant with complex ingredients, detection is naturally more difficult for toxicologists than for a high-purity sweetener. From the pure sweetener, the industry also promises high profits and has therefore funded appropriate studies.
9. What advantages and disadvantages does Stevia have?
Stevia is advertised as an equivalent sugar substitute, unfortunately, you really do not save a lot of sugar with it. Usually only a small percentage of the sugar is replaced by the sweetener. In addition, our body can not begin with the artificially produced sweetener, because digestion prepares for the utilization of sugar. Sweetener has no energy value, so the metabolism goes nowhere - and our appetite is stimulated. Therefore, taking stevia may make us eat more than normal.
Nevertheless, substitutes for sugar are still useful for diabetics as well as people with atopic dermatitis or fructose intolerance.
10. Stevia - what's next?
It could have been so beautiful: what we wanted was a natural sugar substitute that is good for the teeth and has no calories. What we have received is a chemically produced product whose production harms the environment and has little to do with a natural product. But thanks to the approval now at least the quality is right. But what we really want is a natural product that studies classify as harmless.
The studies required for the approval of the stevia plant cost according to estimates of the scientist Dr. med. Udo Kienles about seven million euros. Further information about Uni-Hohenheim.
