If you're sweet on sugar, you aren't doing your heart or belly
any favors. So check out this sugar replacement—it might even help you
shed pounds.
Ever
heard of stevia? It’s a plant-based sweetener that’s a popular
alternative to sugar for people who are counting their calories. Stevia
comes with some “sweet” benefits—such as helping control blood sugar. If you haven’t made the sugar switch yet, new research from the Journal of Medicinal Food
is reporting more, previously unknown benefits to stevia that may
convince you otherwise: The sweetener may protect against several deadly
conditions that can combine to create metabolic syndrome, which
dramatically raises your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
(Here’s what you should know about metabolic syndrome.)
For their study, researchers Areli Carrera-Lanestosa and Maira
Segura-Campos, Autonomous University of Yucatan and Yolanda
Moguel-Ordóñez, National Institute for Forest, Agronomic, and Livestock
Research, Yucatan, Mexico, analyzed extracts of the stevia rebaudiana
(SR) plant to understand its complete pharmacological and therapeutic
effects. The researchers paid particular attention to how the extract
could be used as a natural alternative to disorders associated with the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including obesity, hypertension, and elevated levels of blood sugar and lipids. The CDC estimates that more than 30 percent of adults in the United States live with the syndrome.
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The researchers believe the same compounds responsible for the
plant’s sweetness could be used in the prevention of metabolic syndrome.
In their findings, the researchers note that when they replaced sugar
in the diets of lab rats with stevia, the rats showed a decrease in
daily caloric intake, and in some cases, lost one pound over a 10-day
period. In further examining the components that make up the SR plant,
including the leaves, flowers, and roots, the researchers found that the
compounds in SR have the potency to be used as a natural treatment for
diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The
plant also contains several phytochemicals including phenols and
flavonoids, which can help burn fat.
While the study results are promising, the authors say they need to
do more research to figure out the mechanisms at work. Until more is
understood about the possible benefits of SR, here are ways to kick sugar from your diet, starting now.
