It looks like consumers of stevia receive great news about the sweetner. Check out the latest interesting reports below.
Great news from stevia lovers
Usually, people believe that artificial sweeteners can increase your appetite, but it looks like things are pretty different.
Fans of stevia and other sugar alternatives have received good news.
A new randomized controlled trial, published by the SWEET consortium in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine, has shown that replacing sugar with sweeteners like stevia does not increase a person’s appetite. In fact, it can even help reduce blood sugar levels.
The study was conducted by the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and the Rhône-Alpes Research Center for Human Nutrition in France, and involved 29 Europe-based research, consumer, and industry partners who collaborated to research whether switching from sugar to other sweeteners would benefit the public.
In a groundbreaking study, 53 overweight or obese adult men and women aged between 18 and 60 were examined. The study focused on sugary foods, rather than sugary beverages, which makes it the first-of-its-kind.
Over the course of three two-week periods, between 2021 and 2022, the participants were given cookies that contained either sugar, stevia, or an artificial sweetener called Neotame. Neotame, which is sold as Newtame, is an artificial sweetener that is up to 13,000 times sweeter than regular sugar. Participants tried each type of cookie, but in a different order.
The research team recorded their glucose levels, insulin, and appetite-related hormones on the first and last day of each two-week period.
The study’s findings suggest that there is no significant difference in appetite levels between those who consume cookies made with sugar and those who consume cookies made with stevia or artificial sweeteners.
It is also worth noting the fact that there is no significant difference in appetite-related hormones, such as ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), or pancreatic polypeptide.
However, the study found that those who consumed cookies made with stevia or artificial sweeteners had lower blood sugar and insulin levels than those who consumed cookies made with sugar.
Among the participants, those who consumed cookies made with stevia showed the most statistically significant difference in blood sugar.
