With the way that the national diet has been going for the past few decades, we\u2019re scrambling to fix our sugar problem.<\/p>\n
We consume far too much sugary junk as a society, and it\u2019s starting to pay off with all kinds of lifestyle problems, from obesity to diabetes and beyond. We\u2019ve built up a culture of over-eating and hyper-palatable foods.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that we\u2019ve tried to fix this in a wide variety of ways. One of those is sweeteners \u2013 a sweet, low- or zero-calorie ingredient<\/a> that makes food taste good without the metabolic problems that sugar can bring.<\/p>\n Today we\u2019re going to talk about Stevia<\/a> \u2013 a plant-based sweetener that is playing a large role in improving our diets \u2013 and we\u2019re going to explain how it can improve your life, and why we use it in our supplements.<\/p>\n Sugar isn\u2019t bad by itself \u2013 it doesn\u2019t make you fat and isn\u2019t as \u201caddictive as cocaine\u201d. The reality is that we just like it too much and it usually causes us to skip past moderation and go straight to over-eating. When you combine sugar with over-eating, you do<\/strong> run into problems like insulin resistance and increased chances of gaining too much weight<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is also a problem because sugar is actually very calorie dense. As a carb, it\u2019s only 4 calories per gram, but the amount of satiety and volume that 100grams of sugar provides is actually very low compared to the same amount of complex carbs, protein, or fats. This is even more true if you\u2019re drinking it in the form of a syrup-based fizzy drink<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of misinformation about sugar out there, but it is associated with reduced levels of dietary quality, increased levels of obesity, it has a direct role in diabetes, and is associated with countless other problems. Sugar isn\u2019t always the cause, but a high-sugar diet is usually a bad diet.<\/p>\n This is where we look to sweeteners like stevia.<\/p>\n Stevia is our favourite form of sweetener \u2013 it\u2019s totally natural, it provides great flavour, and it is well-researched. There\u2019s plenty of science on the health and safety of stevia, all for almost-zero calories.<\/p>\n Stevia is simply an extract from the leaves of the stevia plant, which produces a hyper-sweet compound known as a glycoside. These aren\u2019t digested by the body, so you taste them but you never absorb them or use them. They just pass straight through you \u2013 in the same way that water or fibre<\/a> might.<\/p>\n Stevia is made from plant leaves \u2013 it is the most natural thing in the world. This doesn\u2019t make it better or worse, since something being natural doesn\u2019t make it good or healthy, but if you\u2019re concerned about artificial foods \u2013 this isn\u2019t one.<\/p>\n Stevia is a type of plant that grows in Asia and South America, and the sweetener is made from the leaves.<\/p>\n Absolutely.<\/p>\n There have been plenty of discussions on Stevia and its safety\/health effects. The European Food Safety Authority spent a lot of time and effort with an in-depth analysis of the sweetener and concluded with the statement that it\u2019s safe for human consumption. Beyond this, the science shows that Stevia has positive effects on cell health, blood sugar, and kidney health<\/a>.<\/p>\n The only real risks when consuming Stevia is taking too much \u2013 as with anything else. If you consume huge amounts of stevia (more than 25mg\/kg of your body weight per day)<\/a> then you may experience some digestive problems or other negative effects, but this is far more than you\u2019ll find in any of our products.<\/p>\n Simply put, moderation is key<\/strong>. In moderate amounts, stevia is actually actively-healthy, with a beneficial antioxidant effect and the negative effects of stevia don\u2019t show up until you\u2019ve got way into overconsumption. This is what you should avoid regardless of whether it is a full-sugar or sweetener-based product: bad dietary habits are the problem, not sweeteners.<\/p>\n Safe to say, the levels found in protein powders and other sweetened health products are nowhere near a dangerous dose. With stevia being roughly 200-300 times sweeter than sugar, the content is much lower and the health effects are much better!<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Stevia comes in many forms \u2013 some of which you can use at home, and others you\u2019ll find in sweetened products.<\/p>\n This is probably the most common form \u2013 especially in dietary supplements \u2013 and for good reason.<\/p>\n You can buy this powder online with ease<\/a>, and it can be used as an alternative to sugar. As mentioned above, be careful with your dosing if you\u2019re using the powder itself \u2013 if you mega-dose, you may experience some side-effects. Be sure to check guidelines on stevia use and always use a high-quality stevia product.<\/p>\n A less-common but handier solution, stevia drops are an easy way to get stevia into your morning coffee or afternoon tea \u2013 or anything else you drink. If you\u2019re trying to keep your sugar low, these drops can be a convenient way of getting around the sugar problem without the calories.<\/p>\n Also, pretty handy if you put way too much kale or spinach in your protein shake and it tastes like leaves. We\u2019ve all been there.<\/p>\n Similar to drops but at a much lower concentration, stevia liquid is a dilute solution of stevia in water or other basic liquids. It\u2019s an easy way to flavour for baking or other sweetened dishes.<\/p>\n As with drops, you want to monitor your stevia intake. While a dilute stevia liquid isn\u2019t going to be particularly strong, you should learn how much is appropriate for your intended use. This is probably going to be less effective for your coffee since it\u2019s less concentrated.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t eat the plant: it\u2019s healthy, but expensive and inconvenient.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not sure how you plan on using the plant in your day-to-day life, but we recommend moderation as with all other forms. The leaves themselves are nowhere near as sweet as the extract \u2013 and they\u2019re balanced by the natural fibre of the whole plant \u2013 and the plant costs far more per serving than the powder.<\/p>\n Stevia plant and leaf are most commonly used for making homemade stevia, but we really don\u2019t recommend this. Firstly, it\u2019s a lot of effort to get the exact same product you\u2019d get from a powder\/extract at a much higher cost to your time and money. Secondly, it\u2019s far less reliable and measured than just buying the powder.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Stevia is gaining popularity and you can see this in its availability.<\/p>\n You can buy stevia online through multiple vendors, but the important part is getting a high-quality product. Our stevia powder extract<\/a> is a 97% Reb-A version (the sweetest, most antioxidant form of stevia), with up to 400 times the sweetness of sugar.<\/p>\n We also ensure that there\u2019s nothing else in our stevia plant extract. While you might see low-quality powders on the market that often mix stevia with dextrin or other types of sugar, our powder is certified 100% stevia. After all, if you wanted calories and carbs, you\u2019d probably just use sugar.<\/p>\n With a highly-soluble, low-GI version of Stevia, our extract is all about premium quality at great price.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n This is the crucial point for us: stevia for protein is a fantastic alternative to sugar for a few reasons.<\/p>\n Firstly, this simple, sweet powder is mixed into protein powders to ensure that the sugar content is low, and you get as much protein as possible for your money. This is what we all use protein powders for, so getting a better ratio of protein to extras is key to a good product.<\/p>\n Secondly, protein powder is the perfect place to put stevia: it\u2019s taken in relatively small doses, it provides plenty of other food for your stomach to digest, and it dilutes your overall stevia intake. This means that it\u2019s almost impossible to get too much stevia from protein powders.<\/p>\n We use stevia extract in our protein powders because:<\/p>\n For us, stevia is a clear choice for honesty, creating responsible <\/em><\/strong>protein powders, and making sure that our products provide the best value without health concerns. Stevia lets us do all of this while also providing great health benefits.<\/p>\n Eager to learn more? We believe that every person, with support, has the right to transform their lives through fitness. That’s why we’ve put together hundreds of articles with expert advice, all to help you on your fitness journey.<\/p>\nSugar, Satiety and Side-Effects<\/h2>\n
What is Stevia?<\/h2>\n
Is Stevia Really Natural?<\/h2>\n
Is Stevia Safe?<\/h2>\n
Different Types of Stevia<\/h2>\n
Stevia Extract Powder<\/h3>\n
Stevia Drops<\/h3>\n
Stevia Liquid<\/h3>\n
Stevia Plant<\/h3>\n
Where Can You Buy Stevia?<\/h2>\n
Adding Stevia to Protein Powder<\/h2>\n
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