Stevia, or” honey “herb – a unique plant native to South America is widely known for its “sweet” properties. Stevia leaves are 10-15 times sweeter than sugar and have zero calories! This amazing combination has become a godsend for sweet lovers and those who want to lose extra pounds.
Stevia is available in various forms: leaves, dry grass, syrup, extract, extract, elixir. This variety allows you to choose the most convenient option and use it for cooking and drinking. Thanks to it, people with excess weight will be able to enjoy food and, without changing their lifestyle, lose weight safely.
Medical studies have confirmed the effectiveness of the herbal drug stevia for weight loss, stevia is shown even in advanced forms of obesity.
Composition
Stevia leaves have a rich composition:
- Natural glycosides-stevioside is a natural substance that is 300 times sweeter than regular sugar (sucrose). Used as a sugar substitute.
- Vitamins: A, E, K, b groups, ascorbic and nicotinic acid, quercetin.
- Minerals: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, cobalt, manganese, fluorine, iron, sodium, selenium.
- Essential oils: camphor, limonene.
- Amino acids, saponins, flavonoids.
Stevia pros and cons
Advantages
- 100% naturalness is a plant raw material-dried leaves and their derivatives with preserved properties of biologically active substances of fresh raw materials.
- Proven safety-this is an absolutely harmless herb, it can be used by adults and children in any health condition.
- Natural sweetness-glycosides are hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose and do not increase sugar levels. It can be taken even by patients with diabetes without harm to their health.
- Zero calories are the ideal diet.
- Health – improving effect-stevia balances the whole body-restores metabolism, reduces the level of harmful cholesterol, stimulates the elimination of toxins and excess water, improves digestion and normalizes blood pressure.
- Weight correction-the chemicals of this herb can optimize metabolic processes and accelerate the breakdown of lipids, which is invaluable for people who are overweight-centimeters go away before your eyes.
Consumption of stevia instead of sugar reduces the caloric content of food consumed and without changing the food system allows you to steadily lose 3-5 kg per month. During weight loss, a person does not experience discomfort associated with changes in the diet, does not feel uncontrollable hunger as with a normal diet, calmly eats sweetness without sugar carbohydrates and actively loses weight. After all, grass speeds up fat burning and reduces appetite.
It is important that when losing weight, the body does not experience a lack of useful substances, the natural remedy saturates with vitamins, minerals and increases the overall tone.
Products with stevia increase the effectiveness of any diet, for example:
- Protein;
- Carbohydrate;
- Carb-free;
- On the porridge.
The disadvantage does stevia cause headaches?
Some people have experienced various digestive problems after consuming stevia, including increased gas formation, diarrhea, and nausea. Certain troubles can occur in people who suffer from allergies to daisies, marigolds or chrysanthemums.
In any case, too fond of stevia is definitely not worth it – its excessive use can so much lower the level of glucose contained in the blood that diabetics can easily face such an unpleasant phenomenon as hypoglycemia. In addition, abuse of stevia can cause allergies, dizziness, and nausea, so do not exceed the maximum allowable dosage. And people taking medications to regulate blood pressure, normalize lithium levels, or for diabetes, and it does not hurt to exercise some caution since stevia is endowed with the ability to disrupt the mechanism of action of such drugs. Excessive caution will not prevent you from taking antiviral or anti-cancer drugs.
Sometimes when using stevia, side effects such as pain in different parts of the body or numbness of these parts can occur, so this fact should not be discounted either.
How to take it?
Scientists have found that daily use of stevia grass in a dose of 0.5 g per 1 kg of weight is absolutely safe for a person. Pure extract in tablets per day is allowed to take up to 8 mg per kg.
Stevia can be added to cold and hot drinks. Stevia in the raw nutrition is also used. It does not lose its useful properties even at high temperatures and does not change the physical properties of food and drink. The herb will add an unusual flavor to iced tea with stevia, coffee, and lemonade. Fresh leaves can be added to salads and desserts, yogurt with stevia. Can use different recipes with stevia.
For baking, desserts, and jam, it is better to use the extract, it does not give a specific taste, stevia without aftertaste. 1 tablet of extract (stevioside, rebaudioside) corresponds to 1 tsp of sugar, 4-5 drops of stevia liquid concentrate – 2 tsp.
Stevia sweet tea
To make tea with stevia, take 2 tablespoons of dry leaves, pour a glass (200 ml) of boiling water and insist for half an hour. Done. You can drink 2-3 cups of this drink per day. It is most effective to drink tea half an hour before meals.
Sweet stevia simple syrup recipe
To prepare, take 1 liter of water, bring to a boil and add 100 g of honey grass. Cook on minimum heat for one hour. Filter and pour into a convenient container for storage. The leaves from the broth are poured again with half a liter of water and cook for another hour. The resulting broth is filtered and added to the first portion. The syrup is ready for use. It can be used as a sweetener instead of sugar for tea, coffee, cold drinks, desserts, pastries, etc.
Dietary mayonnaise
With a blender, combine 150 ml of soy milk, 1 tbsp onion powder, a quarter of a teaspoon of stevia powder, salt to taste, the juice of one small lemon and after obtaining a homogeneous mass, enter vegetable oil (350 ml) in a thin stream.
Elixir
Pharmacy elixirs based on stevia often include pineapple and fucus extract. This tool is recommended to drink for weight loss 3-5 drops per glass of drink up to 4 times a day.
The elixir does not contain alcohol, has a pleasant sweet taste, helps reduce appetite, cravings for sweets, increases metabolism and accelerates the burning of excess fat.
Contraindications
Stevia is considered absolutely safe and is allowed for use by adults and children of any age. However, as with any medicinal product, it has its own contraindications:
- Individual intolerance.
- Children under 12 years of age-for stevioside tablets.
In its pure form, stevia can be used by pregnant and nursing women as an additive to the diet in permitted doses.