Stevia Extract May be Used for Weight Loss

An article published in the US Journal of Drug Fortified Food states that in vivo and in vitro studies conducted by Mexican researchers have shown that stevia extract has the effect of inhibiting obesity. Extensive experimental data indicate that low-calorie sweetener food and beverage products help reduce energy intake and weight control, and earlier research has also proven that stevia has health benefits in improving obesity and diabetes.

Many studies are analyzing the anti-obesity, anti-hyperglycemia, and anti-hyperlipidemic effects of plants, which are all related to metabolic disorders. Factors such as abdominal obesity, inflammation and diabetes all increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers at the Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico said that many chemically synthesized drugs can treat the above diseases, but some of them can have related side effects, such as lactic acidosis, metal taste, and vitamin B12 deficiency. Therefore, consumers are interested in new natural-sourced medicinal products. Stevia is one of them, which has a wide history of safe consumption worldwide.

The incidence of cardiovascular disease is constantly rising. According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, from 1995 to 2014, the number of diabetic patients worldwide has increased to 30 million, and the number is expected to rise to 366 million in 2030. Obese patients worldwide have doubled since 1980. Researchers have shown that rats who take stevia orally for 3 to 9 weeks will lose weight accordingly.

Among the natural sweeteners, stevia extract, stevia sugar, is the boss, and food and beverage is the largest application. According to market data from Mintel, as of the end of 2016, there were 3,223 food and beverage products containing stevia, of which 1,396 were beverage products. Traditional carbonated beverages are going downhill, and beverage giants Pepsi and Coca-Cola are looking for new natural sweeteners. The application of natural sweeteners in food and beverage products has become a development trend in the global health industry. The stevia market size reached USD 490 million in 2017 and is expected to reach a USD 770 million compound annual growth rate by 9.22.

Currently, stevia extract is not only used as a natural sweetener, but also contains other phytochemicals that also have health effects. These ingredients include diterpenes, triterpenes, stigmasterol, tannins, vitamin C, alkaloids, steroids, saponins, flavonoids, beta-carotene, chromium, cobalt, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, nuclear Flavin, thiamine, tin, zinc, apigenin, austroinilina, broad parasite, β-sitosterol, caffeic acid, campesterol, caryophyllene, cornflower xanthophyll, chlorogenic acid, chlorophyll, kaempferol, Lutein and quercetin.

A study conducted in 2015 showed that compared to aspartame, SR and saccharin, stevia not only increases satiety, but also lowers blood sugar and postprandial insulin levels. Another human clinical study has shown that stevia lowers blood pressure. For example, patients with hypertension take 250mg steviol glycosides for one year, and the results show that after 2 months, the subjects' cardiac contraction and diastolic value are significantly reduced, and there are no side effects in terms of biochemical parameters. In the future, more research will be conducted to analyze the different mechanisms of stevia's effect on human health.