“Which stevia should I get?” That is a much trickier question to answer than it might seem because many brands of stevia have hidden forms of sugar in them, or ‘sugar ninjas’ as I call them. Here is a list of the various stevia brands, what is in them. I present this list for those out there who are attempting to be extra vigilant about ANY types of sugars hidden in stevia. If you have no aversion to sugars then you may not need this list, but it is always nice to know what is in the product you wish to buy before buying it right?
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What is Stevia?
The stevia plant is a perennial shrub native to Paraguay and Brazil. Stevia has been grown and used in South America for centuries. Native Americans in these regions realized that the leaves were sweet, and used them to season teas and other foods. As Europeans began to explore the foods consumed by Native Americans, they were introduced to stevia, and it then spread to the rest of the world during the 18th century, when people first began taking the product back with them to Europe in large volumes.
The plant is also sometimes called sweetleaf or sugarleaf, in a reference to the natural sweetness found in the leaves. In the 1930s, chemists in France isolated stevioside, the compound in the leaves which is responsible for their sweetness. This compound is sometimes sold isolated from the leaves in a highly refined form. In other cases, stevia is made by crushing or distilling the leaves of the plant to form a powder or a syrup with an intensely sweet flavor. All of the stevia extracts you find in stores is made mostly from stevioside.
It has been shown that stevia is much sweeter than other sugars, meaning that only a small amount needs to be used and you will find it to be bitter tasting if you use too much. Also, the body processes stevia very slowly, which greatly reduces the risk of a rise in blood sugar levels (aka – a sugar high) and also prevents the ‘sugar crash’ as well. In fact, some studies have shown that it may be helpful in lowering after meal blood sugar levels when eaten as a part of the meal. In addition, stevia is calorie free, and research also suggests that stevia may be safe for diabetics, (although diabetics should always consult their doctors about additions to their diet which may alter their blood sugar).
Stevia Brands:
SweetLeaf – SweetLeaf brand uses no chemicals in the extraction process and adds NO other ingredients to aid in sweetness. The only added ingredient in the powdered extract is inulin fiber (that comes from fruits and veggies).
NOW – NOW brand stevia also adds NO additional sweetening agents. (There is no information on the extraction process used).
Stevita -Every Stevita product I have reviewed has had some form of sweetening agent added in. The liquid Stevita *seems* safe as it only has grapefruit seed extract listed on the label as a natural preservative (which it is). However, the way that grapefruit seed extract is made combines the ground seeds, pulp, and white membranes of the grapefruit with glycerin – which is a form of sugar! This one is particularly sneaky. On the ‘spoonable’, ‘supreme’, ‘tropical stick packs’, and other Stevita products, I see erythritol used and this is a sugar alcohol. They also use Xylitol, another sugar alcohol that can have more gastrointestinal side effects such a s bloating and gas due to the way it is digested in the body. Only the following may be pure stevia with no additional ingredients: (I could not find a photo of the nutrition facts label to confirm though) The ‘Simply Stevia’ product.
Kal – While the powdered stevia extract from Kal brand seems to be free of additional sugars, the liquid version contains glycerin (sometimes spelled glycerine) and that is a form of sugar at its molecular base.
Sun Crystals – This brand uses a blend of stevia and pure cane sugar… kind of obvious that this one has sugar right?
Truvia – Is a blend of stevia and erythritol.
Purevia – Purevia uses a similar blend that Truvia does but it adds isomaltulose in addition to the erythritol.
Stevia In The Raw – The packets contain dextrose (a form of sugar) and the granulated version contains maltodextrin (a sugar that is also a bulking agent).
NuStevia – Maltodextrin inhabits this brand of stevia.
Stevia Cane – This brand actually has the word ‘cane’ in the title! The reason is because it is a blend of stevia and sugar cane… obviously this one has regular cane sugar in it.
Steviva – There are two kinds of this brand. One says Pure – this one “seems” to be free of any types of sugars, but I cannot find a good photo of the ingredient label to be certain. If you try this one, read the label before consuming! The other is called Blend – The ‘blend’ is erythritol.
Fructivia (another product made by the Steviva company) – This is a blend of fructose, FOS, and stevia. Both fructose and FOS are sugars.
Steviva also offers stevia leaves, but those can be a pain to work with if you are not familiar with using leaves. (They can be used when brewing teas, or even as a stand alone tea leaf).
NSI Stevia (liquid) – This also has glycerin.
Best of All Stevia – A blend of stevia and erythritol.
Whole Foods 365 Brand – Maltodextrin is included in this product.
Stevia Sweet – Another blend of stevia and maltodextrin.
These are all of the brands I was able to locate and it covers all of the most popular brands. Out of these I recommend ONLY SweetLeaf, NOW, and only the powder extract of Kal (not the liquid), if you wish to avoid all types of sugar and sugar alcohols in your stevia.
I would suggest staying away from the brands that use sugar cane in the blend because that defeats the purpose of using stevia in the first place (since it’s a zero calorie sugar alternative with no effect on blood sugar levels). The erythritol blends will be easiest on your digestive tract so you may want to choose one of those blends (if you dislike the plain stevia extract brands) for added sweetness, (they will also have no effect on blood sugar levels).