Many nutrition experts recommend plant-based sweeteners as sugar substitutes, but could the most well-known of these, stevia, be unhealthy? Scientists have viewed stevia as a safe sugar alternative for years. But a new study raises questions about whether it could be harmful to gut health. People nowadays use sugar substitutes to reduce their sugar intake.Excessive sugar consumptioncan lead to weight gain and diabetes, which accordingly promotes inflammation in the body.
Could stevia be unhealthy for the gut microbiome?
People have been using the stevia plant as a sweetener for hundreds of years. They originally discovered these in Brazil and Paraguay and now grow them all over the world. Stevia is up to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, so only a very small amount is needed to achieve the desired sweetness effect. Additionally, stevia is a calorie-free substitute, while other artificial sweeteners may contain some calories. Another benefit of stevia is that it has a glycemic index of less than 1, so it doesn't raise blood sugar like some alternatives do. Most people generally understand the importance of maintaining a moderate weight and practicing heart health best practices. Still, they sometimes overlook their gut health. Although experts typically consider stevia a safe sugar substitute, recent research suggests that it may have some downsides.
In this regard, a research team examined two forms of stevia: the commercially available dietary supplement and the purified stevia extract. They analyzed how the different forms of stevia affect bacterial interaction with the intestinal microbiome. The intestine has QS (Quorum Sensing) pathways. These pathways allow bacterial molecules to communicate with each other, which is important for microbial regulation. The team found that a stevia herbal supplement had an inhibitory effect on bacterial communication. The purified stevia extract showed molecular interaction and possible disruption of bacterial communication. While stevia was found to be a factor in gut imbalance, none of its forms showed evidence of killing gut bacteria. The authorsof the studyplan to further investigate whether stevia is unhealthy and use their findings to formulate guidelines for its intake.
