<p>I get questions about stevia—the zero-calorie plant-based sweetener—all the time. Some people worry about hormone disruption, while others worry about toxicity. I’ll dig into these concerns and others later in this article. But in the spirit of getting to the point, the existing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890837/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> suggests that you’d have to consume an astronomical amount of stevia for it to be dangerous.</p><p>In fact, I believe substituting sugar with stevia is a strong choice for most people. <a href="https://science.drinklmnt.com/did-you-know/how-sugar-is-making-us-sick/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Added sugar</a> is making people sick, obese, and metabolically unwell. And compared to sugar, stevia cultivation is much better for the environment. If you’ve read my latest book, <a href="https://www.sacredcow.info/book"><em>Sacred Cow</em></a>, you know this matters A LOT to me.</p><p>Stevia also has many potential benefits, including antioxidant effects, oral benefits, anti-diabetic effects, and more. This article is all about stevia: what it is, why it’s sweet, health benefits, safety concerns, and more.</p><h2><b>What Is Stevia?</b></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Centuries ago, the natives of South America satisfied their sweet tooth by chewing on the leaves of a local shrub. They didn’t know why the leaves of this plant tasted so good, but </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">boy,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> did they enjoy them. Decades later, in 1905, Westerners </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890837/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">named this plant</span></a> <i><span style="font-weight: 400">stevia rebaudiana</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Stevia’s sweetness comes from compounds within the plant leaves called steviol glycosides, which are 50–400 times sweeter than table sugar. These glycosides are extracted to make the zero-calorie sweetener we call stevia. They include:</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-weight: 400">Stevioside</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: 400">Rebaudioside A</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: 400">Rebaudioside C</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: 400">Dulcoside</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Stevioside, in particular, has been </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845826/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">researched</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> extensively for its blood sugar-lowering properties. This may explain why stevia has a long history of treating diabetes among the natives in Paraguay and Brazil. Let’s double-click on this benefit now.</span></p><h2><b>Health Benefits of Stevia</b></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Stevia hasn’t yet earned “health-food” status like blueberries, but I </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">am</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> intrigued by the benefits. Here’s what the latest science has to say.</span></p><h3><b>#1: Anti-diabetic effects</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">The chief characteristic of type 2 diabetes is </span><a href="https://drinklmnt.com/blogs/health/blood-sugar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">high blood sugar</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">. Stevia is certainly not a diabetes cure, but it may help control blood sugar by way of improved insulin function</span>.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">It should come as no shock that across multiple studies, stevia produces a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27956737/">lower</a> post-meal insulin response than sugar. But in one </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2900484/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">2010 study</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">, stevia improved the post-meal insulin response even compared to aspartame, an artificial sweetener with zero calories.</span></p><p>The most interesting part: Stevioside <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10690946/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stimulates</a> insulin release from the pancreas at high blood sugar concentrations, which helps bring blood sugar back down. But when blood sugar is in normal ranges (below 150 mg/dl), stevia doesn’t appear to have the same insulin-stimulating effect. This <em>in vitro </em>data is supported by the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2900484/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clinical data</a> I just mentioned.</p><p>For people with type 2 diabetes, this means that stevia may be a valuable tool in the blood sugar-management tool box. And for folks without blood sugar issues, it means that using stevia instead of sugar may help prevent the glycemic dysregulation and insulin resistance that may contribute to type 2 diabetes. Lastly, it is also the reason I believe stevia would NOT release insulin during a fast or disrupt fasting benefits.</p><h3><b>#2: Antioxidant effects</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Stevia is rich in plant compounds called phenols. These phenols may </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845826/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">reduce</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> oxidative stress, which drives aging and chronic disease. For instance, stevia-fed Wistar rats (a strain of rat bred to develop fatty liver) </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23140911/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">showed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> less signs of liver damage than rats fed a control diet. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Some oxidative stress is normal. It’s part of living, breathing, and moving. But when too many reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced, it’s bad news for disease risk. The trick is to find a balance. Don’t slam antioxidants like Kobayashi slams hot dogs, but don’t discount their potential benefits either.</span></p><h3><b>#3: Anti-inflammatory effects</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) is an inflammatory particle that tends to reside in fat tissue. In diabetics, excess TNF-α </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845826/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">decreases insulin sensitivity</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> by reducing the activity of a protein called glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4), which transports sugar into muscle and liver cells.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">In mice, stevioside </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22240021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">lowered</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> TNF-α, reduced inflammation in fat tissue, thereby increasing insulin sensitivity. Stevioside also decreased circulating levels of interleukin 6 and interleukin 10—two cell-signaling proteins called cytokines linked to chronic inflammation.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Add improved insulin sensitivity and reduced chronic inflammation to the list of stevia’s potential health benefits.</span></p><h3><b>#4: Oral health</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">A 6-month </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5767988/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">randomized controlled trial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> on school children found that stevia mouthwash had both antiplaque and antigingivitis effects. Conversely, sugar </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">promotes</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> the growth of cavity-causing bacteria like Streptococcus mutans.</span></p><h3><b>#5: Overeating control </b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Consuming stevia may decrease subsequent overeating. In a 2020 </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32125421/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">randomized controlled trial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">, people ate fewer calories if they drank a stevia-sweetened beverage (vs. water) beforehand.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">This anti-hunger mechanism may involve the intestinal hormone </span><a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2023/fo/d3fo00818e" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">glucagon-like peptide 1</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> (GLP-1). Stevia activates bitter taste receptors, stimulating this satiety hormone that slows gastric emptying, the process by which the contents of the stomach are moved into the small intestine. Theoretically, this could help with weight loss, but research hasn’t yet proven that.</span></p><h2><b>One More Benefit: Sustainability</b></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400">In </span><a href="https://www.sacredcow.info/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Sacred Cow</span></i></a><span style="font-weight: 400">, I argue that eating properly raised meat is a net positive for the planet. I probably won’t sign a book deal for </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Sacred Stevia</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> anytime soon (don’t tempt me!) but I </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">do </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">admire this sweetener’s sustainability.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">For instance, stevia beats sugar when it comes to carbon footprint. Cane sugar production emits 64% more carbon-based pollution than it’d take to produce a comparable amount of stevia. Then there’s the water footprint. Cane sugar requires </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890837/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">95% more water</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> to produce the same amount of sweetness as stevia.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">I’m not saying that stevia will save the planet. But imagine if the entire sugar industry were replaced by stevia. The impacts would be considerable, on both the environment and our collective health.</span></p><h2><b>The Safety of Stevia </b></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400">The Food and Drug Administration has conferred “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) status to stevia. After </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890837/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">reviewing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> over 200 human and animal studies, they set the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for stevia extract at 4 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The ADI is the daily dose of a substance one could consume over a lifetime without causing harm. For example, a 150-pound woman could safely consume up to 40 tabletop packets of stevia a day for the rest of her life.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">The takeaway? Unless you’re set on consuming 41 packets in your daily morning coffee, reasonable doses of stevia seem to be very safe.</span></p><h2><b>Is Stevia Bad for You? (Concerns and Side Effects)</b></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Despite its well-documented safety profile, many folks have pinged me with concerns about stevia. Most of these concerns aren’t rooted in solid science, but rather a cursory glance at a headline, blog, or scientific abstract. But hey, why not investigate further? I’ll bite.</span></p><h3><b>#1: Does stevia have side effects?</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Some folks have emailed me asking if stevia could cause “nausea, bloating, and low blood pressure.” While there’s a small incidence of gastrointestinal side effects, it’s not significant enough to make a ripple. Unlike sugar, stevia is NOT fermented by gut bacteria. And there’s </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691508002275" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">no evidence</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> of blood pressure disruptions.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">My guess is that these concerns are rooted in the nocebo effect. The nocebo effect is similar to the placebo effect, but with detriments rather than benefits. Nocebo occurs when you believe something (like stevia) will produce harm, and consequently that belief manifests as some adverse effect.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Is it possible that some folks can’t tolerate stevia? Of course! Each of our gut microbiomes are unique, and some people have more sensitive digestive systems than others. But much of this chatter strikes me as nocebo noise, which sounds like a great name for a band.</span></p><h3><b>#2: Does stevia disrupt hormones?</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">This is the most common concern I hear about stevia. People worry that stevia affects reproductive hormones, decreases sperm count, and impairs fertility. The evidence they typically cite is as follows.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Some </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26965840/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">research</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> suggests that in vitro sperm don’t respond well to bathing in a stevia solution. And some </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9274198/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">animal data</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> suggest that WHOPPING doses of stevia decrease sperm concentrations or </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17744732/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">impair fertility</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> in male and female rodents.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">But 2 other </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9274198/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">studies</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> found that when rats were fed stevia at a “very high dosage” it had no effect on sperm count and sperm production. The bottom line is that we have inconsistent animal data (with unreasonable doses) and ZERO clinical data supporting this concern. Personally, I see no cause for alarm.</span></p><h3><b>#3: Does stevia alter the gut microbiome?</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">I’m also not losing sleep over stevia’s effects on the gut microbiome. True, researchers </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31159256/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400">have found</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> that stevia changes the composition of microbes in the gut in rodents. But the same study </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">also </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">showed that stevia “did not alter weight gain or glucose tolerance compared to [controls].” And when stevia was paired with a prebiotic, the combo reduced fat mass, food intake, and leaky gut—all very good things.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Let’s pause to remember that the gut microbiome is still essentially a mystery. When microbial shifts happen, we generally don’t know if they’re good or bad. And what’s beneficial for one person may be detrimental for another. A </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7231174/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">2020 review</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> in </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Nutrients</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400"> concludes that “overall, stevia seems to modify the gut microbiota; however, further studies are needed to clarify its specific effects.”</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">If stevia caused </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">negative </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">shifts, I think we’d see adverse effects on metabolism, immunity, or other markers. Instead, we generally see </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2900484/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">metabolic benefits</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> (or no effects) when humans consume stevia.</span></p><h3><b>#4: Does stevia cause hypoglycemia?</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">As you’ll recall, stevia helps with glycemic control. When blood sugar is high, stevia stimulates insulin to bring it down. When blood sugar is low, stevia doesn’t do much.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">There’s no evidence that stevia causes dangerously low blood sugar levels. In rats, a single large dose of stevioside </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12647278/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">didn’t cause</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> hypoglycemia. And in humans, large daily doses of other glycosides </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691508002275" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">didn’t disrupt</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400"> glucose regulation. Let’s put this concern to bed.</span></p><h3><b>#5: Does stevia dysregulate appetite?</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Some people worry that eating stevia dysregulates appetite and drives cravings. But as we saw earlier, this concern doesn’t pan out in a </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2900484/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400">clinical setting</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">. Instead, stevia seems to </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32125421/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i><span style="font-weight: 400">decrease</span></i></a> <span style="font-weight: 400">subsequent overeating.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">A more plausible concern is that you’ll overeat stevia-sweetened foods themselves. I’ve been known to wolf down a whole stevia chocolate bar in one sitting, so I choose to buy them infrequently. I suggest you exercise similar restraint with stevia desserts. Be intentional with your intake.</span></p><h2><b>Is Stevia Healthy?</b></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400">Generally, yes. Most people tolerate stevia just fine, and many people benefit from it. But some super sensitive folks feel better when they eliminate stevia. It depends on your unique physiology</span>, and it’s always best to listen to your body.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">If you’re still concerned about stevia disrupting hormones, gut bacteria, or blood sugar, take a moment to review the science I cited above. Although I believe that most people’s fears about stevia are majoring in the minors, I fully support folks coming to their own conclusions.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400">I encourage you to try stevia if you crave sweetness on a low-carb, paleo, keto, or otherwise healthy diet. It’s an easy way to enjoy sweet tastes without the downsides <span style="font-weight: 400">of sugar</span>.</span></p>