Sugar is currently public enemy number one. It is blamed for much of our bad eating, accused of being overly addictive and added to all the wrong things. It’s also considered responsible for a lot of diabetes, obesity, brain fog and insulin insensitivity. It causes inflammation and may well contribute to the formation of disease.
That’s largely because sugar is absorbed so readily as a source of energy by the body. When we consume sugar, it enters the blood as glucose and is then immediately absorbed where it begins to circulate around our bodies.
This in turn causes the release of insulin, which tells the body to use that sugar. If we are highly active, then this might give us a boost of energy. Unfortunately, most of us are not highly active at the time we eat sugar. So instead, the sugar is stored as fat around the body and this causes weight gain. The brain is spiked with serotonin and we get a momentary ‘high’ which makes the substance so addictive.
What’s more, is that once this has happened, we’re then left with no useable energy and we have a sudden energy trough and low mood. And if the sugar isn’t absorbed at all – because gradually we lose the ability to use sugar – it will remain in the blood and start to cause nerve damage and inflammation as it builds up.
And this is why alternatives like stevia are so popular. But is stevia all that safe? Is it really any better? Let’s find out. Here are 12 myths and truths about stevia!
1. Truth: Stevia is calorie free
One of the reasons that people avoid sugar like the plague today, is that it is high in calories. Sugar is added to so much of our food and that in turn means that energy and calories have been added. This in turn means that our unhealthy snacks are all the more likely to end up making their way to our hips.
Stevia is calorie free and that means you can enjoy it without the guilt!
