Compared with traditional sweeteners and sugar, Stevia Extract has the advantages of naturalness, good stability, and high safety. Scientists have sought to replace sucrose with sweeteners that taste similar to sucrose but have lower energy intake for nearly half a century. With the continuous improvement of living standards, people begin to pursue natural and green food.
Stevia Is a Fad
In the 21st century, health problems will become the focus of human attention. At present, low-sugar and sugar-free foods have become the first choice for people's health. Stevia can not only be made into sugar-free food, but also can be used in combination with other sugars to make low-sugar food. Stevia can produce a variety of foods for consumers to choose from. Most importantly, consumers of stevia products are not limited to obese people. The multifunctional health benefits of stevia are suitable for all groups of people.
Stevia vs. Sugar
Stevia is known internationally as "the third source of sugar globally". Compared with sucrose, the advantages of stevia are as follows:
1. High sweetness and low calorie.
Stevia has naturally low calorie properties and is very close to the taste of sucrose. The sweetness is 200-350 times that of sucrose, and the calories are only 1/300 of sucrose. It can be used as a sugar substitute to reduce calories, and stevia is difficult to be absorbed by the human body and does not participate in metabolism, which is in line with the contemporary people's pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.
2. Good stability. Stevia has the properties of heat resistance and antiseptic, and is a fairly stable sweetener. It is beneficial to reduce food viscosity, inhibit bacterial growth and prolong product shelf life.
3. High security.
All major international food regulatory agencies (JECFA), such as EFSA, FDA, etc., consider stevia to be safe to eat, including children and pregnant women. Non-teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic, and will not cause allergies.
Reasonable use of stevioside within the prescribed dosage range not only does not cause harm to human health, but also has the functions of lowering blood pressure, lowering blood sugar, and antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Stevia can be used in the food industry.
Summary
The main components of Stevia Extract are the secondary metabolites stevioside and stevioside accumulated in chrysanthemum leaves. As stevia is widely used in the food industry market in Europe and America, it will be a good substitute for sucrose.