Stevia and Sugar are two different types of sweeteners with different nutritional values, found in
sweet beverages that you drink and food that’s been baked or cooked or even packed. Sugar, also
called sucrose or table sugar, comes from the sugar cane plants that has been used as a sweetener for
long but stevia is relatively new to the market in India but has been in use for long in the Southern
ranges of America. LaStevia comes from the Stevia rebaudiana plant which is hundreds of times
sweeter than sugar. Both these sweeteners are sold in the market as natural sweeteners that are
being made from plants but their effects in our bodies are not identical.
Sugar is often used as a food additive and often it naturally occurs in food of many forms. Sucrose,
fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin and high-fructose corn syrup are some examples. Sugar is a
dissacharide, meaning any of a class of sugars whose molecules contain two monosaccharide
residues, namely glucose and fructose. It is made from the sugar beets or sugar cane. Sugar cane
usually grows in the tropical climatic region which accounts for more than 2/3rd of the
productions.
Stevia and Sugar are compared to the amount of calories they add to the food. Sugar contains 4
calories per gram, 16 calories per teaspoon and 48 calories per tablespoon, whereas stevia contains
Zero Calorie and that is why it is more superior than the sugar for all consumptions.
Similar to table sugar, stevia is now commercially used for foods like beverages, baked and cooked
foods. Stevia rebaudiana is one of the 240 plants from the stevia genus. Stevia has other names
known as honey leaf plant, sweet chrysanthemum, sweet-leaf stevia, sugar-leaf etc. The sweetness
comes from the leaf extract called steviol glycoside or rebaudioside A that is about 200 to 300 times
sweeter than sugar.
The important difference between stevia and sugar is the one major fact that one contains calories
and the other does not, that stevia doesn’t spike the blood glucose as well. Consuming table sugar
causes rise in the blood sugar levels, leading the body to segregate more insulin to process and store
sugar. As Stevia consumption shows no rise in blood sugar levels, it has been recommended to
diabetic or insulin-sensitive persons and people who desire a healthy and fit lifestyle.
By
Deepni Pradeep
