How is stevia metabolized by the human body?

All sweeteners are metabolized differently in the human body. Often comparison of stevia, with artificial and other sweeteners, can be misleading as that difference is not made clear.

Let’s first look at how sugar is broken down in the body. When digesting sugar, the pancreas produces insulin to break it down which keeps blood sugar levels in check. In diabetics this is especially problematic due to a deficiency in the insulin production, an insufficient digestion of sugar which then leads to elevated blood sugar levels.

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Making a distinction between stevia, sugar and artificial sweeteners

Recently there has been an increasing discussion on the use of sugar, stevia and artificial sweeteners. We think it is positive that this is raised in the media when then the negative health effects of a rising calorie intake are clear worldwide, with obesity and diabetes as a result. Today more than 415 million people are living with diabetes worldwide, the equivalent of 1 out of 11 adults. This figure is expected to rise to 641.7 million people in 2040.

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Extracting steviol glycosides from the stevia plant

You have probably heard of ‘steviol glycosides’ and ‘stevia’ and wonder what the difference is. Steviol glycosides is the extract from the stevia plant (stevia rebaudiana) and it is what gives the leaves their sweet taste. Similar to how sucrose is the extract from the sugar plant. Here’s how we at The Real Stevia Company produce our Real Stevia™ product.

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Equal Opportunities in Stevia

As we’re celebrating the international women’s day today we thought we’d highlight our values in relation to gender equality. As a company with a Scandinavian background we’ve always treated it as a cornerstone in our business, and we’ve made it a point to make sure this continues to our operations and offices worldwide. At our offices in Paraguay, Granular PY, we work with a large number of women. Over 80% of our employees are women there and in Stockholm we’re at a roughly equal 50%. Including our operations in China, all three are led by women.

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Being an informed consumer is tough

Being an informed consumer is tough.

This feeling set in again this February when EFSA, the European expert authority that offers advice on food to European legislators, presented their opinion on sugar.

EFSA, or rather the panel behind EFSA, now reports that sugar is not causing diabetes, overweight and a wealth of health issues.

This is contrary to what WHO, FDA and a majority of other heavyweight reports are saying; the general consensus today is that we should cut down our sugar intake.

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This is very good news, indeed!

The Real Stevia Company released the results of a public survey from Novus in Sweden. The results are very encouraging about the “awareness of Stevia” among Swedish consumers. According to this, Stevia has during only the last three years risen to become a very attractive sweetener among consumers as well as in the food industry.

Personally, it is with great satisfaction that I see these years lay behind me and not in front of me.

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Sustainability? – No, Let’s push our luck a little bit further!

It seems major businesses are still not realizing in which direction we are heading and how available resources are misused. Is this because of lack of information? Hardly!

One very important corporate shift is spearheaded by Unilever, one of the world’s global food giants. Now under the stewardship of its Chairman Michael Treschow, no stone is left unturned when it comes to identifying and dealing with existing unethical business behaviour, remaining from an old business culture. People are fired and fines are paid! New measures for business growth are set, gradually shifting focus towards a more sustainable production.

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