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But a sweetener like any other? The stevia miracle did not happen
When Stevia was approved in Europe as the low-calorie sweetener safe for the teeth, many had expected a veritable boom. Experts said the plant would revolutionize our diet. So far, however, the Stevia miracle has failed. The use of the sweetener should not be written off yet.
Almost without calories
It sounded really tempting to talk about a substance that makes it possible to eat sweets and still eat healthily. This dream seemed to come true when the European Commission approved steviol glycosides as a food additive in 2011. Because Stevia sweetener derived from a plant is almost calorie-free and does not cause decay, it was considered the sweetener of the future. A real boom was expected, and in fact several different products were quickly launched on the market that were sweetened. But the triumphant advance of the sweetener Stevia has been missing so far.
Stevia has so far not prevailed as a sugar substitute. (Image: Daniele Depascale / fotolia.com) No health-promoting ingredients
"Steviol glycosides are a sweetener like any other," said agronomist Udo Kienle, according to a news agency dpa. The expert has been working at the University of Hohenheim for years with the South American plant Stevia rebaudiana and its sweeteners. The steviol glycosides are isolated during the manufacture of the sweetener in a chemical process and thereby separated from the valuable ingredients of the stevia plant. Thus, the steviol glycosides no longer contain any health-promoting components. Trained dietician and cookbook author Kirsten Metternich said, "The assumption that steviol glycosides are more natural than other sweeteners is wrong." She explained that even with a small amount of stevia, she could achieve a tremendous sweetness. The author advised to liquid sweetness or granules. It is important to follow the dosage recommendations exactly as otherwise it will be slightly too sweet.
Some products have already been withdrawn from the market
Yoghurt, jams or lemonades: For years, many products with stevia sweetness can be found on the market. The Green Coca Cola Life only recently came to the supermarkets and quickly caused criticism because it contains not only stevia, but also a lot of sugar. Other products have been on shelves for some time or have disappeared already. Such as the Andechs Stevia organic yogurt sweetened with stevia tea. The Andechs Dairy Scheitz justified the sorting out, that the interest in Stevia products regrettably is currently not sufficiently available.
Not easy for the food industry
"For the industry, dealing with steviol glycosides is difficult," said Kienle. For one thing, this is due to the licorice-like taste of Stevia, which also varies according to the manufacturing process. And on the other hand also the low so-called ADI value. This determines the health-safe maximum daily maximum dose of food additives. It is said that because of the low ADI value of many products, the food industry can only replace about one third of the sugar with steviol glycosides. According to the data, new long-term studies with rats would be necessary to increase the ADI value.
Beware of larger quantities
When cooking and baking at home, this value is usually not a problem. According to Metternich, when you eat a piece of cake that is sweetened exclusively with stevia sweetener, you do not get close to the maximum. However, if you consume several Stevia sweetened foods daily in larger quantities, you should be careful. Some experts say over-stevia overdose is possible. In particular, low-weight children may reach or exceed the ADI limit when drinking a lot of sweetened sodas, for example. "The taste of Stevia blends well with nuts and spices like cinnamon or anise," says Metternich. If you do not like the taste, you can mix Steviolglykoside with sugar, then he loses himself. For example, if you put 100 grams of sugar on a recipe, you could use 50 grams of sugar and half to a full teaspoonful of stevia powder instead. In addition, ready-made table sugar is already available on the market, already mixed with steviol glycosides and therefore containing fewer calories. (Ad)