Article Most Wanted: insulin

Stevia for Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and High Blood Pressure

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<span class="medium"><em>Stevia rebaudiana</em></span></h1>
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<span class="dropcaps">articlemostwanted - C</span>ommonly known as 
sugar leaf, honey leaf, or sweet leaf of Paraguay, stevia is a small 
South American shrub whose narrow leaves are nearly 50 times as sweet as
 ordinary table sugar. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay called the herb <em>ka’a he’ê</em>,
 meaning “sweet herb.” The Guarani used stevia leaves to sweeten bitter 
yerba maté and other beverages and to improve the taste of herbal 
medicines. They also employed the herb medicinally as a tonic for the 
heart, to help lower blood pressure, to relieve heartburn and kidney 
ailments, and to dull cravings for sweets.</div>
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Spanish explorers noted how indigenous tribes used 
stevia, and by the 1800s, European settlers in Paraguay, Brazil, and 
Argentina were also consuming the herb, primarily as a sweetener for 
tea. In 1899 Swiss botanist Moisés Bertoni, then director of an 
agriculture college in Asunción, Paraguay, published the first 
description of the plant. He named it <em>S. rebaudiana</em> to honor Paraguayan chemist Ovidio Rebaudi, who conducted the first analysis of stevia’s chemical components. The genus name, <em>Stevia</em>, honors Peter James Esteve, a 16th-century Spanish professor of botany. Stevia is still called <em>estévia</em> in most Spanish-speaking countries.</div>
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<strong>Therapeutic Uses</strong></h2>
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<em>Diabetes</em></div>
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<em>Insulin resistance (prediabetes)</em></div>
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<em>High blood pressure</em></div>
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Stevia could have a brilliant future. A powerful 
sweetener with no calories, stevia could be a dietary phenomenon, 
especially for people watching calories and carbs. If
 this noncaloric sweetener should take the place of high-glycemic white 
sugar, the quality of carbohydrates in the diet would improve—with 
benefits for teeth, blood sugar, and digestion. Further, stevia may 
directly affect the hormones and mechanisms involved with elevated blood
 sugar in diabetics, thus helping to lower sugar levels and to protect 
against the effects of high sugar levels.</div>
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Most of the benefits of stevia come from a compound 
called stevioside, which occurs primarily in the leaves, accounting for 4
 to 20 percent of the weight of the dry leaves. A compound similar in 
structure to stevioside and thought to have some physiological effects 
is rebaudioside A. Some animal studies show that stevia does not affect 
glucose absorption, though it may promote insulin release from the 
pancreas, increase sensitivity to insulin throughout the body, and slow 
glucose production in the liver. In humans, one study involved 12 people
 with type 2 diabetes. Researchers examined the use of 1 g of an extract
 (consisting of 91 percent stevioside and 4 percent rebaudioside A) or 
placebo with a meal. After the meal, those receiving the stevia extract 
had a lower glucose level than the placebo group did, possibly as a 
result of increased insulin secretion (which brings down blood sugar).</div>
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The blood pressure–lowering effects of stevioside and 
rebaudioside A also have been studied, and results have been mixed. Some
 clinical trials demonstrated a decrease in both systolic and diastolic 
blood pressure with these compounds, while other trials contradicted 
these results. This effect needs further study.</div>
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<strong>How to Use</strong></h2>
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<em>Powder:</em> Stevia leaf, in powder form, can 
simply be used as a sugar substitute in various ways, such as sprinkling
 as a sweetener on food, in hot beverages, or in most recipes.</div>
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<em>Liquid extract:</em> Glycerin extracts are available, often standardized to the primary component of stevia leaf, stevioside. Several drops of these extracts can be added to food as a sweetener.</div>
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<strong>Precautions</strong></h2>
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The safety of the chemical compound stevioside and 
of whole stevia leaf has been evaluated extensively in laboratory tests 
looking at possible toxic, genetic, or cancer-causing effects. Both have
 been determined to be safe when used as a sweetener. Care should be 
taken when stevia is used in combination with medications that also 
lower blood sugar. Uncommonly, stevia can cause stomach upset.</div>