More than 5,000 food and beverage products currently use stevia as an ingredient worldwide, including tabletop sweeteners for baking as well as other everyday products.

Stevia sweeteners are used as an ingredient in products throughout Asia and South America such as:

Stevia-sweetened chocolate contains all the sweetness you crave but with far fewer calories.

Steviol glycosides have zero calories. Stevia-based tabletop sweeteners can have zero or minimal calories per serving, depending upon the other food ingredients with which they are combined. These factors could have a positive effect on those looking to control weight or manage diabetes.

Stevia also contains certain vitamins (A, B, C), minerals (iron, zinc, calcium), electrolytes (sodium, potassium), proteins, and other elements.²¹

Research indicates that stevia sweeteners do not contribute calories or carbohydrates to the diet and do not affect blood glucose or insulin response.

Research has shown that stevia sweeteners do not contribute calories or carbohydrates to the diet and do not affect blood glucose or insulin response, which allows people with diabetes to consume a wider variety of foods and comply with a healthful meal plan.

A randomized controlled trial over 16 weeks had 122 participants take four doses of approximately 330 mg of steviol equivalents over the course of a day. Compared to placebo, there was no impact on blood sugar levels. For this study, >97% rebaudioside A was used.

Additionally, a position paper on nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reviewed five randomized controlled trials examining the effects of stevia compared with placebos on metabolic outcomes.

The studies reported minimal to no effects on blood glucose, insulin levels, hypertension and body weight. In one study showing minimal effects, subjects with type 2 diabetes reported reduced postprandial blood glucose and glucagon response after a test meal of stevia versus placebo.

The causes of overweight and obesity around the globe are quite complex and include factors such as an increase in physical inactivity due to increased sedentary time and increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and added sugars.

The intake of added sugars has been shown to contribute an average of 16% of the total calories in the American diet, and has been linked to weight gain and adverse effects on glycemic control.¹¹

Plant-based, zero calorie stevia can be part of a well-balanced diet to help reduce energy intake without sacrificing taste.

Replacing just 25g (about 6 teaspoons) of nutritive sweeteners in foods and beverages can provide a 100-kilocalorie reduction.

Steviol glycosides are poorly absorbed in the body and pass through the upper gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach and small intestines, fully intact.

Once steviol glycosides reach the colon, gut bacteria hydrolyze steviol glycosides into steviol by snipping off their glucose units. Steviol is then absorbed via the portal vein and primarily metabolized by the liver, forming steviol glucuronide, before being excreted in the urine.

Research has shown that there is no accumulation of stevia (or any byproduct of stevia) in the body during metabolism. It is a result of this essentially poor absorption in the digestive tract which ultimately contributes to the fact that stevia has zero calories and does not raise blood glucose or insulin levels when digested.

Stevia plant has many sterols and antioxidant compounds like triterpenes, flavonoids, and tannins. Some of flavonoid polyphenolic anti-oxidant phytochemicals present in stevia are kaempferol, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, isoquercitrin, and isosteviol. Studies have found that kaempferol can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by 23% (American Journal of Epidemiology).

Certain glycosides in stevia extract have been found to dilate blood vessels, increase sodium excretion, and urine output. In effect at slightly higher doses than as a sweetener, stevia can potentially help lower blood pressure.

The plant may have cardiotonic actions, which normalize blood pressure and regulate heartbeat. The plant displayed vasodilatory actions in both normotensive and hypertensive animals.

Regulatory health agencies around the world have approved high purity stevia leaf extract for safe use. This includes special populations such as pregnant and nursing women, children and people with allergies or diabetes.

Foods and beverages containing stevia can play an important role in decreasing calories from unwanted sweeteners in children's diets. There are now thousands of products containing naturally-sourced stevia on the market, ranging from salad dressing to snack bars, that allow children to consume foods and beverages that taste great without added calories.

Multiple global regulatory organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and World Health Organization's (WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have determined that high purity stevia extract is safe for consumption by the general population including children, when consumed within the recommended levels.

In 2010, the EFSA reviewed literature to determine if there was any cause for concern regarding the potential for allergenicity of the stevia plant. The reviewers concluded that "steviol glycosides are not reactive and are not metabolized to reactive compounds, therefore, it is unlikely that the steviol glycosides under evaluation should cause by themselves allergic reactions when consumed in foods."

Additionally, while there is no scientific reason to suggest genetically modified crops or "GMOs" cause allergies, it is worth pointing out that stevia plants are not genetically modified, and therefore there should be no concerns regarding potential for allergenicity.

Stevia extract has exhibited strong bactericidal activity against a wide range of pathogenic bacteria, including certain Escherichia coli strains. Steviol was observed to be mutagenic toward Salmonella and other bacterial strains under various conditions and toward certain cell lines.

Stevia may also be effective against Candida albicans and has shown some anti rotavirus activity. Stevioside has shown promising immunomodulating effects in rats and cell lines. In addition, stevia may have antiproliferative/antimutagenic/antioxidant properties. One report addresses stevia's role in reducing dental plaque.

Stevioside, a main glycoside of stevia, was found to be nontoxic in acute toxicity studies in a variety of laboratory animals.²¹

Independent scientific experts in both the US and globally have concluded that stevia sweeteners are safe for people of all ages and populations.

No major contraindications, warnings, or adverse reactions have been documented.

In 2008, the FDA declared that stevia was safe in foods and beverages. The US may see numerous companies incorporate it into their products since there is considerable consumer interest in natural, low, or no calorie sweeteners.⁷

Studies clearly support the safety of stevia sweeteners. Further, clinical studies show that steviol glycosides, meeting purity criteria established by the JECFA, have no effect on either blood pressure or blood glucose response, indicating stevia sweeteners are safe for use by individuals with diabetes.

Based on the wealth of published research, independent scientific experts in both the US and globally have concluded that stevia sweeteners are safe for people of all ages and populations and an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of four mg/kg body weight (expressed as steviol) has been established.

Stevia leaves naturally contain sweet compounds called steviol glycosides. High purity stevia leaf extract, the ingredient form approved for food and beverage by regulatory authorities, contains 95% or more of these steviol glycosides. It is this high purity form that has been tested rigorously in more than 200 scientific studies and approved for human consumption by multiple major regulatory organizations around the globe.¹⁰

Multiple, major global regulatory organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization's Joint Expert Committee on Food Additive (JECFA), the EFSA, the FDA and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), have determined high purity stevia leaf extract to be safe for consumption by children, adults and special populations.¹⁵

In order for a new food or beverage ingredient to enter the US food supply, the ingredient must either be a FDA approved food additive or GRAS. The quality and quantity of scientific evidence required for a substance to achieve GRAS status are the same as for FDA food additive approval.

Stevia leaf extract has been evaluated and approved for use as an ingredient in food and beverages by multiple regulatory agencies throughout the world, and can even be used on your breakfast pancakes!

In December 2008, in response to GRAS notifications submitted to the US FDA, the FDA stated it has no questions regarding the conclusion of expert panels that rebaudioside A is GRAS for use as a general purpose sweetener in foods and beverages, excluding meat and poultry.⁴

In June 2009, FDA stated it has no questions regarding the conclusion of an expert panel on the GRAS status of another steviol glycoside extract with high rebaudioside A content for use as a tabletop sweetener.

In 2010, the EFSA assessed the safety of steviol glycosides from stevia and established an ADI for their safe use. In November 2011, the European Commission authorized the use of steviol glycosides as a sweetener in foods and beverages.

Stevia sweeteners are approved for use in many other countries, including Korea, Mexico, Japan, Paraguay, Taiwan, China, Russia, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil and Malaysia.

The majority of scientific research on stevia uses high purity stevia extracts. Confusion has resulted in the past when research conclusions about stevia were drawn based on studies testing crude stevia extracts.

In some countries, crude stevia extracts or whole stevia plant leaves are often sold as dietary supplements, but it is important to note that only high purity stevia leaf extract has been evaluated and approved for use as an ingredient in food and beverages by multiple regulatory agencies throughout the world.

Around the world, stevia is listed differently due to regulations from country to country. This is because different countries have their own established food policies on stevia and labeling policies vary from country to country.