Stevia Rebaudiana: A Natural Alternative to Sugar

A. Not only can these sweeteners make you gain weight, but over time they could potentially hurt your body. Here is a list of the popular sugar substitutes and the potential harm they produce: Acesulfame potassium also known as "SweetOne" is 200 times sweeter than sugar, this is often paired with aspartame or sucralose. Known to cause breast tumors in rats. Saccharin also known as Sweet’NLow, is the oldest of the artificial sweeteners and is 300 –700 times sweeter than sugar, The National Cancer Institute found evidence of increased bladder cancer in people who heavily consumed saccharin. The label below is found on toothpaste, gum, and many other products that contain saccharin "USE OF THIS PRODUCT MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS SACCHARIN WHICH HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO CAUSE CANCER IN LABORATORY

This extended essay is trying to answer the question “How much does people’s knowledge of the affects of aspartame reflect the scientific facts?”. The essay starts with a brief introduction to the topic, explaining thoroughly what food additives are in general and furthermore what kind of substance Aspartame is. Before continuing to consider and discuss the dangers of food additives and aspartame, information about other sweeteners are researched and some examples of these are stated.

This product was the first artificial sweetener to be publicly sold and through its distribution there became monstrous effects on the old customs of sweetening. Before Sweet N’ Low was invented, people primarily used sugar and molasses as sweeteners, but other ingredients such as honey, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup were still in high use. These substitutes for sugar were great for its time but Sweet N’ Low was able to satisfy the modern era through its many advantages that these products did not have. Sugar cane was difficult due to the agricultural restrictions, since it required a warm, rainy climate to be able to grow (The Pros and Cons of Biofuels). Maple syrup and honey were inefficient since they could only be retrieved during certain times of the year and then once retrieved it took a lengthy period of preparation before it could be sold (Foreman, Diana). With the advantages Sweet N’ Low had, companies, stores, and businesses quickly began to get involved with the idea of artificial

Aspartame is the most common and one of three alternative sweeteners in the United States which can be found in more than 6,000 products and is consumed by more than 200 million people around the world (Calorie Control, 2015). You will find these man-made sweeteners in many reduced calorie foods; such as, jams and jellies, powdered soft drinks, maple syrups, chewing gum, juice blends, frozen desserts, cereals, hard candy and the most popular of products being sodas. Aspartame is also seen in little pink packets of Sweet & Low on restaurant tables. Besides being found in vitamins its important use is in many low-calorie and sugar-free beverages and

First and foremost, the initial hypothesis of this experiment is that stevia, a plant-based and water-soluble sweetener, will inhibit the activity of the studied enzyme, α-amylase and that sucralose (i.e Splenda), an artificially produced sweetener, will have the opposite effect. Both stevia and sucralose designed for diabetics are expected to inhibit the activity of α-amylase more than sucrose. With this in mind, the results obtained from the experiment showed that stevia does indeed inhibit the activity of α-amylase most effectively compared to sucrose and sucralose. This can be explained by the small range of % inhibition values, ranging from 10-20 % inhibition. This can be observed in Figure 1 where one can notice that the standard error bars are

Making artificial sweeteners is a delicate process. Sucralose doesn’t have many ingredients, but it’s a process to make it. In fact, the only ingredient is table sugar or sucrose (“Everything You Need”). The table sugar was first modified by scientists in a lab. When

What is Sucralose one might ask? Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is used as a replacement for sugar by drink companies and diet companies. Sucralose is located in any drink with a diet label. These sugar substitutes are can cause a large problem and the real question, is the consumption of sucralose really worth it? It is necessary to implement a healthier option to prevent the high risk of health problems associated with sucralose like obesity and diabetes. Though this will not be an easy decision as In this essay I will discuss the effect of Splenda on our bodies, arguments for the use of sucralose, and other affordable solutions to diet products in order to prohibit the selling of “sugar free” drinks in ERHS.

This research study focuses on how aspartame affects the human body, particularly the brain. It includes the different classes of sweetener, their characteristics and their difference from aspartame. It also explains why multi-national corporations prefer to use aspartame as sugar substitute over the other varieties of sweeteners. Lastly, it details the compatibility of aspartame to beverages and the standard amount of sweeteners in instant goods set by the World Government. However, this study does not cover the possible sources of treatment to the problems caused by aspartame. This research is limited to explaining the overall concept of aspartame as a sweetener.

After reading the article "Sweeteners: Facts and Fallacies" the alternative sweetener I have chosen is stevia. Upon the completion of reading facts on stevia, I refute the toxicology safety of consumer use on this alternative sweetener. According to the article "The Sweet Facts on Stevia" it was only sold as a dietary supplement in the 1980's after being linked to cancer and reproductive problems in animals. In 2008, stevia manufacturers petitioned the FDA until Reb A, the plants sweetest sugar molecule, was deemed "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS. "According to CSPI, the FDA did not perform the amount of testing usually required for GRAS status, and further testing on Reb A is needed (Palmer, 2013). With the number of different

Erythritol is a natural, paleo, sweetener that occurs naturally in many fruits and fermented foods. It is also produced from glucose from fermentation. Erythritol

Sucrose, whose chemical formula is C12H22O11, is found in many fruits and vegetables, and most notably in table sugar. It is impossible to consume too much sucrose when eating fruits or vegetables, but consuming an unreasonable amount of table sugar can be detrimental to one’s health.

Sugar—it is that deliciously sweet white substance that we just can’t seem to resist. It is a guilty pleasure that is known by almost everyone to be unhealthy, but is sugar actually a chronic toxin? Is it slowly killing us from the inside out? In recent years, more and more research seems to suggest so. With the increasing epidemic of obesity and diabetes, scientists are looking for answers, and their findings are quite disturbing. If sugar is a toxin, then people need to know because health and lives are at stake and the sugar industry could fall apart. To answer the question about the toxicity of sugar, one must be clear about what type of sugar is being discussed because there are many different types. This essay will discuss high fructose

Salvia divinorum, sometimes known as “magic mint”, is a psychoactive perineal herb in the mint family that originated in the mountainous Sierra Mazateca area of Oaxaca, Mexico. Although Mexico is the only place where salvia grows naturally, it is at times cultivated in the United States (“Salvia Divinorum," 2013). The salvia plant has large, hairy green leaves as well as a hollow square stem. Salvia may grow beyond three feet in height. The Mazatec people originally used salvia for spiritual rituals, healing practices, and medicinal purposes ("Salvia Divinorum Drug Profile," 2015).

The debate between naturally derived sugars and low-calorie artificial sweeteners has been going on for years now. As our population’s obesity rate grows every year and health concerns related to weight-control grows along with it, natural sugar is scrutinized and we are told to keep away from it as it is our enemy. Over the last couple of decades, we have been introduced to more and more varieties of artificial sweeteners promising to deliver the same sweetness or even more sweetness than natural sugar (some offer as much as 200 times more sweetness than sugar) but with a much lower calorie content, or some even no calories at all. Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Sweet n’ Low, NutraSweet, and Equal have become popular as “better alternatives” to table sugar, promising to help battle weight gain and actually assist in losing weight. However, does this make it the healthier option? As with all things, both natural sugar and artificial sugar have their pros and cons, but in order to find the best option in regards to our health and futures, it’s important to weigh them according to scientific findings and research.

Stevia is member of Asteriaceae family which has 200 genus. Its height up to 1 m tall. It is a perennial herbaceous plant having extensive root system. Its leaves are sessile, 3–4 cm in length, elongate lanceolate or spatulate shaped with blunt-tipped lamina, serrate tip. The upper surface of the leaf is granular. Its stem is woody and weak at the bottom. The flowers are pentamerous, small and whitish. They are surrounded by an involucre of epicalyx. The capitula are loose, irregular and sympodial Cymes. The fruit is a five ridged spindle shaped achene.