How Do Stevia Sweeteners Compare?
Over the last 5 years stevia has been gaining a lot of steam in the sugar alternative market.
The fact that stevia is "all natural" and coupled with the marketing power of two multinational companies, stevia based sweeteners are quickly gaining market share.
But, are all stevia based sweeteners created equal?
The FDA still hasn't officially approved stevia, but they have loosened their tough stance regarding the sweetener that they originally embraced. This has allowed many stevia products to be mass marketed to the huge population of sugar alternative users.
Popular Stevia Brands
Truvia®
This stevia based sweetener is marketed by the Cargill Company, but the giant Coca Cola is behind Truvia®. This version is powdered and isn't pure stevia extract, but blended with erythritol (a sugar alcohol) and natural flavors which aren't disclosed. 40 packets will cost about $4.
Pure Via™
The Pepsi Company is behind this sweetener. This version is also powdered and not pure stevia. It's blended with dextrose (a form of glucose), cellulose (fiber), and natural flavors. 40 packs of Pure Via™ will cost about $4.
Sweet Leaf®
Made by Wisdom Natural Brands and available in both liquid and powdered form. This product is made with stevia extract and inulin (fiber), but the liquid version would be pure stevia extract. 50 packets will run you about $7.
Steviva™
This stevia product is made by the Steviva Company, but could be distributed also under the names Tree of Life, Kehe, UNFI, and Nature's Best. They have several blends, but can include erythritol, fructose, and FOS (a type of sugar made with fructose). 50 packets will cost about $4.
Conclusions
There are many other store brands available as well, so just be conscience of what additives the brand is cutting into the product. Pure stevia will cost more than other products that cut in cheaper additives.
I think stevia can be a good alternative to sugar or artificial sugar, but I recommend choosing a pure stevia variety. However, in the long run it would be far better to retrain your taste buds away from needing foods sweet. Have a sweet food or drink just a couple times a week as a treat, but not as a daily ritual.
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19 Comments
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Created / Updated: January 18, 2012
I nibbled on a stevia leaf at a garden party, found it quite bitter. I've met a few others who find it distasteful, most don't taste this bitterness, just taste sweet. I'll stick with regular sugar, thanks.
ReplyDon't artificial sweeteners spike your blood sugar?
ReplyStevia itself will not raise blood sugar. It has a glycemic index of 0. In fact, pure stevia concentrate has been used to treat type 2 diabetes because it can regulate blood sugar and nourish the pancreas. However, if a "stevia product" contains maltodextrin or dextrose, which are sugars with, I understand, high glycemic indexes, then it can raise blood sugar.
I work for Wisdm Natural Brands, the makers of SweetLeaf Stevia.
ReplyI buy Truvia-the only other one of those you listed that I've even heard of is Sweet Leaf, but I use Truvia because it's cheaper. I have tried pure stevia extract in the past, but I think it tastes like licorice.
ReplyThanks for posting this - I never realized Stevia had other ingredients - the Trader Joe's Stevia has Lactose (Milk) - which to be fair to them is in large print; but I never looked past the Stevia on front.
ReplyI tried Truvia and was really pleased with the taste. I was not pleased with the high price for just a 40 packet box(if I remember correctly).
I use a lot of sweetner. I'm not sure 40 pack boxes of Truvia would be practical even if I could afford it.
Right now the best choice for my lifestyle seems to be the 200 packet box of store brand aspertame. I can't even afford Equal brand.
ReplyWalmart has the generic version of Truvia now--it's $2.50 for a 40 packet box, which is better than Truvia.
ReplyReally???? I didn't know. My Wal Mart doesn't have a full grocery store and the frozen food section is awful so I go to Target.
Is that the only store that has a generic stevia sweetner?
ReplyI've only tried Sweet Leaf, but I honestly didn't care for stevia. It is a great alternative and I may try some of the other brands soon to see if I like them better. I will have to stay away from the one(s) with milk as I'm lactose and gluten intolerant.
Thanks for the great info on this. It reminded me that I do need to give it another shot. I've had something (I can't remember what) that was sweetened with stevia that I found ok, not great, but better than things sweetened with artificial stuff, so I think I ought to give it another shot.
Reply"It would be far better to retrain your taste buds away from needing foods sweet."
ReplyI totally agree.
Let's face it: You loose your taste if you always eat food that is too sweet. A similar menace comes from salty food. You can eat salty chips and sweet chocolate virtually without ending, and many people do so. Okay, you save a few calories if you use stevia instead of sugar, and stevia might even be healthy in comparison to sugar, but the greed for sweets may remains.
It is sad that many people cannot appreciate the original taste of food anymore.
Why did you use the word "greed"? You wouldn't be making the mistake of making character judgements based on what a person eats instead of what kind of person they are, would you?
I didn't think so...
ReplyI don't think Rolf meant anything about character at all. I think by 'greed' he meant 'craving.' Clearly many persons have a problem limiting the amount of sweet and/or salty foods they consume. These mask the true tastes of food. I remember way back Lay's potato chips advertised that persons couldn't eat just one of their chips. It reflects more on the character of the food manufacturers that they engineer food to be difficult to limit.
ReplyI used an online dictionary.
ReplyAnyway, Dan cleared the issue.
While I do not know the advertisement for Lay's chips, I know lots of advertisement for other very sweet / salty products. An often delivered message is that you simple cannot stop eating the advertised product.
However, I'm not up to date concerning advertisements. I suppose today it's normal to advertise with lean persons. So you can eat chips and chocolate and stay slim. According to the advertisements of today, even world class athletes consume chips and chocolate on a daily basis.
I remember an old advertisement where a very fat guy sits in front of sweets, looking at those with greed / craving. And that was not a warning, but an advertisement for sweets!
Back then, it was considered as positive to be heavily overweight because of sweets.
This is great information. Thanks for posting!
ReplyI started buying Sweet Leaf about a year ago. I don't use a lot of sweetener in my foods generally, with the exception of my coffee :). I recently purchased the liquid version, including the hazelnut flavor. It doesn't take much, just a few drops.
ReplyMany who have only heard about sweet leaf, should come to your post and get all what they want. A very informative post and very good to know about it.
ReplyI tried Truvia in my tea but unfortunately found that the closer i got to the bottom of the cup the more the "weird" flavor bothered me.
ReplyPersonally I can't stand the taste of Stevia...things taste better with no added sweeteners.
ReplyI use Truvia or Sweetleaf in my protein/fruit smoothies or oatmeal... it does not, however, taste good on just berries, for example. Since real stevia is not artificial and is actually good for you, there is no reason to avoid it.
Replyp.s.
I buy my truvia in a jar and use 1/4-1/2 tsp as needed.