Stevia?
When first trying Paleo, it is incredibly normal to seek out substitutes for things we are asked to remove from our diet. We look for sweeteners (cinnamon!), pastas substitutes (spaghetti squash!), and adult beverages (Norcal margaritas!), to get us through. We asked for you guys to really work hard to get off the "crack." Do you feel the difference now? Are you starting to see how sweet strawberries actually are?? It is amazing, no?
Well, as you readjust your sweetness meter, you may want to begin adding things back in. If you decide to do that, I wanted to share an answer given by The Paleo Diet peeps. In their weekly newsletter they answered the question, What About Stevia? By the way, a Stevia derived product Puravia is added to the SOBE products we have in the Pepsi machines. The answer below is one of the reasons I decided to put those in the machines. My take is: once you have control of The Crack, you can have a treat from time to time without going off the rails. And, as we all know, some "treats" are better than others. I personally think that you most likely get an insulin hit from Stevia, but it is a better choice than Nutrasweet, Agave Nectar or Sugar. IMHO. You decide what works for you! See below and post your thoughts on the subject to the comments.
Today's Pic: Shalini's Paleo Shrimp Stirfry
Stevia
Q: Is Stevia Paleo? I have attempted to find an answer for this and the information I've found is conflicting at best. Please advise!!
Jeff
A: Dear Jeff,
There's some scientific evidence to support the notion that Stevia is safe, even in type 2 diabetes patients1, 2. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated to have antihypertensive properties, as shown by Chan et al.3 and a long-term study4. Having said this, I am not aware of any study examining the potential antinutrient (lectins or saponins) content of the plant, hence we do not know the possible adverse effect of consuming this plant on a daily basis. Hunter-gatherers used to consume a wide range of plants, thereby minimizing the amount of a single bioactive compound ingested and its toxicity. It is known that rotating the kind of plants consumed is a good strategy in order to decrease food allergy and intolerance.
From an evolutionary standpoint, we should look at nutrition as "whole food" rather than nutrients per se. The bottom line is that Stevia seems to be safe, but we need more research to rule out possible side effects.
I hope this is helpful,
Maelán
References
Gregersen S, Jeppesen PB, Holst JJ, Hermansen K. Antihyperglycemic effects of stevioside in type 2 diabetic subjects. Metabolism. 2004 Jan;53(1):73-6.
Barriocanal LA, Palacios M, Benitez G, Benitez S, Jimenez JT, Jimenez N, Rojas V. Apparent lack of pharmacological effect of steviol glycosides used as sweeteners in humans. A pilot study of repeated exposures in some normotensive and hypotensive individuals and in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2008 Jun;51(1):37-41. Epub 2008 Mar 5.
Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, Liu JC, Hsieh MH, Cheng JT. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2000 Sep;50(3):215-20.
Hsieh MH, Chan P, Sue YM, Liu JC, Liang TH, Huang TY, Tomlinson B, Chow MS, Kao PF, Chen YJ. Clin Ther. 2003 Nov;25(11):2797-808. Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study.
Melissa
Reader Comments (9)
Hey friends,
In looking at food logs, I'm seeing a few things:
- Lots of fruits making up your carb choices for snacks/meals
- Lots of fruit being eaten alone without any protein
- Not too many veggies filling up your plate
Again, on paleo, you want to eat until you are full. You can eat a LOT (volume-wise) of veggie matter (low density carbs) and these will fill you up. That's the goal here - eat lean meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some (note SOME) fruit, no sugar.
You can still cut back your carbs (i.e. for those of you not seeing any results, not feeling like you are leaning out) by following a plan such as this: http://blog.btbfitness.com/nutrition-and-performance/2009/6/30/13-of-the-way-there.html
But again, resounding message is this: eat until you are full, making that plate 2/3 veggie matter (maybe a little fruit) with 1/3 protein, and your fat. Let me know how full you are 2 hours after you eat...4 hours after you eat. If you're going to do fruit, try 1/2 an apple (not the whole thing), or 1/4 cup berries as "dessert." Give it a shot!
Favorite quote from the article: "Keep in mind, a low carb approach will NOT turn you into a CrossFit Super Star. It is however a nice approach to leaning out, getting healthy and not being a fat-ass for summer.”
I want to lean out... but honestly I have a bit of excess skin from BTB knocking the fat off my body. I won't be wearing a two-peice this summer :-) In total, from the beginning of my weight loss journey (which started 3 months before BTB), I have lost 75# (starting at 237# and I was at 162# at the start of the 45). My real question is... will following this 'leaning' plan add to my skin problem?
I want to be a "CrossFit Super Star"... I've got this ache inside me to excel like nothing else I have ever wanted. OH! I competed in my first ever OLY weightlifting meet this past Saturday! I was the first lifter on the platform! Starting with the snatch and then the Clean and Jerk. 2 of the Snatches were PRs and all three of the C&Js were PRs
Friendly reminder: don't forget to sign up for the Paleo pow-wow this Wednesday. Lots of folks have requested something like this over the past year...so please be sure to sign up and join us!
P.S. - my hope is that we'll be done closer to 9pm than 10. 10 is way past my bedtime.
I've been using Stevia for a little while now, usually to sweeten up iced tea or as a sugar substitute if I'm making flour less baked goods. I use a brand called Only Sweet which I've found at Kroger, but not Publix. The reason I use this versus PureVia or Truvia is because it's 100% made from the Stevia plant. PurVia and Truvia both contain Erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol similar to what's in sugar free gum. In fact if I'm not mistaken these products are actually mostly Erythritol judging by the ingredient lists which list it first. Also I noticed the Sobe ingredient list has Erythritol second versus Reb A (Stevia) at number ten. Erythritol isn't harmful per se, but I'd just rather go with the more natural form.
One thing to note about Stevia is that it is a sweetener, but can also have a bitter aftertaste, sort of like licorice. It's kind of an acquired taste I guess.
Also found this interesting series of articles on Stevia which might be helpful for anyone interested. Part 1 is linked below and parts 2-3 are linked within the article.
http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/02/truvia-purevia-past-future/
As far as the insulin hit, there doesn't appear to be much if any. I also can't imagine eating enough for any potential antinutrient properties to be an issue either.
DW: Yes, apparently there is some insulin activity/vagal/vagus nerve interaction....I don't know all the technical names or processes but per Wolf, apparently something happens and there is an insulin release with most non-nutrative sweeteners. Yes, the sugar alcohol you mentioned is the same as any other non-nutrative sweetener we have talked about as well. It is found in most sugar free gums and has a antibacterial function. When "they" make a product with Only Sweet, let me know! I'll definitely get it!
For those of y'all wanting a sweet fix: I stuck some frozen (almost brown prior to freezing) bananas in a blender and ended up with something that tasted oddly like ice cream. No added anything (ok fine a bit of vanilla), just bananas.
Just in case y'all need a whole food sugar high :D
Jules- How do we calculate our protein needs per the leaning out post? Is this a zone thing?
Yes, Jessica, that's if you're going along Zoned proportions of Paleo. Lots of calculators out there!
However, as I said in that posting, as Robb as said, as numerous peeps have said: If regular Paleo is working for you and you are seeing changes, don't mess with it!
Someone at the office brought in cupcakes the other day and I thought I would try one to have a bit of a cheat. I couldn't eat more than one bite of it because it was SO sweet! It's amazing how fast the "Sweet Meter" can be re-calibrated. Anything sweeter than a piece of fruit is too sweet for me now.