Do your sports supplement have Stevia? Well, we are not sure about yours, but all the Power Run Energy supplements are naturally sweetened with this powerful ingredient called Stevia.
What is it all about? And is Stevia beneficial in our sports supplements? We will check this and much more in this article. Let’s get started.
What is Stevia?
In the simplest of terms, Stevia got its name from a plant called Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. This plant traces its roots back to over a thousand years when its primary purpose was to act as a sweetener. For long, this plant has been known for its medicinal benefits.
However, at present, Stevia is mainly grown in Brazil, Japan, China, and Paraguay. The leaves of the plant are rich in a sugar compound called glycosides and this is why stevia is widely used a sweetening agent.
How Does Stevia Prove To Be A Low-Calorie Ingredient?
This is quite an interesting theory. Even though most sugar substances are known to be rich in calories, Stevia works in the other direction. It is a non-nutritive sweetener, meaning that it contains little to no calories. This is the reason why it finds its applications in the field of sports supplements for athletes or for individuals who need to control their calorie intake.
How does it work? When you consume stevia as part of your sports supplement, by the time it is being digested and released in the body, it is already acted upon by the bacteria present in the colon. Thus, instead of getting circulated in the bloodstream and rising the blood sugar levels, the colon bacteria works on it and breaks it down. This is how Stevia acts as a natural sweetener and still remains as a low-calorie product.
Fun fact: Stevia can prove to be 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar!
Stevia is a Powerful Ingredient in Sports Supplements
Just being a low-calorie substance is not sufficient for being a sports supplement ingredient. So, what are the other benefits offered by this substance? Let us take a look.
- Stevia works in a way such that the blood sugar concentration of the body is reduced. This, in turn, improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin. A lot of people with diabetes are advised to use Stevia as a sugar supplement.
- According to a recent study, Stevia also helps in lowering the blood pressure. However, the results are more visible over a period of one or two years.
- Further, a similar research revealed that Stevia is anti-inflammatory. Thus, it is particularly helpful for athletes as it tends to reduce the inflammation in the body.
- This ingredient is also known to have antimicrobial properties. This means that it has the capacity to fight a number of different bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms that harm the body. This, in turn, helps to increase the body’s immunity to diseases.
- One of the biggest benefits offered by Stevia is its ability to prevent the body cells from ageing. The green leaves of Stevia contain a substance called tannins. These help in keeping the body cells more agile and active.
- Unlike a lot of artificial sweeteners, Stevia does not tamper the usual body’s processes. For instance, it does not hamper the usual course in the intestine or its structure. This keeps the body natural.
Wrapping Up
These were a few benefits that Stevia has on offer, and this is perhaps why health sports supplements have it. Power Run Energy is a leading supplier of sports nutrition products and many of our products are NSF certified.
Talk with us to discover more about our amazing product line geared up specifically for serious athletes of all levels !
*References:
https://naturalforce.com/nutrition/natural-sweetener-stevia-benefits/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287251.php
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-682/stevia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4681354/