What is Stevia? A precious medicinal herb for diabetics!
Stevia is an ingredient in many diabetic supplements. It is known as a safe and healthy sugar substitute that can be used as food without causing any negative health effects. So what is stevia? What are its characteristics? What is this herb used for?
I. What is Stevia? Things you need to know about Stevia
What is stevia?
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) also has other names such as sweet chrysanthemum, honey grass, is a plant of the daisy family. Characteristics of this plant:
- Green plant
- Height about 50cm–80cm
- Hairy stem
- Leaves grow opposite each other, have sharp teeth on the half towards the tip of the leaf, covered with fine white hairs, with white flowers growing at the tip of the branch.
- Flowers usually bloom from October to December, blooming in clusters, each cluster has about 5 flowers.
Stevia has a very distinctive flavor and is concentrated in the leaves. For that reason, stevia leaves are often used as medicine and to make tea.
What are the ingredients of stevia? Uses of stevia!
Stevia contains some special ingredients such as: Protein, Steviol, Glycoside, fat, Rebauside, Carbohydrate, Stevioside. They are all highly appreciated for their natural, benign ingredients and few side effects. Among them, the main "sweet" ingredients are Stevioside and Rebauside. Their sweetness is 250-300 times higher than sugar cane. Although sweeter, this sweetener does not affect health like cane sugar, palm sugar...
So what are the uses of stevia? → According to Traditional Medicine, stevia has some outstanding effects such as:
→ Support weight loss because Stevioside and Rebauside do not cause users to gain weight.
→ Support diabetes treatment.
→ Improves digestive system, helps to eat more deliciously
→ Supports the treatment of dyslipidemia and helps prevent many cardiovascular diseases.
With so many special uses, stevia is widely used to produce food supplements.
II. Why is stevia considered a "golden medicine" for diabetics?
Diabetes occurs when your blood sugar levels are consistently higher than normal due to your body's lack of or resistance to insulin. This leads to a disorder in blood sugar metabolism. The amount of starch and sugar absorbed into the body cannot be converted into energy but accumulates in the blood.
→ People with diabetes MUST limit the amount of sugar absorbed into the body.
However, the sugar in stevia is completely different from the sugar in starch, cane sugar, palm sugar, molasses... It brings sweetness but does not have much energy. Even if people with diabetes use it, it will NOT cause sugar accumulation in the blood.
You can enjoy sweets and control the amount of sugar you take in ⇒ Stevia is considered a golden medicine for people with diabetes.
III. How to prepare stevia at home for people with diabetes
For diabetics, the simplest and quickest way to use stevia is to make tea. Stevia is dried and then brewed and drunk like tea. Below are 2 ways to make stevia tea, don't forget to check it out!
Stevia tea – dried chrysanthemum
Ingredients needed: Dried chrysanthemum (10-15 grams), dried stevia (5-10 grams), boiling water (1-1.5L).
How to prepare: Wash chrysanthemum and stevia with clean water. Chrysanthemum should be soaked in warm water for 3-5 minutes. Continue to put flowers and stevia into the teapot, pour in more boiling water and steep like green tea.
With this tea, you can drink it hot or cold, the effect will still be the same.
How to cook stevia water
This is the simplest way to make a drink from stevia. Ingredients include: 2.5 grams of dried stevia leaves, 200ml of water. Boil the stevia and drink the water.
Note: Drink only about 50ml each time. You can drink twice a day.
Use stevia properly to improve your diabetes condition!
What is Stevia? What are its effects? How to use it? – Hopefully you have found the answer through this article. Remember to regularly follow NanoFrance’s Website to update more information and knowledge about the latest Medicine!
