Wellbeing buy of the week: calorie-free sugar substitute

What is it?

Stevia is a sweetener, or sugar substitute, that's made from the stevia plant, used to sweeten food for hundreds of years. The sweetening agent. steviol glycosides, is extracted from the leaves, and is over 200 times sweeter than sugar.

What will it do for me?

At this time of year, it's a painless way to cut calories - good news for all of us with 'lose weight' as one of our resolutions. You can enjoy the sweet stuff that most of us like, without worrying about adding empty calories to your diet. It's vegetarian, and suitable for people with diabetes, as it doesn't raise blood sugar. That's also good news for people without diabetes as there's no 'sugar rush', caused by a raising of blood glucose levels.

How much and where from?

Two of the easiest brands to find are Truvia and Pure Via, both available in supermarkets.

Anything else?

I've tried Pure Via in hot drinks, in smoothies, stirred into yogurt, stewed fruit and more. There's no bitter aftertaste, and it dissolves easily with no foaming when you add it to hot liquid. And I think I mentioned the absence of calories...

To find out more, visit the Truvia website or the Pure Via website.

 
By Adrienne Wyper

See the previous wellbeing buy here

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