People all around the world struggle to find a suitable source for sweetening their meals that won’t add any extra calories. Finally, the alternative source known as Stevia, a plant native to South America, was able to be harvested and processed to meet our needs. The real question however is whether or not the store bought version of stevia is actually healthy for human consumption.

The products people buy from the store isn’t a full stevia leaf. In fact, they’re made from a highly processed and refined stevia leaf extract. So, whereas the product you’re buying is called stevia, the majority of products on the market today don’t actually contain much stevia leaf at all. The stevia plant extract, known as Reb-A, has the ability to add up to 200 times the sweetness of regular table sugar, and what Americans consider the best part is that it doesn’t add any calories at all. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved stevia leaves or “crude stevia extracts” for use as food additives; however, The administration has in fact allowed sweetener companies to use Reb-A extracts and states that the products produced such as Truvia and Stevia in the Raw are “generally recognized as safe”. This statement does not apply to stevia.

According to HealthLine, there are multiple known side effects that come with consuming stevia such as low blood pressure and harm to the kidneys, cardiovascular system and reproductive system. In addition, there are research studies being conducted that suggest that excessive consumption of stevia may be linked to gene mutations and even cancer.

On the other hand, stevia also comes with multiple effects that are considered positive. These effects include the fact that it is a nonnutritive sweetener. This simply means that stevia contains no nutritional value and absolutely no calories. Whereas the studies being conducted so far are inconclusive, stevia being nonnutritive means that it may be helpful to those trying to lose weight. Other inconclusive studies have shown that those with high blood pressure may find that stevia helps to lower and regulate their blood pressure, as well as studies have shown that may help lower LDL, harmful, cholesterol and raise HDL, beneficial, cholesterol.

In conclusion, products containing the previously stated Reb-A extract are safe. Full leaves of stevia are not approved for commercial use; however, you can grow the stevia plant in your home, and adding a leaf from time to time will not do any detrimental harm to anyone’s health.