Stevia leaf extract has demonstrated to have no effect on blood sugar levels—which is good news for people with diabetes.
Because stevia leaf extract had previously shown to increase insulin production in a study of mice, several regulatory authorities questioned the effect stevia leaf extract had on blood sugar. This prompted a double blinded randomized clinical study that was detailed in an article published in 2008 in the journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, demonstrating high purity stevia leaf extract to have no effect on blood sugar levels. In that article, K.C. Maki and colleagues answered questions about the effects of stevia leaf extract on blood sugar levels of people with type 2 diabetes.
The study monitored 122 men and women with Type 2 diabetes over 16 weeks of receiving either stevia leaf extract or a placebo. The men and women were to maintain a stable diet and were tested every four weeks.
The results of this study helped show that high purity stevia leaf extract does not affect blood sugar levels: participants consumed 1000 mg/d of stevia leaf extract for 16 weeks and it did not affect the blood glucose levels in men and women with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It’s worth noting that the dosages received by study participants was more than seven times the average projected intake for adults with diabetes, and twice the expected daily intake for even high-intake adults with diabetes.
Read the full study findings here.