Not surprisingly, have been a ton of different sugar substitutes on the market.
Truvia is one of them.
It is marketed as an aggressive Stevia-based natural sweetener, which is good for controlling blood sugar.
But Truvia is very healthy, and is as natural as they say?
We will see.
What is Truvia?
Truvia is a sweetener from Cargill and Coca-Cola developed jointly.
If you do not know Cargill [1] is a massive company, ingredients and additives makes for some of the largest food company in the world.
Truvia was introduced in 2008 and is now the second-best-selling sweetener [2] in the United States (after Splenda [3] ).
Of a mixture of three components, namely of:
- Erythritol: a sugar alcohol.
- Rebaudioside A: a sweet compound from the plant Stevia isolated, Rebiana classified label ( 1 ).
- Natural flavors do not know exactly what that means.
Truvia is often confused with Stevia [4] , a natural sweetener from the leaves of Stevia.
This is not surprising considering that Truvia is used as a sweetener "stevia" and a name that sounds like advertised
However, Stevia and Truvia are not equal.
Conclusion: Truvia is a sugar substitute second most popular in the United States. Contains erythritol, rebaudioside A, and "natural flavors".
Stevia sweetener Truvia No. The only small amounts of rebaudioside A
"The best sweetness comes from nature. Sweetener Truvia natural sweetener is delicious born leaves of the stevia plant."
This quote, Truvia website [5] is terribly misleading.
Truvia contain hardly any components of the stevia plant, and certainly not health benefits.
Stevia leaves contain two sweet compounds [6] , stevioside and rebaudioside A [7] .
Stevioside has two (but not rebaudioside A) associated with health benefits such as blood sugar levels and lower blood pressure ( 2 , 3 ).
However, no stevioside in Truvia, only small amounts of purified rebaudioside A, which has not been associated with health benefits.
For this reason, the marketing Truvia is a "basic Stevia" sweetener is very questionable.
Conclusion: Rebaudioside A is of Stevia in Truvia used together. Does not contain stevioside, stevia connection that provides health benefits.
Erythritol is the main component
The main ingredient in Truvia is actually erythritol [8] .
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol is contained in some natural foods like fruits [9] . It can also be extracted and purified for use as a sweetener in foodstuffs.
According to the website of Cargill [10] , the erythritol by converting corn starch food grade, fermented by yeast to produce to create a broth.
Then, it is further purified to create erythritol.
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, [11] , since the molecule is a hybrid of a carbohydrate and alcohol (as it is only the ethanol, the drunk the kind of alcohol is).
The chemical structure of the sugar alcohols gives them the ability to stimulate the sweet taste receptors on the tongue.
Sugar alcohols are common in the western diet and include xylitol , [12] , sorbitol and maltitol, to name a few.
But erythritol appears to be quite different. It has a unique chemical structure that will not break our bodies and digest.
Is through your system and urine virtually unchanged, so it has almost no calories and no adverse effects on the metabolism of excess glucose [13] ( 4 ).
Several long-term studies on the metabolism and toxicity has no negative effects consuming erythritol, at least in laboratory animals ( 5 , 6 ).
Conclusion: Erythritol is the main ingredient in Truvia. There are no negative effects on metabolism, such as sugar, and is considered safe.
"Natural Flavors" in Truvia
The last ingredient in Truvia are "natural flavors". You're a bit of a mystery.
What is the added flavors are and how they are created, are not declared on the label or website.
But they are not legally required to disclose what they are, and the combination of these "flavors" of rebaudioside A patented by Cargill in 2009.
However, it is likely that natural flavors are probably not so natural. The term is largely unregulated by the FDA.
A company is free to identify a natural taste, if it is chemically equivalent to a natural taste.
Conclusion: What is "natural flavors" means not disclosed. However, it is likely that a number of chemicals that are not really "natural".
Truvia has almost no calories and has no effect on blood sugar
Truvia is nothing like sugar because it consists almost exclusively of erythritol.
Compared to table sugar [14] , which has 4 calories per gram, erythritol only 0.24 calories per gram.
It is almost impossible enough, eat affect your body weight.
Since erythritol is not metabolised by the body cells, no effect on blood sugar and insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, or other biomarkers ( 7 , 8 ).
For those who, diabetics are overweight or have any questions, including the metabolic syndrome, Truvia (or gross erythritol) is related to a good alternative to sugar.
Conclusion: it Truvia practically no calories. Erythritol is not metabolized by the body and has no effect on blood sugar or other health markers.
Truvia was taken to court claim "natural"
Unfortunately, the exact chemicals are used in the manufacturing process, paten Truvia the public are unknown.
But based on the best ingredients in Truvia, is clearly not much more "natural".
In 2012 [15] and 2013 [16] two class action lawsuits against Cargill were "naturally" filed misleading marketing and use of the word.
The suits alleged rebaudioside A and erythritol are used "highly processed" and produce erythritol is derived from GMOs [17] corn.
Cargill decided to settle out of court.
However, they are intentionally misleading consumers and the use of the word "natural" in all marketing materials.
Conclusion: Cargill, the company that makes Truvia by its deceptive use of the word sued was settled out of court, but still using the word in its materials "natural" marketing ..
Are there any side effects?
Some components have been studied, but have never been investigated the effects of Truvia sweetener.
In a human experiment 4 weeks with a high dose of rebaudioside A, no side effects found.
This study was funded by Cargill, the company that Truvia (makes sponsored 9 ).
A recent study found that eating controversial erythritol is toxic to the common fruit fly. The authors recommend as environmentally friendly pesticides ( 10 ).
These results raise questions, but it's not really relevant to humans or other mammals, they are very tolerant erythritol.
However, the main concern of sugar alcohols such as erythritol, they can cause digestive problems.
It seems that erythritol is better tolerated than other sugar alcohols, because most of it is absorbed and then urinated out. No reaches the large intestine in significant amounts ( 11 ).
One study showed that gastrointestinal symptoms only when ingested 50 g erythritol as a single dose, which is a very large amount (occurring 12 ).
Another reason is that it was at least four times the amount of erythritol diarrhea, compared to sorbitol, a sugar alcohol (causing 13 ).
Tolerance varies between individuals, so take this with a grain of salt. If you have had problems with sugar alcohols in the past, then be very careful with Truvia.
This means that regular use Truvia not not cause digestive problems for most people, at least if consumed in reasonable quantities.
Conclusion: The main ingredients in Truvia are safe for consumption, with little or no gastrointestinal side effects. However, tolerance can vary between individuals.
Truvia is fine, but certainly not "natural"
Although marketing applications are wrong and "natural flavors" mystery is a bit disconcerting Truvia seems particularly well.
It contains almost no calories [18] does not affect the velocity of the blood sugar and insulin, and have little or no side for most purposes.
It's certainly better than sugar, and seems to be better tolerated than many other sweeteners to be.
So if you like to tolerate the taste of Truvia and you want in your life, then I see no reason to avoid it.
Although it is not a natural sweetener [19] and the marketing behind it is questionable seems to be healthier than many other sweeteners.
Credentials
- ^ Cargill (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ second bestselling sweetener (www.foodingredientsfirst.com)
- ^ Splenda (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ Stevia (authoritynutrition.com)
- ^ Website (truvia.com)
- ^ sweet compounds (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ rebaudioside A (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ erythritol (authoritynutrition.com)
- ^ fruits (authoritynutrition.com)
- ^ Cargill site (www.cargillfoods.com)
- ^ sugar alcohol (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ xylitol (authoritynutrition.com)
- ^ excess sugar (authoritynutrition.com)
- ^ table sugar (authoritynutrition.com)
- ^ 2012 (www.foodnavigator-usa.com)
- ^ 2013 (www.foodbusinessnews.net)
- ^ GM (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ calories (authoritynutrition.com)
- ^ natural sweetener (authoritynutrition.com)
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