Stevia’s latest potential benefit: Curing chronic Lyme disease

31 Aug 2017 --- Stevia leaf extracts have the potential to terminate chronic Lyme disease – also known as Borrelia – more efficiently than antibiotics, according to a new study. The infamous tick-borne disease has been discovered in more than 80 countries worldwide and can be devastating for the patients, but the sweetener could offer considerable relief. The findings could have big implications for the future applications of stevia products. “Stevia extract is approved for nutritionals, but not yet approved for pharmaceuticals,” The Real Stevia Company Head of Marketing & Communications Anna Ålenius Mathson tells NutritionInsight. “When it is approved it [will open] a new market for all stevia producers.”

“Stevia has been used as a herbal remedy in Latin America for centuries, and it’s about time for the rest of the world to discover the health benefits of stevia,” Mathson adds.

Killing Lyme disease bacterium
Though most of the cases of Lyme disease reported are considered resolved with the treatment of antibiotics, The Real Stevia Company press release notes that 10 to 20 percent of patients go on to develop the chronic form, which is a persistent illness that can harm body organs, the brain and the nervous system.

The study investigating stevia and Lyme disease was conducted by a specialist team, led by Professor Eva Sapi at the University of New Haven, Connecticut, US. Sapi decided to look at stevia after another researcher found that sugar was working to “wake up” dormant bacteria, called persisters, to kill it, according to a press release from The Real Stevia Company. The company provides sustainable stevia leaves and extracts to the global food industry.

In the study, published in the European Journal of Microbiology and Immunology, the team tried different sugars and sweeteners and discovered that stevia extracts are more effective in killing Lyme disease bacterium than the standard antibiotics.

Stevia supported by studies
“The most important thing with these results is to point out that stevia is not only a natural sweetener for foods and drinks, [but] also has many positive health effects,” says Sophia Horn af Rantzien, Managing Director of The Real Stevia Company. “Today, several studies show that stevia’s good components can even be used in pharmaceuticals, which is very exciting.”

“Several studies are underway, with most that we know of focusing on how very high concentrations unsuitable for sweetening in part due to stevia's strong antioxidative effects can be used to support the body's self-healing properties,” elaborates Mathson.

Mathson also points to a study investigating the use of stevia to treat type 2 diabetes and KU Leuven researchers discovering that stevia stimulates a protein that is essential for our perception of taste and is involved in the release of insulin after a meal. 

Bright future possible
The next steps in the Lyme disease research are human trials and finding the most efficient stevia components. However, the chemical study has already given hope that a new treatment to cure Lyme disease will be found.

When it comes to the market for food and beverage products, sugar reduction with substitutes like stevia is becoming the norm, as NutritionInsight's sister website FoodIngredientsFirst has pointed out. The Lyme disease research is also just the latest to point out stevia’s health benefits. Research published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology recently gave evidence for stevia’s naturality. Meanwhile, fellow stevia ingredients producer Sweet Green Fields has recently achieved non-GMO project verification for 28 of its stevia ingredients. 

“The stevia market is growing very fast, as both consumers and the food and beverage industry are looking for better alternatives to sugar or artificial sweeteners,” notes Mathson when asked about The Real Stevia Company’s plans for stevia. “Stevia is a 100 percent natural and healthier alternative that is sweeter than sugar, has zero calories and the farming is gentler to the earth. Real Stevia is focusing on expanding its organic stevia production in Paraguay and looks forward to welcoming more products with stevia in the future.”

By Paul Creasy