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Is stevia suitable for a ketogenic diet (30 grams of carbs per day maximum)? Does it cause the body to "burn" stevia's sugars and "kick" the body out of ketosis? For argument's sake, let's say I somehow manage to never eat more 30gr of carbs per day, and my body kicks out of ketosis at 31 gr/day of carbs. If I eat 1 teaspoon of stevia (e.g. on tea during the day), will I get out of ketosis? Can the body burn it, or it just goes through me like water? Is stevia really safe to use on a ketogenic diet?

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A teaspoon of stevia? Good lord girl, that's too much! You only need a wittle tiny bit - like 1/100 of a teaspoon. I use it in several cups of coffee per day and my 1 ounce bottle has lasted several years. Oh, and by the way, stevia does not provide any usable calories, so it could not kick you out of ketosis. But you may or may not experience the insulin effects noted below. As long as it doesn't make you hungry, you are probably okay. – Dave S. Nov 25 2011 at 17:16

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Ive used way more than a teaspoon of Stevia to sweeten things while in Ketosis. Ive tried not eating Stevia and i can tell no difference in anything. I go through probably 2-3 teaspoons per day now. Im a fan of Stevia, especially the dried and finely ground up Stevia Leaves.

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Anything sweet can trigger insulin release, which can interfere with ketosis and weight loss.

I recently learned that you have the EXACT SAME taste buds in your intestine as you do in your tongue. Cool huh? It's just that the nerve endings are hooked up to a different organ on the other end.

In your tongue, the buds are hooked up to your brain's pleasure centers where the sweet taste triggers the release of feel good brain chemicals like endogenous opiates. In your intestine, they're hooked up to your pancreas where they trigger the release of insulin. Insulin is the enemy of weight loss.

I believe this inslunogenic effect is part of the reason that every study on the use of artificial sweeteners for weight loss shows them to be miserably useless and actually associated with weight gain.

Below is an image of the taste bud. Stuff comes in from one end, whether its in your mouth or in your gut, and signals go out on the other. Same exact structure in the GI tract. I just thought that was so cool. Another example of how nature conserves gene/proteins. alt text

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 I agree - and I think that it's important to get away from SAD eating patterns - which overemphasize sweetness - when shifting to primal/paleo. Without added sweetener, you can finally learn to taste - and appreciate - food in its natural state – gydle Nov 26 2011 at 10:50
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 I disagree as does Mark Sission. "Insulin secretion isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, we need it to shuttle nutrients into cells, and we’d die without it. As I mentioned in the dairy post a few weeks back, insulin is millions upon millions of years old. It’s been preserved throughout history because it’s an essential hormone. It’s not always the bad guy, especially if you’re insulin sensitive." – Cory151 Nov 26 2011 at 13:15
This is a pretty rudimentary way to understand how a taste bud works. There are three cranial nerves involved and many hypothalamic tracts that tie into each system. The arbiter of the entire system is the leptin receptors centrally. – The Quilt Nov 27 2011 at 14:54
Cory, I think the issue is a matter of degree. Of course we need insulin. If you're trying to lose weight, this is one way that artificial sweeteners can block those efforts. – Dr Cate Dec 3 2011 at 18:50
@Cory....solid statement. – RaiseFitness Jul 13 at 14:29
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Raw Stevia is a rare find. The best source is a liquid source without fillers. Most stevia in the USA is used in combination with the excitotoxin maltodextrin. Stevia by itself will not cause any problems and it is is quite paleo. Maltodextrin however causes an immediate rise in insulin and cause the Nucleus of the solitary tract to light up like a Xmas tree on functional MRi's. Stevia does not. There is no insulin spike from its use and it does not adversely effect the vagus nerve taste receptors in the gut or the taste receptors on the trigeminal nerve and glossopharyngeal nerve in the mouth.

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I grew a stevia plant last summer- the leaves are incredibly sweet tasting. – henny Nov 27 2011 at 16:17
I have been using "Stevia in the Raw". Contains stevia and dextrose. Is that the same as maltodextrin? – akman Nov 27 2011 at 18:13
Yes. Lose the dextrose. – The Quilt Nov 27 2011 at 19:59
Yes, any word that ends in "ose" is some sort of sugar – Dextery Nov 27 2011 at 20:49
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It doesn't seem likely that just one extra gram would tip you over and out of ketosis - but everyone's metabolism is unique, so I wouldn't like to be dogmatic about this!

Sweeteners do cause problems for some people, not because of the extra gram or so, but because (at least in some people) the strong sweetness can be perceived by the body as sugar (perhaps quite a lot of sugar). The body then produces insulin in response (maybe quite a lot), even though there is virtually no real sugar. One of the jobs of insulin is to keep fat stored in fat cells, rather than available for burning. The result is reduced burning of fat and hunger.

There is only one certain way to find out how Stevia affects you - that is to try a little and test afterwards, with Ketostix or a meter.

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I was under the impression that stevia was non-caloric, and cannot be burned.

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 It won't kick you out of ketosis, but one of the reasons you want to be in ketosis is to avoid the insulin response, which stevia will absolutely cause. It also has the (nice) side effect of lowering blood pressure. Use only a tiny little bit. – raydawg Nov 26 2011 at 1:48
I pretty much only use that tiny scoop thingy that comes with it to make my spirulina shake palatable. I don't like to use the stevia powder I have in the first place, because it's white. Stevia is green. I have a problem with that. I cannot find green anywhere. I used to use it a lot, but it's almost completely out of my life now. I just don't crave sweet things anymore. It's awesome. – Carina Nov 26 2011 at 23:03
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Too much protein will kick you out of ketosis faster than a little stevia, but I wouldn't worry about either.

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Go to Health by coconut on FB and ask Leslie, she knows all those things , her husband Bruce Fife is an expert on this subject also.

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I used stevia while in ketosis and maintained ketosis, according to the 'stix.

Just a note on stevia and appetite -- I have read that it is used as an appetite stimulant for livestock (in Brazil & China I believe). I don't know if that's true, but I know that when I use stevia my appetite goes through the roof. I stopped using it because I was hungry all the time, just like on SAD, and my calorie consumption jumped by about 500 kcal per day.

ETA: refs for livestock/appetite:

http://www.jbb-stevia.com/spanish/E_Animal.html

http://www.steviamaya.com/

http://stevia.en.ec21.com/offer_detail/Stevia_concentrate_for_Livestock_feed–487023.html?gubun=S

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These three links don't seem to go anywhere or site anything. – Cory151 Nov 26 2011 at 13:04
If you look at the first link - table #3, it lists "benefits" of feeding stevia to livestock, including the following (look at item 8. Activity to accelerate growth and to increase weight) for the full list: Stevia increases animal's appetite, multiplies useful microbes in animal's digestive organs, promotes digestion, and accelerates growth. As the result, the breeding period is reduced for sooner shipment of livestock to the market and higher productivity. – Kelly Nov 26 2011 at 16:16
You have to actually read them through, Cory. Not every link instantly gratifies. – January Nov 26 2011 at 19:28
Thank you, Kelly. – January Nov 26 2011 at 19:28
Anyway, you can bet the American marketers of Stevia aren't talking about those aspects of the stuff. – January Nov 26 2011 at 19:32
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I just read this post of the dangers of stevia! Heck yeah I want these dangers. It states clearly as a precaution that: it will create more muscle than fat! This is perfect weight gain for me!

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I use Stevia everyday in my coffee. Have not noticed any issues with it. I've used the high-quality stuff and the crappy stuff with added real sugar. There are far worse things to do, but someone really wanting to refine things to the upmost specifics, avoid it. Otherwise, if it's enhancing something you like, it's fine.

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I am not so sure the sweet in Stevia is green. When the plant leaves were very sweet they had a white coating. The new fresh green leaves were less sweet, but you could lick the white off and it tasted very sweet.

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