Stevia: A guide by Purition

Stevia, also called steviol glycosides, is a plant-based sweetener that is 300 times sweeter than regular sugar. Commonly known as 'sweet leaf'. stevia is a popular natural sweetener for those looking for a healthier sugar substitute.

Why we use stevia

Supplement companies use vast amounts of sweeteners and flavourings to make their products hyper palatable. They often combine different sweeteners and other ingredients to mask the aftertaste. But even zero calorie sweetness can promote overconsumption, as our brains are hardwired to crave the sweet stuff.

We have the philosophy that a real food, seasonal diet that is naturally low in sugar – and free from artificial sweeteners – is the best for your long-term health. We don’t want to encourage a sweet tooth, even if it’s zero calorie and has no effect on blood sugar! Stevia has zero calories, and no effect on blood sugar.

Purition contains a very small amount of stevia to balance the flavours in our recipes. We could use sugar, but that goes against our philosophy of providing a healthy product without any unnecessary additional additives, calories or carbohydrates.

In a single batch of Purition we use just a few grams pf Stevia to get that flavour profile just right – and never super sweet. Not every Purition blend contains Stevia. Both Purition Golden Milk and Naked Blend Purition contain no stevia at all. Instead, we encourage customers to sweeten these products themselves.

What type of stevia do we use?

The Stevia we use is very different from the stevia you can buy in the supermarkets.

We use a steviol glycoside called Rebaudioside A or Reb A for short. It's a pure, off-white powder and has the least bitterness of all the steviol glycosides in the Stevia rebaudiana plant. To produce rebaudioside A commercially, stevia plants are dried and subjected to a water extraction process.