drink wholesome makes the best meal replacement shakes without stevia.
Written by Jack Schrupp & endorsed by Baylee Reller, RDN
What is stevia?
If a meal replacement does not contain sucralose or another artificial sweetener, it probably contains stevia. Stevia is an inexpensive zero calorie sweetener derived from the stevia rebaudiana plant. It is over 100 times sweeter than table sugar, and widely considered to be a “natural” alternative to artificial sweeteners. It follows that over the past decade or so, stevia has found its way into many meal replacement shakes looking to please health conscious consumers.
Why avoid stevia?
People dislike stevia for a few reasons. First of all, although it is sweet, stevia has an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. Unlike sugar, it activates bitter taste receptors in addition to sweet taste receptors.
Second, stevia is extracted from the stevia rebaudiana plant using chemicals like ethanol and methyl alcohol. One could argue that this makes it no more natural than the artificial sweeteners it aims to replace. In fact, there was a recent class action lawsuit filed in California that resulted in a $6.1 million settlement. It was concluded that the company in question had falsely labeled and advertised its stevia sweeteners as natural.
Finally, research has found that stevia can disrupt communications between bacteria in your gut microbiome. This is not something to be taken lightly, as your gut microbiome plays an integral role in overall health.