Is Truvia Bad For You?
Also Known As: Truvia Natural Sweetener
Short answer
Truvia is a better alternative to sugar, as it does not increase blood sugar, spike insulin, or affect cholesterol. There is a high chance, though, that it is produced with corn deriving from GMOs and in that case, may not be worth the risk of consuming it.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
Truvia is a sweetener produced by Cargill and Coca-Cola, both massive companies aimed towards marketing what the people want, and right now sugar substitutes are majorly growing in popularity.
They advertise Truvia as being all-natural and stevia-based, which makes it seem like a very healthy product. Although Truvia isn’t as bad as regular table sugar, it’s not as healthy as it appears to be. Take into consideration the following facts about this sweetener.
Truvia is a blend of three ingredients: erythritol, rebaudioside A (or Reb-A) and natural flavors.
Erythritol is the main ingredient found in the sweetener. It’s an extremely sweet sugar alcohol and is not stevia-based. Erythritol can be naturally found in fruits or extracted and refined to be used as a sweetener. Truvia’s erythritol is derived from corn that is processed into a food grade starch which is fermented and then purified. It is important to note that the corn used in production is grown in the US, meaning there is a very high chance of GMOs being present. While GMOs are still lacking research, they have been consistently linked to allergies, a weakened immune system, reproductive issues, cancer, inflammation, and more.
The majority of sugar alcohols can cause issues like bloating, gas and stomach irritation, and erythritol is no exception. However, it is not likely to experience these side effects unless erythritol is ingested in extremely high amounts.
On a positive note, erythritol doesn’t cause harmful metabolic effects like refined sugar does. Its unique chemical structure causes it to quickly leave the body undigested and without affecting cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar or insulin levels. This also makes it virtually calorie-less.
Rebaudioside A is an ingredient extracted from the stevia plant, but there is only a small amount actually present in this sweetener. Truvia is very misleading about this, giving the idea that their product is made entirely out of the stevia plant. Reb-A is also not beneficial for our bodies like stevioside, the other extracted form of stevia. Rather, reb-A is used because it doesn’t have as bitter of an aftertaste as stevioside.
The natural flavors found in Truvia seem to be a mystery ingredient. What we do know about so-called “natural flavors” is they are all man-made and processed in a lab to create a specific compound flavor that is sometimes made from hundreds of different ingredients. Truvia was taken to court over the controversy of their product actually being “natural” as they claim.
Possible short-term side effects
- bloating
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gas
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stomach irritations
Possible long-term side effects
Ingredients to be aware of
- may contain gmos
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"natural flavors"
Benefits
- zero calories
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no effect on blood sugar, insulin, cholesterol or triglycerides
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