All About Health

yes.. In most cases it can be bad for dogs.. Stevia is a natural sweetener extracted from stevia plant. It is safe for dogs. But its not good in large amounts. If the amount is large it can cause diarrhea. Also sugar alcohols like Xylitol and Aspartame is also bad for dogs in large quantities. Stevia can be found in baked foods and candy, and consuming these can cause lot of health problems for dogs

History of stevia

For untold centuries, the Guarani people of South America have made use of an herb they call “kaa-he-he”, which translates as “sweet herb.” Today, we call this remarkable herb, Stevia. It comes from a shrub native to mountainous regions in Brazil and Paraguay. When the Spanish began their conquest of South America in the 1500s, they found the Guarani people using Stevia to sweeten tea and other foods.

Stevia was embraced by small numbers of early Europeans explorers, and so we know that the herb has been in continuous use up to the present day. But it wasn’t until Dr. Moises Santiago Bertoni, an Italian botanist, heard rumors of the Stevia plant in 1887 that the herb began its long journey to more wide-spread and commercial use. It still took Bertoni all the way to 1903 to finally get his hands on a living sample of the Stevia plant!

Even so, Stevia did not find a true market until it was embraced by the Japanese in the 1970s. After it found wide-spread use and popularity in Japan, Stevia received greater attention in Europe, and the American market soon followed, with the creation of products such as Truvia. Learn about the differences of Truvia Vs Stevia.

So the story of Stevia is centuries, if not millennia old. It’s a remarkable, safe, sweet, healthy alternative to sugar that has stood the test of time.

More about stevia.

Stevia is a noncaloric herbal extract with an intensely sweet flavor and can be found in several different forms.  The dark (unrefined) version is probably the healthiest form of Stevia on the market.  Several studies have reported very good results with this version of the sweetener as it has been shown to improve blood sugar control in a variety of patients.  This form of Stevia isn’t very appealing to the human eye, so most people opt for the clear liquid or white powder version.  These types don’t deliver the entire impact of the herbs, but are considered to be acceptable as a sugar substitute in diabetic patients.  Stevia is several hundred times sweeter than typical sugar, so it only requires a few drops or sprinkles to get the “sweetener” effect.  While using Stevia will not spike your blood sugar levels, using the unrefined version may actually lower them. But for dogs, the story is different. Overconsumption of sweet foods like candies and gummies can cause diarrhea and severe kidney problems for dogs..

Learn about stevia vs truvia