Erythritol vs Stevia: what’s the difference?
Posted by nexbaau on 13th Apr 2021
Sugar, we need to talk.
Sugar has been linked to some of the biggest health challenges of our times and as a result, sugar free diets have become more popular than Uggs on celebrities in 2007.
But many of us want to avoid the dodgy taste – and potential side effects of artificial sweeteners.
So, where do we go for our sweet hit? Luckily, there are delicious, natural sweetener alternatives like erythritol and stevia. Both are natural, plant-sourced sweeteners that can be used as healthier substitutes for sugar. And neither have any calories.
So, erythritol vs stevia: what’s the real diff? We took a look at where they each come from, how they’re made and why they’re both perfect (in their own unique ways) for making Nexba drinks Naturally Sugar Free.
Stevia: more than 500 sweet years of natural goodness
Stevia sweetener is made from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant: a South American member of the sunflower family. Indigenous people from Paraguay and Brazil have known about stevia for a while now and have been and using its leaves to sweeten their medicines and teas for over 500 years! Thanks to them, the rest of the world has caught onto this magic and Stevia rebaudiana is now grown and harvested globally, including in places like Japan and China.
How it’s made:
- The leaves of the stevia plant are harvested and dried.
- The dried leaves are steeped in hot water to make an extract.
- The extract is then filtered and centrifuged to create pure, concentrated stevia that’s ready to use.
It sounds complicated, but it’s actually a pretty simple process that doesn’t involve adding any artificial nasties at any point. In fact, it’s a lot like the process for making other plant-based extracts, like vanilla.
A little goes a long way
The genius of stevia comes from the plant’s natural compounds which are called ‘steviol glycosides’. Each of these compounds has its own unique flavour and sweetness, and different combinations can provide different tastes and sweetness intensities.
Generally speaking though, stevia is a whopping 200-300 times sweeter than regular sugar. Despite that powerhouse sweetness however, it doesn’t affect blood sugar levels or insulin response. Nor does it cause cavities or other nasty side-effects.
In fact, one study showed that stevia may even have a positive effect on insulin levels. And that study joins more than 40,000 others that concluded stevia is safe to use in foods.
And because your body doesn’t store or break down stevia, it literally has zero calories. That all means you can get the sweetness you crave, without worrying about what it’s doing to your body or your diet.
The only downside? Sometimes it can have a slightly bitter aftertaste and feel a bit astringent in your mouth.
Erythritol: fermenting starches for the win
‘Erythritol’; might sound a bit science-y, but it’s actually as natural as they come. It’s a type of sweetener known as a ‘sugar alcohol’ – and unlike stevia, erythritol is a relatively new kid on the block.
Scottish chemist John Stenhouse was the first to discover erythritol in 1848. Then, over 100 years later, scientists found it in yeast-fermented blackstrap molasses. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that Japanese food techies began to sell it as a sugar alcohol in Japan.
After that, it took off around the world – and the rest, as they say, is history.
How it’s made
Erythritol is made by fermenting the sweet, natural starches in fruits and vegetables. ‘Fermenting’ means that good bacteria eat the starch and turn it into erythritol, removing all the sugar.
Again, this sounds a bit complex, but really, it’s just like the fermentation process for everyday favourites like yoghurt, wine and beer. It’s all #science!
Erythritol tastes – and feels – like sugar to your mouth
At only 70% of regular sugar’s sweetness, erythritol doesn’t pack anything like the same sweet punch as stevia. But it makes up for that in what food techies call ‘bulking properties’. In short, this means it feels and tastes the same as sugar to your mouth (which means no aftertaste, woo!).
Other than that, erythritol has many of the same benefits as stevia. It also doesn’t cause blood sugar spikes or insulin response, nor does it have calories or nasty side-effects.
That’s because your body absorbs about 90% of any erythritol you eat into your bloodstream before it gets to your gut. From there, you get rid of it in your pee. So, unlike some other sugar alcohol sweeteners (xylitol and sorbitol: we’re looking at you), you don’t absorb erythritol into your digestive system. In short, no gassy upsets for you.
Stevia vs Erythritol: the lowdown
We get it – there’s a lot to take in. To make it super easy, here are all the differences between stevia and erythritol neatly summed up:
For our all-natural Nexba sweetener, why not both?
Nexba is the top-secret natural sweetener blend we add to all our drinks to make them naturally sugar-free. And we make it from both erythritol and stevia.
Why? Well, it took us six years to find the perfect, safe, natural substitute for sugar. We needed one that would taste great AND match how sugar feels in your mouth as closely as possible.
Stevia alone sometimes leaves an aftertaste and doesn’t quite feel like sugar in your mouth. Meanwhile, erythritol alone can’t provide the intense sweetness.
When we combined both, though? THEN, we were onto something. Our winning blend packed a powerful punch of healthy sweetness with zero ick factor.
The icing on your cake is we tweak this formula for every product we make. We don’t just take it easy with our magic formula, we fine-tune it so the mouthfeel and sugar flavour ain’t just sweet but is totally adorable to tastebuds. That’s Nexba’s gift to you.
And the results? Well, they’re nothing short of incredible.
