Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS

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PitchingDoc@msn.com
www.PitchingDoc.com

Stevia Helps Heart Health in Mice by Affecting Insulin Levels

By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, April 16, 2010, abstracted from “Stevioside inhibits atherosclerosis by
improving insulin signaling and antioxidant defense in obese insulin-resistant mice” in the April
2010 issue of the International Journal of Obesity

Link - http://www.nowfoods.com/078923.htm

Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, which are the first and third leading
causes of death for both men and women in the United States, account for 1 in 3 of all U.S.
deaths. Heart disease and stroke are expected to have cost our healthcare system $473 billion in
2009. If all major types of cardiovascular disease were eliminated, U.S. life expectancy would
increase by nearly 7 years (1).

Of the many factors that increase the risk of heart disease, including smoking, high blood
pressure, and obesity (defined by the CDC as a Body Mass Index greater than 30 kg/m2 (2)), one
of the most significant is diabetes, which now affects 24 million Americans and costs $174 billion
per year to treat (3). According to the American Heart Association, nearly 75% of diabetics have
some form of blood vessel disease (4). Now a new study in mice (5) has found that stevia,
approved by the FDA as a dietary supplement (6) and shown for decades to help control blood
sugar levels (7), may help with heart health by affecting levels of insulin, the hormone that helps
control blood sugar levels (8).

In the study, 34 mice were given either stevia (10 mg per kilogram of bodyweight per day) or
placebo for 12 weeks. The stevia was given to the mice in the form of stevioside dissolved in
saline solution. Researchers obtained blood samples from the mice and also obtained heart
blood vessel samples from each mouse to examine for the presence of atherosclerosis.

While there were no differences in weight gain or loss seen between the two groups, those in the
stevia group had 21% lower cholesterol levels (10.71 vs. 13.52 millimoles/Liter), 20% lower
triglyceride levels (2.61 vs. 3.24 mmol/L), 18% lower blood sugar levels (6.73 vs. 8.19 mmol/L),
and 35% lower insulin levels (1201 vs. 1831 milli-Units/Liter). What’s more, those in the stevia
group had 24% lower levels of an inflammatory protein called IL-6 (13.2 vs. 17.26
picograms/milliliter) whose increased levels have been associated with diabetes (9).

For the researchers, “stevioside treatment was associated with improved insulin signaling and
antioxidant defense in both the adipose tissue and the vascular wall of obese insulin-resistant
mice” and that these results warrants large-scale studies in humans.”

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold
directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at
www.PitchingDoc.com
Reference:

1. “Cardiovascular Disease at a Glance” posted on www.cdc.gov/

2. “Defining Overweight and Obesity” - http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/defining.html
3. Number of People with Diabetes Continues to Increase” - www.cdc.gov/Features/DiabetesFactSheet/
4. “Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease” - www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726
5. Geeraert B. Stevioside inhibits atherosclerosis by improving insulin signaling and antioxidant defense in obese insulin-
resistant mice. Int J Obes 34: 569-577; advance online publication, December 15, 2009; doi:10.1038/ijo.2009.261
6. “Report on Structure/Function Claims of Stevia” - www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/DOCKETS/97s0162/let0518.pdf
7. Oviedo CA. Accion hipogiicemiantede ia stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Kaa-he-e). Excerpta Medica 1971; 208:92-93.
8. “Insulin” - www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/medication/insulin/
9. Kristiansen OP. Interleukin-6 and Diabetes The Good, the Bad, or the Indifferent? Diabetes December 2005 vol. 54
no. suppl 2 S114-S124 - http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/54/suppl_2/S114.abstract