Are there any side effects from using Stevia powder as a sweetener?

Potential side effects from the use of stevia as a sweetener include issues relating to blood sugar control. Other possible issues include effects on the renal, cardiovascular and reproductive systems.

Stevia is a broad term for sweeteners made from the leaf of the Stevia rebaudiana, a plant native to South America, where it has been used traditionally as a sweetener and a medicine for hundreds of years. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of the whole stevia leaf as a sweetener, it does allow the use of an extract of the plant, rebaudioside A, to be used in food.