Tue, 05 May 2026 07:23:17 +0000

How This Imposter Sweetens Smoothies, Coffee, and Every Danger You Didn’t See In the world of health-driven beverages, few ingredients are as deceptively popular as stevia — a natural sweetener lauded for its zero-calorie boost. But behind its façade of “natural” and “healthy” lies a more complex story. Evolutionary biologists, food scientists, and health experts are increasingly sounding the alarm: this so-called “imposter sweetener” isn’t just sneaking into smoothies and coffee — it’s reshaping taste preferences, hiding behind drink labels, and silently influencing how we experience danger. ### The Stevia Imposter: More Than Just a Sweet Stick Stevia, native to South America and extracted primarily from the Stevia rebaudiana leaf, has long been marketed as a clean, plant-based sugar alternative. But not all stevia products are pure extracts. Many commercial smoothies, coffees, and energy drinks lace these beverages with highly processed stevia blends — often combined with erythritol, erythritol, or artificial flavor enhancers designed to mimic the full sweetness of sugar without the calories.