What is Monk Fruit?
Monk fruit is known in Chinese as Luo Han Guo, it comes from a plant that belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family.
It’s a small, green gourd that looks like a melon.
In 2010, monk fruit was approved by the US FDA as a naturl sweetener.
Benefits
- Natural sweetener with no known side effects.
- Antioxidant properties.
- Anti-inflammatory.
- Does not affect blood sugar levels.
- May promote weight loss.
- Anti-tussive & phlegm reducing properties.
- Its sweetness is due to the presence of 66 or more mogrosides (they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as they inhibit certain harmful molecules and help prevent damage to your DNA and are 250-350 times sweeter than sucrose).
Origin
The scientific name of Monk Fruit ( siraita grosvenorii ) was given to honor Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor: The father of photojournalism, who as president of the National Geographic Society, helped to fund an expedition in the 1930’s to find the living plant in China, where it was cultivated.
Even more studies on its benefits!
- It relieves allergies! When our bodies experience something to which we are allergic, our body’s mast cells release several chemicals into our system, one of which is histamine. This is what causes allergic reactions. The extract of monk fruit has been proven to prevent this activity of mast cells, reducing the histamine and eliminating common allergies. This chemical is also connected to reducing asthmatic reactions, which can save lives. [ref]
- Anticancer potential. Although research is somewhat limited in this area, the studies that have focused on monk fruit’s impact on cancer cells have found that it has anticarcinogenic properties. [ref]
- Anti aging properties [ref]
- Improves heart health. [ref]
- Weight loss [ref]
- Boosts immunity. [ref]
- Reduces inflammation. [ref]
Applications
- You can use monk fruit sweeteners to sweeten almost anything, including:
- coffee
- hot tea, iced tea, or lemonade
- salad dressings
- sauces
- smoothies
- frostings
- yogurt
- oatmeal or other hot cereals
Is it safe?
- Monk fruit was approved by the FDA in 2010.
- There are no known side effects.
- The FDA has deemed monk fruit “generally recognizes as safe (GRAS)” for everyone, including pregnant women and children.
