The Monk Fruit Rebecca Rasmussen DeVry University

The Monk Fruit Siraitia grosvenorii is an herbaceous perennial vine of the Cucurbitaceous (bitter gourds) family should not be mistaken for purple mangosteen, The plant is cultivated for its pulp and made into an extract that is 300 times sweeter than cane or beet sugar with almost zero calories and has been used as a natural sweetener native to southern China and northern Thailand for thousands of years. In those regions is has been known to treat obesity, diabetes, heat stroke and throat infections. It’s also called “Buddha fruit “, “Longevity fruit” or “Luo han guo”. Monk fruit is not commonly used fresh because it doesn’t keep well and has offensive aromas and flavors; it’s generally dried which gives it another unsatisfactory taste and smell. Even though it’s natural nauseating taste and small native still sometimes eat it fresh or dried, the rind and pulp, steeped in hot water will make a soothing tea for sore throats Through modern processing techniques those unpleasant issues can now be removed Research suggests that monk fruit is high in antioxidants. It may have some positive effects on preventing cancer. It has also been shown to reduce the effects of Epstein-Barr virus. The carbohydrates from monk fruit are largely glucose and fructose. The US FDA (Food and Drug Administration has rated the monk fruit and its extracts as GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe). Marketed under the name “Nectresse” McNeil Nutritionals, which also markets "Splenda", the nation’s top selling low calorie sweetener has come out with “Nectresse”. Supposedly “Nectresse” is an all-natural sweetener,. “Nectresse” contains four different ingredients the first being erythritol, one of the sugar alcohols - erythritol has a glycemic index of zero and provides 0.2 calories per gram. The second ingredient is sugar -- plain table sugar or sucrose. It has a GI of 65 and provides 4 calories per gram. The third ingredient is the monk fruit, which doesn’t have a GI rating yet. The fourth ingredient is molasses, which also doesn’t have a GI, but is a by-product of making sugar cane into sugar. ‘Nectresse” is categorized as a non-calorie, natural sweetener because it contains less than 5 calories per serving. I, myself have yet to try this product, but in research have found it to have few people find. it to have any after taste. Slightly more than people found “Stevia” to have one. There has been little talk about how it affects obesity; however I did find a lot information suggesting that we all need to avoid artificial high carb and high GI foods, and almost all of us need to watch how many calories we consume. There is more evidence to prove that artificial sweeteners can cause more health concerns than they are worth. “Nectresse” may be made from natural ingredients, but the process in which it is made is artificial. In fact, There is nothing artificial about truly natural foods or drinks. If you’re trying to stick to a healthy diet I suggest using honey as a sweetener. I believe honey to be the most natural way to sweeten food or drinks, if not the healthiest.