You might be aware of the numerous advantages to one’s health of certain “superfoods” such as blueberries, hazelnuts, avocados, kefir, walnuts, and sunflower seeds.
Chances are that you have become acquainted with the phrase “monk fruit”, even if it never occurred to you that it doubles as a superfood.
Monk fruit is unlike blueberries and flax seeds, which are both easily accessible at your nearby supermarket. It is virtually impossible to locate monk fruit at Whole Foods or other health food stores.
You are likely to require a few trips to Asian stores before you ultimately track down drid monk fruit that is stashed away on a shelf, if you are very determined to purchase this hard-to-find fruit. A traditional Chinese herbal tea is made using the dried fruit.
Why is this extraordinary fruit – hard to locate – so important?
It’s simple. It seems that monk fruit extract is the most beneficial and effective substitute for sugar that has been created so far.
You don’t need to locate a real monk fruit in order to reap its advantages. Bulk packaging and single servings of monk fruit sweetener can be purchased. It is employed to make more and more store-bought edible items and beverages sweeter.
And its popularity is growing rapidly.
Monk Fruit: Revered for Centuries
Monk fruit, also known as swingle fruit, originates from the gourd family and can mainly be found in Guangxi province in China and certain areas in Thailand. The fruit is referred to as “Luo Han Guo” in the local area; it is so called because “Guo” means fruit and “Luo Han” is associated with a group of Buddhist monks thought to have utilized the fruit for medicinal purposes since the 13th century. Nowadays, the fruit is commonly known as “lo han guo” or “lo han Kuo”.
A few monks were recognized to have cultivated and used Luo han Guo for treating illnesses such as coughing, sore throats, and respiratory issues. It was also believed that consuming this substance gave immortality, so it was referred to as “the immortals’ fruit”.
The area in which monk fruit is found naturally is quite limited. Although the fruit has been grown and harvested in Guangxi for an extended period of time, there is no mention of it in the majority of texts discussing traditional Chinese medicine. For nearly a thousand years, the plant has been held in high regard in areas in which it grows naturally. In recent centuries, it has gained wider exposure and become more popular throughout China.
The fruit itself is green and round. The Serratia grosvenorii vines, which is not a Chinese title, produce this plant. The vines were given the same name as the director of the National Geographic Society in the 1930s, Gilbert Grosvenor, who authorized funding for a journey to Southeast Asia for the purpose of finding the monk fruit.
Not too long ago, monk fruit was made more accessible to people in the Western hemisphere. It was not until the latter portion of the 1900s that monk fruit extract began to be grown and employed on a wide-scale basis, due to discovering its healthy effects when it came to sweetening.
Why Can’t You Buy A Monk Fruit?
The main explanation for why it is not possible to obtain fresh monk fruit at health food stores is the lack of availability. The green fruit spoils quickly after harvest, changing to a brownish hue and becoming inedible, so it is not surprising that the demand for, and effectiveness of, newly harvested monk fruit is minimal. It is essential that the extract be dealt with quickly after it is collected to get the most out of its quality and potency.
Dried monk fruit can be used to make traditional teas, which is the reason why it can be found in certain Asian stores. The real significance of this powerhouse food, though, is the sweetener that is produced commercially.
What Makes Monk Fruit So Sweet?
In a word, mogrosides. The main element discovered in monk fruit are these natural elements; the glucose-based substances attached to them make them much more intense than regular sugar, at least hundreds of times more so. Mogroside V is the most common version of the substance found in monk fruit.
What’s significant about mogrosides aside from their natural sweetness? After being consumed, these substances go through the digestive system without being absorbed, thus not having any impact on the amount of calories taken in. The colon is the only area of the body that can break down mogrosides, liberating the glucose to be used for energy. Research conducted on animals indicates that this has been the case, thus, researchers guess that the same is true of humans. Monk fruit’s sweetness is not due to the small amount of fructose that is also present.
Monk fruit extract does not contain any calories, carbohydrates, fat, or protein, making it a “non-nutritive” sweetener. It should be clear what the benefits are, but let’s still go over them in more detail.
Monk Fruit Extract, Diets, and Weight
No research that has been assessed and approved by experts has yet been conducted to look into the precise result monk fruit sweeteners have on people. A large amount of studies have focused on the consequences of other artificial sweeteners like aspartame (in Equal and NutraSweet), stevia, and sucralose (Splenda).
The most alluring research for people is likely related to potential weight reduction. The jury’s still out on that subject, though.
Some reports indicate that artificial sweeteners may be linked to weight gain, bigger waistline measurements, obese conditions, and related health issues.
It has been suggested that there is no definite conclusion regarding the effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on weight.
Research has determined that replacing regular sugar or products with artificial sweeteners containing calories with NNS alternatives can lead to small but noticeable weight loss, reductions in waist size, and body mass index. This has been verified through randomized controlled trials, the most reliable form of research.
What are the implications of all this apparently contradictory research?
Specialists’ most reliable verdict – depending on exploration, obviously – is that those who turn to zero-calorie or low-calorie sweeteners are probably going to change different parts of their eating routine and physical movement designs also. The utilization of NNS in unison with other alterations is probably what will cause some degree of weight reduction. It is a judicious decision; we are all cognizant with people who request a no-calorie soda with their double cheeseburger and chips and grouse incessantly that they are not able to slim down.
There’s a related possibility, too. Some researchers think that when people on a diet eat desserts or drink sodas with non-nutritive sweeteners, they are not so inclined to make other changes in their eating habits. Essentially, they are still consuming unhealthful food, exchanging full-calorie soda or treats for the ones that have no calories. It has been proposed that there might be a connection between the consumption of sugar substitutes with no or low calories and an increase in one’s cravings for food and sugar. However, there is no scientific evidence that supports this theory.
Artificial Sweeteners: Weight Gain and Other Side Effects
Evidence has demonstrated that the utilization of artificial sweeteners can lead to an increase in weight, and cause neurological impacts as well as other issues. In the past few years, numerous studies have revealed the harmful effects that sugar can have on our wellbeing. Governments have given the OK for artificial sweeteners to be used in a misguided effort to help people lessen their sugar intake and reduce weight, with an aim to enhance our well-being. We have attempted to simultaneously have our cake and consume it, but in reality, artificial sweeteners have had the exact contrary outcome of what was initially expected. Rather than aiding us, they have only inflicted damage upon us.
I have previously discussed the trend of low-fat consumption on multiple occasions: people used to think fat was bad, however it has become apparent that all the low-fat advice we have been given was inaccurate. I am concerned that if no action is taken, 20 to 30 years down the line, the situation with artificial sweeteners will remain the same and in the interim, have severe impacts on the health of many people.
Calorie-free sweeteners play a major role in the ideology of having a low-fat diet. Even though there is a lot of evidence that proves that fat is really important for health, people still refuse to give up their artificial sweeteners. A study conducted on 17,000 people in recent times revealed that consumption of artificial sweeteners in children had increased dramatically – by two times – since 1999. Additionally, 2 year olds were reported to be consuming them weekly. An increase of 54% of artificial sweetener intake was observed among adults within the same timeframe.
This is an issue that has sparked debate among health professionals and people who use the services, and it is no secret that I am not averse to controversy. Today, I want to delve into the matter of artificial sweeteners and explain why I don’t think they should be a component of a healthier lifestyle. I feel strongly about this subject and thought it was time to voice my opinion.
How Do Artificial Sweeteners Impact Our Health?
Artificial sweeteners are not food. They are completely synthetic. Any man-made items or substances ingested that aren’t naturally occurring will add to the amount of toxins within the body. Any substance residing inside the cells of our body for an extended duration could have the potential to damage our DNA. When our genetic material within our cells becomes scrambled, and we consistently ingest nourishment that is not beneficial to our health, we lack the capability to right the wrong. If the choices we make in our day-to-day lives – such as the food we consume, the amount of stress we experience, how physically active we are, our digestion patterns, and our sleep patterns – do not support the maintenance of our DNA, the structuring of our cell membranes, and the effectiveness of our waste excretions (our bowels, skin, liver, kidneys, and lungs), we will be gradually creating conditions for illness.
Here is some additional information regarding the effects of artificial sweeteners on our wellbeing.
Weight Gain + Obesity
Health care providers and members of the general population regard artificial sweeteners as a calorie-free alternative and believe that consuming them in our diet can lead to weight loss and stave off obesity. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened. A thorough analysis of studies involving more than 400,000 individuals revealed that the use of artificial sweeteners is connected to a heightened danger of weight gain, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome.
This was not the only research that came to this same decision. A research study conducted during the 1980s that analyzed the data gathered from more than 3,000 local citizens of San Antonio, Texas concluded that those who consumed two or more beverages containing artificial sweeteners were twice as likely to be overweight or obese in comparison to those who did not drink such drinks. A research conducted for twelve months involving 78,694 females revealed that those consuming artificial sweeteners had a greater possibility of gaining weight than those who abstained.
A research performed in the late-90s of over 10,000 adolescents revealed that those who drank more artificial sweetened refreshments were more likely to have gained weight and to have a higher Body Mass Index.
If these sweeteners don’t have any calories, why do they cause us to put on weight? It doesn’t matter what the nutrition label says, what is really inside the food is what is important. Our minds are tricked by artificial sweeteners, which have a sweetness to them but do not trigger the same reward system as real sweeteners like sucrose and glucose.
The scientist conducting the investigation states that although sweetness without calories can evoke some satisfaction, it is not enough to trigger the full scope of the food reward system. The hedonic component being activated may result in increased hunger. Insatisfaction due to not getting the full experience while eating can push a person to look for more food to attain satisfaction.
In other words, when we experience something that tastes sweet, our brains and bodies anticipate the added calories. When they don’t, we keep looking for them. Using artificial sweeteners may temporarily fulfill our cravings for something sweet without raising our glucose levels, but this ruse could lead to us wanting something else soon afterwards since our body was expecting to get some energy from actual food. Therefore, consuming sodas with artificial sweeteners can result in continuous drinking or continuous eating, both of which can become habits that are hard to break.
Cancer + Tumors
Studies done mostly on animals show that ingesting artificial sweeteners can lead to tumor growth and the development of cancer. Some of this research includes:
- Researchers of this study linked the rise in brain tumor rates to increased consumption of artificial sweeteners.
- Aspartame-induced lung and liver cancer in mice, particularly in males.
- Aspartame fed to rats caused an increase in tumors and lymphoma-leukemias.
- This 2007 study asked the FDA to reconsider its position on artificial sweeteners based on the risks found in animal models.
- This study of mice concluded that aspartame impacts the tumor suppressor genes that protect cells from cancer.