Projected to reach $9.6 billion by 2026, the artificial sweetener industry has found a new competitor in the market: monk fruit.
Monk fruit fits right in line with the growing public consciousness of the products that consumers buy and use. It is a healthier alternative to artificial sweeteners, which makes them a pretty big deal in the market.
Read on to find out why monk fruit is the next big thing and how you can take advantage of this amazing superfood, too.
What is Monk Fruit?
Siraitia grosvenorii, better known as monk fruit, or luo han guo, is a darkened round fruit that grows on the vines of mountains in Southeast Asia. Monk fruit gets its name from monks who harvest the fruit as a part of their diet.
It turns out, monk fruit is a natural superfood that has a lot to offer the world, including a healthy natural sweetener and many health benefits.
To make monk fruit sweetener, remove the skin and seeds and press the fruit to extract the fruit’s juice. This juice is then dried into powder to sweeten.
It is not uncommon for monk fruit producers to dilute monk fruit sweeteners due to their concentrated sweetening power. When buying monk fruit products such as monk fruit extract, be sure to check the product for added ingredients.
1. Monk Fruit Sweetens But Isn’t Sugar
Though small and granular, excessive sugar in a daily diet can lead to many health problems including raised blood pressure and accumulation of fat–both of which can lead to heart disease.
One of the benefits of monk fruit is that its antioxidants–also called mogrosides–are super sweet without containing any fructose or glucose that your body needs to work hard to break down. Monk fruit sweetener is over 100 times sweeter than sugar. You only need to add a little bit to your food or drink to sweeten it.
You may wonder, how’s monk fruit vs Stevia, as they are both natural sweeteners. Monk fruit products are a good alternative to Stevia if you are allergic to plants like ragweed, chrysanthemum, daisies, and marigold. Users of Stevia have also reported experiencing side effects including sores in the mouth, dizziness, upset stomach, and unfavorable drug interactions.
2. Monk Fruit May Combat Infections
Beneficial bacteria help our body to break things down that our body cannot. This includes the bad bacteria that enter our bodies.
We are used to taking antibiotics to help with bacterial infections. However, they kill off both good and bad bacteria in the body. We need good bacteria to help keep our bodies healthy. The effect of antibiotics also weakens over time as our bodies grow resistant and tolerant to antibiotic medicine.
Monk fruit can serve as a good alternative to antibiotic medicine.
Monk fruit may have antibacterial properties that can help to fight off infections by inhibiting bacterial growth. In particular, monk fruit can be effective in treating oral infections such as gum disease and sore throats.
3. Monk Fruit May Prevent Cancer
Too much of anything can be a bad thing.
This is the case for free radicals in the body. For regular operation, free radicals are necessary for normal cellular development and processes. However, too many free radicals throughout your body can increase your chances of cancer.
Antioxidants are key to neutralizing free radicals in the body that can damage the body and create disease.
Monk fruit has highly concentrated amounts of antioxidants that give it anti-cancer properties. Monk fruit seeds and monk fruit extract also happen to have anti-carcinogenic properties. This means they are agents that can inhibit and reduce the development of cancer.
4. Monk Fruit Has Anti-Inflammatory Effects
Inflammation in the body is a sign that your body is healing. When you get a cut on your body, the surrounding skin can turn red and hurt when you touch it. Your body has signaled and sent help to the wound to help you recover.
However, prolonged inflammation, or chronic inflammation, can lead to more serious diseases including:
- heart disease
- arthritis
- Alzheimer’s
- cancer
Research shows that food can play a big part in reducing inflammation in the body.
The ancient Chinese have long used monk fruit by brewing it in tea for its powerful antioxidants and their anti-inflammatory effects. It cools the body and can also work as a natural antihistamine for allergic breakouts.
5. Monk Fruit May Fight Fatigue
Our society, which has, in a way, glorified hustle culture and “work until you can’t anymore,” is always looking for ways to fight fatigue. We take caffeine pills, drink coffee, or try out different coffee alternatives to get that extra rush of energy to help us get through work.
Studies have found that the United States is the 11th country in the world with the highest consumption of caffeine. We need more energy because we’re exhausted. We’re tired because we work so much.
Coffee lovers may find monk fruit to be a great natural alternative to drinking multiple cups of coffee per day. Studies of experimental mice that used monk fruit extract daily found that the mice had longer sustained periods of energy for exercising, as opposed to mice that had not taken the extract.
Monk fruit is not the answer to hustle culture, but it can help stave off fatigue for longer.
6. Monk Fruit Has Anti-Aging Properties
If you aren’t convinced by any of the previous health benefits of monk fruit, you may find this one satisfactory.
Monk fruit has gained a name and reputation for being the longevity fruit. It is monk fruit’s high concentration of vitamin C that gives it its powerful anti-aging properties.
Research shows that vitamin C, when applied to the skin, can help smooth wrinkles, boost collagen, reduce scarring, and provide some protection against sun damage. That is why vitamin C is such a popular ingredient in many skin care products.
Monk fruit provides a powerful punch of vitamin C, au naturale. That’s high-quality, low-cost skincare for you.
Monk Fruit: A Natural Superfood
Monk fruit is a natural superfood with the power to heal people through food. It is not only a natural sweetener, but it comes with many health benefits that the ancient Chinese monks have enjoyed for years.
Of course, there is more to be learned about this fruit. However, monk fruit benefits seem promising, making it the next big superfood.
For more health tips, check out more articles from our blog!
