A Spoon Full of Monk Fruit Makes the Medicine Go Down

Filed Under Uncategorized on August 9, 2012

If you’re looking to cut back on your sugar intake (and let’s face it, most of us are or should be), you may find yourself turning to an artificial or alternative sweetener to get your sweet fix. Right now, there are more options than ever at the store, including Splenda (also known as sucralose), stevia, agave, raw sugar, Sweet’n Low (saccharin), Nutrasweet (aspartame), sugar alcohols (xylitol), etc.

Even with the plethora of options available, I feel that we have yet to find the “perfect” artificial sweetener, meaning one that a.) tastes like sugar and b.) is undoubtedly safe to consume. While it is true that aspartame, Splenda, sugar alcohols, and other artificial sweeteners are approved by the FDA as “generally recognized as safe” to consume, many still have their doubts. For instance, Sweet’n Low is made with sodium cyclamate instead of saccharin, because saccharin (which is allowed in US foods) has not been allowed as a food additive in Canada since the 1970s. In addition to this, there has been other research performed on artificial sweeteners throughout the world that suggest a potentially carcinogenic or toxic effect in laboratory animals. While this may not translate directly into meaning artificial sweeteners are unsafe for humans, the thought can be frightening. Finally, most researchers agree that we don’t have a lot of data concerning long term usage of these sweeteners, thus it is impossible to know for sure that there aren’t any safety issues.

Due to the growing skepticism of the safety of these sweeteners, many food manufacturers are turning to nature to find a more natural solution. Consider the mass marketing and selling of stevia, which comes from an ancient plant grown and used as a sweetener in South America for centuries. Stevia is undeniably popular and more products are being made using stevia, such as sodas and candies. However, not everyone is impressed by stevia, even if it does claim to be more “natural” due to its sometimes bitter aftertaste. Furthermore, there have also been studies linking stevia to having a mutagenic effect inside the body, which caused it to be banned in the early 1990’s in the US.

But now there is a new artificial sweetener in town, and so far, things are looking promising. Monk fruit is small gourd-like fruit that has been cultivated and used in traditional Chinese medicine for years as both a sweetener and a medicine. To get a sweet tasting sugar alternative, food manufacturers can obtain a concentrate from its juice and mix it in with a sugar alcohol to get a powder form that ends up being much sweeter than regular sugar.

One of the first major brands to do this is Nectresse, which comes from the makers of Splenda. Nectresse is made from the monk fruit extract blended with other natural sweeteners (erythritol, sugar and molasses). Currently, you can buy Nectresse in packet or canister form.

But is Nectresse really a no calorie sweetener? How can that be? According to the company, “Like other no-calorie sweeteners, NECTRESSE™ Sweetener contains a small amount of carbohydrate (1-2 grams per serving) from other food ingredients to provide needed volume and texture. These food ingredients, which include small amounts of erythritol, sugar, and molasses, contribute so few calories per serving that NECTRESSE™ Natural No Calorie Sweetener Products meet the FDA’s criteria for no-calorie foods (<5 calories/serving)”.

When I was scanning the aisles at Walmart a couple of weeks ago, I came across the Nectresse packets and was curious, so I bought some. I have given a few out to coworkers, who have said that they like the taste more than Splenda or stevia due to the absence of an aftertaste. Although I have only used Nectresse a couple times since its purchase, it seems to work fine for me and I can’t detect an aftertaste or off-putting taste either. Another bonus for Nectresse? According to their website, you can also cook with it, meaning that its heat stable. And if you’ve ever tried baking with stevia, you’ll know what I mean when I say that I’m excited to be able to use monk fruit extract instead.

But great taste aside – is monk fruit extract safe and better to consume than sugar? I tried doing a little research myself and came up with a whole lot of nothing. Even a Google of monk fruit pops up only a few websites, most of which are for the food manufacturers of monk fruit, therefore their information is obviously going to be biased. And as for long term usage, we are only going off the fact that monk fruit is safe since it’s been used in Asian medicine for years. Which is somewhat reassuring, but still not enough for me to throw my weight behind it and declare it “the perfect sweetener”.

So will I be using Nectresse or another monk fruit sweetener in the future? Sure, but like my usage with stevia, I want to keep it to a minimum. If research does prove us to be wrong about these substances, I want to feel less worried knowing that I didn’t consume these in excess.

So what artificial or alternative sweetener do YOU use? And does anyone have any more info about monk fruit that I don’t? I’m curious to see what research might find in the future…

Stay sweet,

Xoxo

Tori

P.S. I have some guest posts in the works – pretty excited!

And if I can be shameless and self promoting for a minute, I was quoted in an article for Yahoo Shine, which is a section of their website devoted to healthy living news. Check it out at http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/7-tips-help-child-live-healthier-211200369.html

11 Comments so far
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Great post. Like you, I always turn to the published literature first, which can often times yield no results because products are introduced so much more rapidly than peer-reviewed science can keep up with. I am personally not a big fan of the “natural is better” argument often used for these newer sugar substitutes simply because “natural” is not a regulated word, nor does it automatically mean the item is safer or better. I always respond to inquiries by saying, “poison ivy is natural…would you eat that” and then simply suggesting people use sugar and artificial sugars and “natural” sugar substitutes sparingly. Looking forward to the guest posts you have lined up!

Hi Tori,

Nectresse (from the makers of Spenda!) is a really nice product wrapped up in casserole of very questionable primary ingredients. There is VERY LITTLE Monk Fruit Extact in Nectresse. The primary ingredient is Erythritol (an inexpensive sugar alcohol derived from Corn, which is commonly GMO), Sugar (Tate & Lyle has been selling Sugar for MANY YEARS, and GM Sugar Beets are certainly common), the third ingredient is Monk Fruit Extract, and the fourth ingredient is Molasses-which is also more than likely derived from Genetically Modified Sugar Beets. So where is the “Non-GMO Statement” from Nectresse? No where I can find, and for me, Monk Fruit Extract is tremendous, but the “Splendized version of Monk Fruit” is nothing more than a little monk fruit and a whole lot of unfavorable other stuff.
I didn’t think I would see it, but a great product has been turned into a pig. Monk Fruit is a superstar, and will FLY PAST anything Stevia or Rebiana A can deliver, but if you mix it with dirt, it is going to be a dirty product. Simple.

I was also very concerned about the other components of Nectresse, such as the erythritol and the sugar, so I e-mailed “Splenda” and asked them myselfl So unless I am not reading the email correctly Nectresse does not contain GMO ingredients, and it’s delicious. Here’s my reply:

consumerrelations@mccus.jnj.com

Dear Ms. XXXXX

Thank you for contacting the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. Information Center. It is always important to hear from our consumers, and we appreciate the time you have taken to contact us.

The ingredients in NECTRESSE™ Natural No Calorie Sweetener are not derived from genetically modified foods.

Again, thank you for your interest in our company. Should you have any comments or questions in the future, please contact us via our website http://www.nectresse.com or by calling our toll-free number, 1-800-777-5363. Our specialists are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. EST and will be happy to assist you.

Roberta M.
Consumer Care Center

012414378A

I just bought Nevella Monk fruit to go- I actually haven’t tried it yet, but I did read the ingredients which are: Water, Monk fruit extract, malic acid, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate… these all looked familiar to me, and seeing that the monk fruit was close to the top of the list I’m hoping for the best! Thank you for your post I came across it while looking to see if I should actually consume what I just decided to buy.

Tori, thanks for your post. It is crazy how hopeful we as society can get about the possibility of a zero calorie sweetener! When you consider that if you cut out 100 calories per day in your diet, that over 10 years, that would be 10 pounds…so we cut calories where ever we can. I’ve been using Stevia, but sparingly, I hadn’t known about it’s possible mutagenic effects.
Regarding Lauren’s post, be wary of ingredients just because they sound familiar. Anything in the benzene family..so the sodium benzoate are known carcinogins. When it doubt google the ingredients.

sorry correction to my last post — cutting 100 calories per day for ONE year is 10 pounds!

Hi,

Thanks for the great post. I was surprised to see Nectresse in my grocery store and came upon your site when doing the research. Looking at the nutrition panel, it reminded me of the Stevia in the Raw packets where Stevia is mixed with Dextrose and the amount of Dextrose is about 1g yet the total size of the packet is about 1g!

Regarding Stevia, there were a few studies showing it to be a weak mutagen but nothing ever considered harmful. The reason it was banned was a bit different and more controversial. I outlined it on my site in a review of Sweetleaf drops: http://healthyeating.isyourpassion.com/2012/08/15/whats-in-my-refrigerator-part-i/#more-16

While I too am concerned about what I ingest, I have recently discovered that McNeil Nutritionals, the makers of Splenda and its sub products do animal testing and have killed several thousands of animals from monkeys to Beagle Puppies. This is all from published sources. I think I prefer sugar and calories then the deaths of puppies on my head. Thank you Tori for your very informative post.

Excellent blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.

Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for
a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally confused .. Any tips? Cheers!

Several manufacturer’s in China produce a highly concentrated extract of Luo Han Guo (Monk fruit). Based on my research, this extract concentrates the sweet part of the fruit which is an antioxidant called mogroside. I recently purchased a kilo of luo han guo extract with 80% mogrosides from NutraMax in China. It was delivered with detailed component analysis. Concentrations of the extract can be had up to 95% as well. All of the US products claiming to be “Luo Han Guo” actually have a very small percentage of it. US manufacturer’s start with a standardized 7% extract and then add other sweeteners such a xyllitol and Dextrose as the main ingredients. They then call this mixture “Luo Han Guo”.

Hello! I’ve been reading your website for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Atascocita Texas! Just wanted to mention keep up the good work!

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I am Tori, a twenty something registered dietitian and vegetarian who enjoys life, love, and most of all NUTRITION. This blog is my space to share my passion for healthy eating and overall wellness. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again!

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