A few weeks ago
saw an odd little canister in a grocery store on the baking aisle. It was called Nevella Monk Fruit . I had never heard of a monk fruit before. So I hit up Wikipedia and and learned that is has been used as a sweetener and for medicinal purposes for centuries in China. The liquid monk fruit to go is zero calories and zero carbs which is great for my low carb paleo diet.Let me share my thoughts on this product.
Taste Test
My first test of this product was the plain test. I tried a drop on my finger. It taste amazingly like normal table sugar with a slight “fruity” after taste. Much better than the horrible aftertaste those not used to diet drinks get. I no longer get the aftertaste with them but can tell it from different artificial sweeteners. For those that want to sweeten without aftertaste or calories this would pass the taste test.
Traditional Use
There are records that date back to the 13th century being used by the luóhàn monks. Traditionally the fruit was dried and sold in herbal shops. Also the drying process has to occur quickly after the fruit matures or it develops off taste. In its medical use it seemed to have many uses. Some of the uses was to extend life span, help respiratory conditions, reduce body temperature, cure headaches and boost the immune system. Modern scientific research into medicinal uses are lacking but monk fruit is high in Vitamin C which would account for the immune boost at least.
My thoughts
I held off on this article until I had a few weeks with the Monk fruit. The first time I used it was in my coffee. I put just a little in to give it a little sweetness. It tasted pretty good. Normally I always drink my coffee black and enjoys the bitterness. Shortly after though I developed a headache. Which I thought could have been something else. I think though now after having it several more times with accompanying headaches most of them I must be the Monk Fruit. I tried some more on my finger today for this article and am now as writing getting a headache. I find this pretty odd since traditional it has been used to treat headaches. Maybe it is I’m using too much or just random. So as a warning it may give you a headache. I tried to find other cases but I seem to be the only one. At the price of around $2 it might be worth a try. For the occasional sweetness I might keep it around till I use it all. I’ll say this is not the magic sweetener bullet but maybe worth a try.
Have you tried Monk Fruit? What did you think? Did you get a headache? Let me know in the comments!
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