Is Monk Fruit Sweetener Healthy?

If you try cut out the sugar from your diet for any reason—blood sugar management, weight loss, the ketogenic diet—there’s an ever-widening spectrum sugar substitutes to choose between. Monk fruit sweetener stands out among the most popular options for one particularity.

“Monk fruit sweetener has zero calories, which means you can reduce the number of calories you eat in a day by using it as a sugar substitute,” he says. Sofia NortonRD.

But is monk fruit sweetener healthy? Here’s what you need to know.

What is monk fruit?

Monk fruit is a South Asian fruit, also known as luo han guowhich is usually labeled as monk fruit extract or monk fruit juice. Its extract is used as non-nutritive sweetenermeaning it contains little or no calories, carbohydrates or sugar, making it a suitable option for people with diabetes, followers keto dietor those who otherwise want to reduce their sugar intake.

3 Health benefits of monk fruit

1. Zero calories

For those who want reduce their calorie intakemonk fruit sweetener contains no calories and can help reduce any that might otherwise be consumed in the form of added sugar.

Added sugar is ubiquitous, sneaky source calories that are increasingly finding their way into the American diet. This can potentially lead to health problems over time.

So if weight loss and overall better health are among your goals, sweetening your food with monk fruit extract instead of sugar can help you enjoy the foods you crave without the added calories and sugar.

2. Keto-friendly

Because Monk fruit sweetener contains zero carbohydrates or sugar, it is suitable for people who follow a ketogenic dietwhich restricts carbohydrates to put the body into ketosis (a metabolic state during which the body uses fat instead of carbohydrates for fuel).

“Monk fruit is carbohydrate-free,” says Norton. “Only fruit contains fructose and glucose. But monk fruit as a sweetener is sold as an extract, which does not contain fructose or glucose.” That means they eat keto or those on a low carbohydrate diet you can still enjoy sweetened foods without consuming excess sugar.

3. Exponentially sweeter than sugar

At 100 to 250 times sweeter than granulated sugar, monk fruit sweetener can achieve the same sweetness at a fraction of the volume. It also has little or no effect on blood sugar levels, so it can be used to maintain healthy serum glucose.

Is Monk Fruit the Only Keto Sweetener?

Any carb-free sweetener is considered keto. Here are some other options:

• Stevia is a natural sweetener obtained from stevia rebaudiana plant that has almost zero calories and just under one gram of carbohydrates per one gram serving.
• Sugar alcohols like erythritol and xylitol are fermented from sources including wheat, corn starch, and wood sugar. They are low in calories, but can cause gastrointestinal upset in some people.
• Sucralose is a non-caloric artificial sweetener that is made from sugar, but after processing it has no calories. It is known commercially as Splenda.

Where to buy monk fruit

Although growing in popularity, monk fruit is still considered a specialty. You can find monk fruit at some health food stores, such as Whole Foods, or online. Here are some options:

• Julian Bakery Pure Monk, he Amazon.
• Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener, on Amazon.
• Monk Drops – 100% Monkfruit liquid sweetener, na Amazon.
• Monkfruit In The Raw Packets, at On The Raw.