3 Dangers of Monk Fruit Sweetener for Health – Recommendation Intake

Monk fruit is a small melon with green color originated from Southern of China. It is named after the monk that planted it first back in the days. The fruit came from the family of Cucurbitaceae (gourd). Another common name used for the fruit is luo han guo or lo han kuo. Monk fruit is well known in Traditional Chinese Medicine since a long time ago. The fruit itself is usually harvested in green and left to dry until it become brown.

The reason for the rare occasion to use it in the fresh form is because it is hard to store. Monk fruit become a hit in 2010 and since then has grown in popularity. The main reason is because it is one of the famous natural sweetener.

Nowadays, people tend to consume less sugar and shift to natural sweetener. And monk fruit sweetener is one the popular choice chosen by people. The sweetener itself made from extraction of the dried fruit. The extract is way more sweeter up to 150-250 times greater than table sugar. It also has none of carbs and calories. But, along with its benefits, it also has some dangers surrounding it. There will be 5 dangers of monk fruit sweetener covered in this article. You can also read Dangers of Durian Fruit If You Eat It Too Much.

1. Monk Fruit Allergies

There are a few people who have an allergic effect from the monk fruit. Although it is a rare phenomenon, there is still a risk with allergic effect from anything you consume. The Monk fruit is included. Monk fruit itself is known as the gourd family.

As mentioned above, the fruit originated from the family of Cucurbitaceae. This family also consists of other fruits, such as squash, pumpkin, cucumbers, and melons. The risk of monk fruit can become higher to you whenever you are having allergic to other gourds. There are several signs of allergic caused by the monk fruit, such as:

• Having difficult to breathe
• Dizziness
• Swollen tongue
• Dizziness
• Having stomach pain or vomiting
• Your skin starts having rash or hives

You may also read about Side Effects of Wolfberry for Health You Need to Consider.

2. Additional Sweetener

Some of the marketed monk fruit sweetener has some additional sweetener mixed. It was done to create a balance on the sweetness. Some of fillers that are commonly used to blend with is dextrose and molasses. Dextrose itself is made from starchy plants. In which usually corns are broken down into monosaccharides.

The process occurred by the help of enzymes to be a lesser extent acids. If you have some allergic reactions to corn, it is possible you will also have an allergic reaction to dextrose. Although it is sometimes mistaken as being natural for its source, but it is in fact still processed.

The substance can lead into an increased in blood glucose if used in a long time. But, do not worry since there are already companies that offered a pure extract of monk fruit. For more information about fruits you can also read Dangerous Fruits for Diabetes Need to Be Aware. 

3. Small Amount of Study in the Fruit

Because of they have not been so long in the United States of America, they were not being well studied in humans as other sweeteners in the market. Some of the researches have proven more about the good side for using the monk fruit as sweetener rather than the bad side. For this fruit to be accustomed for being consumed by the people, it will need more research to study about the bad effect of this fruit.

Monk fruit itself is hard to find in anywhere. It becomes a challenge to grow, harvest, or dry this fruit. There are some complicated ways to process and import monk fruit. So, it is not a coincidence that this fruit becomes more expensive than their natural contemporaries. It can only be found in Asia, especially in China. It is mainly produced in Guangxi and commonly collected in Fall.

Mostly, the people collect them all when they are turning their own color from light green to dark green. It needs to be dried at the fire and get rid of the hair. Since not a lot of people familiar with this fruit, it will take some time to blend in with the taste of the fruit.  

Recommendation Intake & Tips

There is still no exact recommendation for fruit monk sweetener intake. The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for the sweetener has not been set yet. The reason for that is because only few studies concerned about the safety of monk fruit sweetener. There has been not much research conducted to study more about the monk fruit, especially its function as a sweetener. But, in general the sweetener is considered as a good option to limit dietary sugar.

You can sweeten a lot of things with the monk fruit sweetener. It includes:

• coffee
• lemonade
• sauces
• smoothies
• yogurt
• frostings
• oatmeal

There are many things you can create with the monk fruit as its ingredients. The sweetener is well known for stable in heat and can be used for baked goods. Therefore, you can try and experiment with the use of monk fruit sweetener. Some ideas that you can search more for the recipe is:

• monk fruit chocolate brownies
• carrot orange bread
• low-carb blueberry cheese cake bars
• sugar free caramelized almonds
• keto donuts with brown butter glaze

You can also get more information about recipes from the article of How To Make Infused Water For Diet.

That is all for 3 Dangers of Monk Fruit Sweetener, as one of the most used sweetener by people. Although the benefits have been spread mouth-to-mouth, it is important to conduct more research on the fruit. The research should cover the scientific benefits, dangers and also the acceptable daily intake.

If you want to know more about the dangers on certain activities, you can read the following articles of Dangers of Using Too Much Mouthwash and Dangers of Morning Sleep For Pregnant Women.