Know your sugars: Monk fruit

Depending on the type of diet you are following there are certain types of sugar that you could use without worries. According to the International Food Information Council Foundation, monk fruit is around 150–200 times sweeter than sugar.

Monkfruit is a super friendly sugar!

Monk fruit pros

Contains no calories, which is helpful for those on diets with caloric restrictions. Contains no carbohydrates which is great for low-carb or keto diets. It has no sugar, which means that consuming it will not affect blood sugar levels. There are no harmful side effects reported, in fact it is believed that monk fruit sweeteners may have some health benefits as antioxidants and as blood sugar levels regulators in Diabetes.

Monk fruit cons

Monk fruit is native to regions of Southeast Asia, including some parts of Thailand and China. Fresh monk fruit spoils rather quickly, so growing it and exporting it is difficult and expensive, which affect the availability in the market.

Other ingredients. Some manufacturers balance the taste of monk fruit by mixing it with other sugars, such as maltodextrin or dextrose. This can change the sweetener's nutritional profile and make it unsafe or undesirable for some people.

Tip:

Read your labels! Avoid any Monk fruit that is combined with ingredients such as: inulin, dextrose, maltitol, maltodextrin.