Fun Fact

Low-Calorie Sweeteners

What are Monk Fruit Sweeteners?

Monk fruit sweeteners, also known as lo han guo, originate from a small round fruit grown in Southeast Asia. By removing the seeds and skin, then crushing the fruit and collecting the juice, the sweet flavor of monk fruit is extracted for use in foods and beverages to help reduce calories

from sugar without sacrificing flavor.

Monk fruit is the primary sweetener in brand names like Monk Fruit in the Raw® and PureLo®.

What’s in a Name?

How many Calories?

Monk fruit extract has no calories.

Some sweeteners are “low-calorie” contributing negligible amounts of calories. Some are “no-calorie” contributing zero calories.

While monk fruit sweeteners provide zero calories, packets or products containing monk fruit sweeteners can have calories. Sometimes ingredients with calories are added for flavor or texture. When this occurs, the amount of these ingredients added per serving is so small that their calorie contribution is low.

Is it Safe?

Yes, monk fruit extract is safe to consume.

Monk fruit extract is one of 8 low- and no-calorie sweeteners permitted by the FDA for use in the US food supply. Each of the 8 have been rigorously tested and reviewed.

Who says it’s safe? Leading global health authorities such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and Health Canada.

Beginning in 2010, the FDA lists monk fruit extract as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).

http://bit.ly/MonkFruitGRASnotice

A little goes a long way. Because monk fruit sweeteners are

100-250 times sweeter than sugar, only a tiny amount is needed to replace sugar while keeping the same level of sweetness.

Sugar Monk Fruit Sweetener

Sweet as Sugar?

1

FDAFSANZHealth Canada

100-250

foodinsight.org

@FoodInsight

@FoodInsight & @FACTSFollowers

Sources: FDA:http://bit.ly/MonkFruitFDA

IFIC Foundation: http://bit.ly/FoodInsightMonkFruit

Walter T. Swingle (1941). "Momordica grosvenori sp. nov.: The source of the Chinese Lo Han Kuo". Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 22: 197–203

The scientific species name for monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii) honors Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, the former president of the National Geographic Society who helped fund the 1930’s expedition to find the plant in its natural habitat in China.

Monk fruit is said to be named after Buddhist monks who grew the fruit eight centuries ago in mountainous regions of Southern China.