In the growing world of fitness and health influencers pushing us towards products that are packed with sugar-free alternatives, monk fruit extract is gaining more and more traction, but why? It’s sweet, calorie-free, natural, and doesn’t spike your blood sugar. Sounds almost too good to be true, right?
Let’s deep dive into this previously unknown fruit (at least, unknown for most Australians, but hugely common in parts of Asia) and answer some questions: What exactly is monk fruit? Where did it come from? Is it healthy? And should you be eating it?
What is monk fruit?
Monk fruit is a small green melon native to southern China. It’s been used for centuries in China for its sweetness and medicinal properties (Chinese medicine would use monk fruit to treat intestinal problems and also the common cold).
But what most people are talking about when they mention monk fruit today is not the fruit itself, it’s the dried powder extract made from its flesh. This extract is about 150 to 200 times sweeter than sucrose (regular sugar), yet it contains no calories. How does it do this? It contains a group of natural compounds called mogrosides – essentially the naturally occurring antioxidants that act as the sweetener.
Unlike many other sugar substitutes, monk fruit extract has no bitter aftertaste, making it a popular choice in natural sweeteners for home bakers and also in the supermarket health food aisle.
A sweet history: monk fruit through the ages
Let’s look back to over 800 years ago at the Buddhist monks in the mountainous region of southern China – the first to cultivate and use the fruit for medicinal purposes (and potentially also as a cheeky way to sweeten their drinks!).
Traditionally, dried monk fruit was used to brew herbal teas to treat coughs and sore throats. Given how difficult it was to cultivate, the monk fruit was not traditionally documented in Chinese medicine despite its common usage in the areas it grew natively.
Despite its ancient origins, monk fruit didn’t make it to the Western world until much later. The first serious scientific interest began in the 20th century, and commercial production didn’t really take off until the 1990s and 2000s when it became more widely recognised as safe.
Nowadays, monk fruit is everywhere! It’s a readily available home ingredient, as well as commonly used in industrially manufactured foods – even yoghurts! Worth noting – at the time of writing, we don’t use monk fruit in any Five Plus Foods products.
Legal use of monk fruit across the world
To start with, yes, it is legal to use monk fruit in Australia. FSANZ (our local governing body) approved it as an ingredient in 2018.
In USA, the FDA allows the use of monk fruit. They have it listed as GRAS (generally recognised as safe). This is the term used when the governing body determines there is not enough evidence to deem it unsafe, and there is enough history and other use of a food, deeming it ok to use.
In Europe, it was only at the end of 2024 that monk fruit was classed ‘not novel’. This is the term they use to say it is approved for use in the food industry. Yes it’s recent, and may make you wonder if it’s actually safe. But ultimately, the EU approved it.
How is monk fruit extract made?
Making monk fruit extract is a fairly natural process compared to many synthetic sweeteners.
Steps:
- Harvest: Ripe monk fruits are picked and the skin and seeds are removed.
- Crushing: The fruit flesh is crushed to release its juice.
- Filtration and extraction: The juice is filtered to separate the mogrosides (remember, these are the antioxidants that give it the sweetening power) from the rest of the pulp and juice.
- Drying: The purified mogrosides are then dried into a powder.
Some commercial products mix monk fruit extract with other sweeteners to balance the intensity or to make it easier to use as a 1:1 sugar replacement. So, it’s always a good idea to check the label if you’re looking for pure monk fruit extract.
So to conclude, should you eat monk fruit extract?
In a world where sugar is linked to everything from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and poor skin, finding a sweetener that’s safe, natural, and actually tastes good is rare. We didn’t talk about it in this article, but monk fruit doesn’t have that gross artificial aftertaste like other sweeteners.
Personally, I still don’t use it. While I don’t cringe when I see it in an ingredient list the same way when I see sucralose (listed as ‘sweetener E955”), it’s not a traditional product for me. Maybe once I visit China and understand its origins better, but for now, I’ll always default to honey or maple syrup.
Where I see the benefits of monk fruit extract are as a way of satisfying the sweet tooth, for those who truly love sweetness. If you have kids that are used to sugary foods, or you just want a satisfying sweet taste, monk fruit is by far the best alternative of all the sweeteners.
The bottom line
Most of us need to reduce our sugar intake.
If you struggle cutting out sugar completely (like me), use some honey or maple syrup.
If that still isn’t enough for you, then use monk fruit extract.
(****Without going on a tangent, avoid artificial sweeteners – like the ones that pop out of tubes as tiny tablets.)