Hi Friends!
A few weeks ago, I posted an article talking about how I have recently lost 25 pounds and all the changes I have been making to my diet. In that article, I mentioned how much I am obsessed with Monk Fruit extract as a sugar replacement. In passing, I mentioned that I could easily write an entire post talking about it! My friend 
Disclaimer: I am not a nutrition specialist. I am simply sharing my experience of using monk fruit and am sharing some of the research I have discovered.
Well… there are a few. Most are heavily processed and difficult for your body to digest. One of the biggest problems from a health perspective though – is that even though they do not contain sugar, the sweet taste can trick your body into your thinking you are consuming sugar. This can result in a spike in your glycemic index… and the inevitable “sugar crash”.
One of the largest touted benefits of Monk Fruit, is that your body does not view it as sugar, and thus does not impact your glycemic index.
Obviously Stevia is going to be a more natural option than their chemical counterparts Splenda or Aspartame. I personally cannot stand the taste of Stevia though – and so that was never an option for me. Even though I am aiming to eat healthier, I am a foodie at heart and won’t accept a substitute into my diet unless I actually think it tastes good.
Monk Fruit has a pretty “generic” sweet taste. Almost like sugar – where it is sweet without too many of its own distinct flavors. The main difference I have noticed between sugar and monk fruit is that sugar has a better impact on the palette. Sugar seems to hit the front end of your flavor palette, and so you get the sweet taste right away. I don’t notice monk fruit until it hits the back of my palette. It’s just a slightly different experience.
If everything I have mentioned above isn’t enough… this stuff is actually a Superfood?? I know… it’s crazy. It is a powerful antioxidant and can help to fight free radicals in the body. I consume it more for the flavor and lack of “sugar crash”, but it’s great to know that there are other benefits to using Monk Fruit.
Here is a chart from Dr. Axe’s website listing a few of the health benefits:
Based on my research, there have been no negative side effects ever reported. I personally have not noticed any and have been using monk fruit daily for over a month now. Monk Fruit was only just approved by the FDA in 2010, which is fairly. I personally don’t take much stock in their stamp of approval… but I wanted you guys to have all the information!
Because it is so sweet, I actually dilute it down in a dropper bottle. (pictured in the thumbnail image) I put 1 tsp in a bottle that size and fill the rest with water. This lasts me quite a while! Even though monk fruit may look expensive – it lasts for SO long that I actually think it is quite reasonable.
I substitute monk fruit anywhere I would have otherwise used sugar. For example, I put a few drop in my coffee every morning! I also use it for mixing cocktails. I’ve been playing around with making my own sweet and sour mix for margaritas using monk fruit and fresh citrus.
One of my favorite ways to use it is on my Saturday morning pancakes! 
The dry from can also be used in baking. Just be careful to calculate the conversion so that you don’t over sweeten the item.
Bahahah sorry for the dad joke there. I hope you guys found this post helpful or at least informational! You’d think I was paid to promote these guys…but I’m not. I’m just really excited about their product.
If you have any questions about Monk Fruit, please feel free to shoot them below!
Xo, Lea
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