A Tale of Two Sweeteners: Part 2 — Nectresse

By Amy Campbell Thanks to all who submitted comments and questions on last week's posting about Splenda. What a great response! This week, I'll focus on the other sweetener made by McNeil Nutritionals called Nectresse. Nectresse Nectresse is the brand name of a relatively new sweetener that is sometimes called monk fruit extract or luo han guo (or kuo). Monk fruit (also known as Buddha fruit) is a melon-like gourd that is found in China and Northern Thailand. It got its name from the monks that cultivated it hundreds of years ago, and the fruit was somewhat of a folk remedy to help treat certain ailments, such as coughing and constipation. Most fruits are sweet, but the reason that monk fruit is used as a base for a sweetener is because it contains antioxidants called mogrosides. Mogrosides are 200 to 500 times sweeter than regular sugar. BioVittoria, a company headquartered in New Zealand, has been able to develop a process to extract the mogroside from the monk fruit. A study published in 2009 looked at one type of mogroside called mogroside V, and found it to be a low-glycemic-index sweetener with a positive effect on stimulating insulin secretion. Mogroside V is the one that is used in monk fruit extract. This extract, which is in powder form, is calorie- and carbohydrate-free, and has no effect on blood glucose levels. Also, the powdered extract is heat stable and can be stored for long periods of time without changes in taste or smell. Nectresse contains monk fruit ex...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs