Is Monk Fruit Safe and Healthier Than Stevia?

Monk fruit and stevia are some of the most popular natural alternatives to refined sugar. Sweeteners made from both monk fruit and stevia are considered plant-based, natural alternatives to other sugars.

Monk fruit and stevia are some of the most popular natural alternatives to refined sugar. They give foods and drinks a sweet taste while adding little to no calories to the diet. Since both are plant-based, they have similar nutrient profiles, properties, and health benefits, but compared to monk fruit sweeteners, which are totally safe, studies have found some minor side effects of stevia. Moreover, they have different costs and tastes, which you may also want to consider when choosing an artificial sweetener.

Monk fruit is a small, sub-tropical melon native to southern China. It’s named after the Buddhist monks who first grew it in remote Chinese mountains around 800 years ago.

The scientific name of this fruit is Siraitia grosvenorii. Some people also call it luo han guo or swingle. Artificial sweeteners are made from the extract of this fruit.

Monk fruit sweeteners are extremely sweet, just like other no-calorie sweeteners. Experts suggest that they may be 100 to 250 times sweeter than traditional sugar. This means you would need very small amounts of these to get the kind of sweetness that you would get from tabletop sugar. 

You can find these sweeteners being sold in liquid, powder, and granular forms. Monk fruit sweeteners are used in dairy products, soft drinks, condiments, candies desserts, and many other kinds of packaged foods and drinks. You can also use them during baking since they remain stable at high temperatures. However, keep in mind that besides adding sweetness, sugar also affects the texture and volume of the baked product, so check if your recipe would be affected before replacing sugar with monk fruit sweeteners. 

Monk fruit sweeteners are free of calories, carbohydrates, and sugars. However, they do contain some active chemicals, the most important of which are mogrosides. These are non-nutritive molecules, which are responsible for the distinct sweetness of monk fruit. Depending on their levels, the fruit can have varying amounts of sweetness. 

Since monk fruit extract is very sweet, manufacturers often mix it with different sugars like dextrose to balance out its intense taste. Moreover, if your sweetener looks and tastes like table sugar, chances are good that it has erythritol. This is a kind of sugar alcohol that has zero calories per gram.

Monk fruit has been used for centuries in Asian countries as a sugar substitute and herbal medicine. As per traditional Chinese medicine journals, the extract of this fruit has several health-boosting properties, which include:

• Antitussive (anti-cough) effects
• Liver-protecting effects
• Anti-asthmatic effects
• Immune-regulatory effects
• Anti-cancer effects 

Some animal studies show that the mogrosides in monk fruit have potent antioxidative effects. Antioxidants protect your cells from free radical damage and reduce the risk of many chronic disorders. However, more human-based studies are needed to understand if the sweeteners made from this fruit have any similar effects. 

Monk fruit extracts have also shown promise as an effective treatment for diabetes. Studies done on animals have found mogrosides to be helpful in lowering blood sugar levels. However, further research is needed to assess their effect on humans. 

Since monk fruit sweeteners are calorie-free, you may also benefit from them if you’re trying to maintain or lose weight.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given monk fruit extracts and erythritol a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status. Moreover, both animal and human studies have found no side effects of monk fruit sweeteners. Experts suggest that these can be safely taken by children and  expecting women, as well as breastfeeding mothers.

However, there are some drawbacks of this fruit, which may stop you from replacing sugar with monk fruit sweeteners:

1. You may not find monk fruit sweeteners easily in the market, as their fruit is hard to grow and costly to export. There is also a good chance that you may find them more expensive than other artificial sweeteners.
2. You may not like the taste of the sweetener, as it differs from that of regular table sugar. You may also not like its aftertaste, which many consider unpleasant.
3. When manufacturers mix other sugars with monk fruit extracts, that makes the processed end-product less natural. This may affect the nutritional profile of the sweeteners and make them unsafe for some people. 

The Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plant — or stevia, as commonly called — is native to some countries of South America, such as Paraguay and Brazil. Due to the leaf’s sweet taste, it’s also known by names like candyleaf, sugarleaf, and honeyleaf. 

Reports suggest that the sweeteners made from this plant are 200 to 400 times sweeter than regular table sugar. This is why you should use them in very small amounts while sweetening your foods and drinks.

People in Asia have been commercially using stevia plant extract as a sugar substitute for over two decades. Per the Global Stevia Institute, people in various countries of Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia also use this extract as a food additive.

Manufacturers extract the sweetener from the stevia leaf and purify it before selling it commercially. This is because neither the leaf nor the plant extract is considered safe for oral consumption. However, you can safely add commercially available liquid, granular, and powdered stevia sweeteners to your diet.

Research shows that the stevia plant contains hundreds of phytochemicals. The most significant among them are steviol glycosides — chemicals that give stevia its distinct sweet taste.

There are various kinds of steviol glycosides including rebaudioside A (Reb A), rebaudioside D (Reb D), and stevioside, among others. The stevia sweeteners that you find in the market contain highly purified extracts of one or more of these steviol glycosides. 

Among their other nutrients, stevia sweeteners contain neither sugar, carbohydrates, or calories. This is why they’re often called non-nutritive sweeteners and zero-calorie sweeteners, just like monk fruit sweeteners. 

Studies have found various health benefits of stevia leaves. They have been shown to be helpful in treating.

• Diabetes-related obesity
• Heart diseases
• Hypertension
• Microbial infection
• Oxidative and free radical damage

However, research is still needed to understand if the sweeteners have similar effects on humans. 

You might also benefit from stevia if you plan to follow a ketogenic or low-calorie diet. As calorie-free sweeteners, they may help you to lose weight and avoid obesity and other related medical conditions.

Whether or not you will face any major side effects depends upon the form of stevia that you plan to use.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not consider raw stevia extract or its whole leaf safe enough to be used as a food additive. Stevia, in its natural form, has negative effects on blood sugar, as well as on the urinary, reproductive, and cardiovascular systems. Some studies also indicate that taking raw stevia — containing the impure form of steviol glycosides — can lead to allergic reactions.

On the other hand, the FDA has given the GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status to a few refined stevia products, which contain highly purified extracts of steviol glycosides. These products are marketed as stevia sweeteners.

However, some studies suggest that even stevia sweeteners can have side effects. Scientists have found that stevia can affect the good bacteria in your gut. This can lead to gas, bloating, nausea, and other digestive issues.

Besides such health risks, stevia also has these other drawbacks, which may stop you from buying it: 

• As was in the case of monk fruit, you may find it hard to obtain stevia sweeteners. Chances are good that you may also find them costlier than other artificial sweeteners.
• Since stevia sweeteners are known to leave a bitter and metallic aftertaste, you may not feel like taking them again after having them once.
• Just like monk fruit sweeteners, stevia sweeteners are also often mixed with other sugars to get a more balanced taste. This may make the end-product undesirable for you if you wish to have a more natural alternative to sugar.

Sweeteners made from both monk fruit and stevia are considered plant-based, natural alternatives to other sugars. They have many similarities, especially when it comes to their benefits, availability, and nutrient profile. 

To choose one, you need to consider these factors that differ between them:

• Cost
• Taste
• Side effects 

If you wish to make a choice based on their cost and aftertaste, try both of them and see which one suits your budget and tastes better. 

However, if you want a safer option, then monk fruit sweeteners may be a better choice. They have many health benefits, and studies have found no side effects. On the contrary, stevia sweeteners have been found to cause digestive problems and allergic reactions in some people.

Also, keep in mind that (based on your medical history) you may have an adverse reaction to a sweetener that others may find safe. Before buying one of them, talk to a doctor, who may be able to confirm if a sweetener would meet your health needs.