IT WAS onerous to consider I used to be consuming a lemon. Earlier, I had let a tiny, tasteless pill linger on my tongue, the dried powder of a fruit from the Synsepalum dulcificum shrub from West Africa often called the miracle berry. Once I later bit on a slice of lemon, it was vivid sweetness relatively than sourness that stuffed my mouth.

In Benin, the berry has lengthy been used to sweeten tart meals, due to a protein in its pulp that briefly prompts candy style receptors within the mouth within the presence of acids. Now it could possibly be destined for international greatness as a key participant in our quest to search out more healthy methods to fulfill our candy cravings.

Everyone knows that an excessive amount of sugar is dangerous for us, driving an epidemic of weight problems and sort 2 diabetes. So, as a substitute, many meals and drinks include alternate options, resembling aspartame, stevia and sucralose, to supply supposedly guilt-free sweetness. More and more, although, these merchandise have been embroiled in controversy. In Could, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised against their use for weight control and averting kind 2 diabetes – issues that they’d beforehand been thought to assist with.

Now we’re gaining a clearer thought of precisely how these sweeteners have an effect on our well being, and the door has opened to a brand new wave of plant-derived alternate options. Sweeteners primarily based on the miracle berry, a uncommon sugar from figs and a brand new sort of sugar crystal are all vying to take the highest spot. Will they supply a wholesome option to sate our cravings, or do we have to rethink our relationship with…