Can Luohanguo save the fat world

Siraitia grosvenorii is a unique dual-use plant for medicine and food in China It is said that it was first discovered and applied by monks in Guilin in the 13th century, but its earliest recorded documents appeared in the Qing Dynasty It is mainly distributed in Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and other provinces in China, of which Guangxi accounts for 80% - 90% of the world's production Although New Zealand and other countries also have cultivation, they are all introduced from China or Southeast Asia In the past, Siraitia grosvenorii can only be harvested once a year With the increase of market demand, the scope of Siraitia grosvenorii planting has been expanding Moreover, through traditional breeding and field management, it has been possible to harvest two crops a year One Siraitia grosvenorii = 1 jin of white sugar Siraitia grosvenorii has a small amount of natural sugar, mainly glucose and fructose However, it is different from other fruits Its sweetness mainly comes from the glycosides in it In addition, it also provides a small amount of sweet mannitol and other ingredients In the 1970s, scientists in the United States and Japan respectively studied the sweet source of Siraitia grosvenorii and found Siraitia glucoside This is a substance called cucurbitacin triterpenoid saponin, which is hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose It is estimated that a dried fruit of Siraitia grosvenorii (15 grams on average) contains natural sweetness equivalent to the sweetness produced by 1 jin of white sugar Although there are few studies on the safety of Siraitia grosvenorii, it has been used for hundreds of years in Southeast Asia, and no side effects have been recorded Siraitia grosvenorii is the first batch of "dual-use medicine and food substances" approved by China, indicating that the official has full confidence in its safety, and China has long approved the use of Siraitia grosvenorii glycosides as food sweeteners In 2009, the United States approved the use of Siraitia grosvenorii for food and drink, and gave the extract of Siraitia grosvenorii a "gras" treatment, which is very safe In addition, the official departments of Canada, Japan, Singapore and other countries have also recognized the safety of Siraitia grosvenorii, saying that children, diabetic patients, pregnant women and nursing mothers can eat it Recently, Chinese Luohanguo enterprises have submitted relevant technical documents to the European Union If there is no accident, it will be approved by the European Union as a food sweetener According to traditional Chinese medicine, Siraitia grosvenorii has the functions of moistening lung, relieving cough and eliminating phlegm, but there is no in-depth study on its mechanism Modern scientific research shows that siraitoside has certain anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidation effects For example, it can prevent DNA damage caused by free radicals In animal experiments, it has shown some anticancer properties, such as preventing skin cancer in mice, but its anticancer mechanism is not clear In the experiment of diabetic mice, the extract of Siraitia grosvenorii helps to reduce blood sugar and raise HDL cholesterol There's a lot of other evidence of efficacy, but you can't expect too much from Siraitia, because the doses used in these studies are far greater than the amount that normal people might take It is widely used in the food industry because it has a broad prospect of industrial application, which is stable to heat, acid and alkali, good water solubility, and no obvious defects in taste such as metal taste, bitter taste and astringent taste At present, the natural sweetener extracted from Siraitia grosvenorii has become the same product as Stevia rebaudiana Of course, how to obtain a taste comparable to that of sucrose still needs further research and try in the food industry It only needs simple extraction, uses water and food grade ethanol, does not need further purification and crystallization, the powder or liquid extract can be directly used in food The extract does not contain glucose and fructose, and is mainly composed of many glycosides According to the type and content of glucoside, the sweetness of the extract of Siraitia grosvenorii can reach 100-250 times of that of white sugar Sometimes, food companies even need to mix inulin, sugar alcohol and other substances with the extract of Siraitia grosvenorii to reduce the sweetness As artificial sweeteners are often questioned by public opinion, natural sweeteners become the future development trend With the development of European and American market, Siraitia grosvenorii industry still has a lot of room for development Help lose weight? It's better to control the dietary intake of Siraitia grosvenorii extract to provide little energy With the globalization of dietary energy excess, it is getting more and more attention It has high sweetness, good stability and can replace sugar in whole or in part For example, sugar can be replaced 100% in beverages, and in baked goods and chocolate, it can replace about 50% of sugar with Stevia Of course, there are different opinions on the effect of sweeteners on weight control in academic circles Most studies believe that sweeteners help to control weight, but the effect is not significant; a few studies have found that sweeteners have no effect on weight control at all, or even have adverse effects In my opinion, weight control mainly depends on your determination to control your diet, rather than relying on sweeteners For example, studies have found that people who choose sugarless drinks or foods will also control their intake of fat, added sugar and alcohol If you have such determination, I believe that Luohanguo can really help you.