NEW: Organic Monk Fruit Liquid Sweetener

In the last few decades, diabetes and obesity have increased dramatically. Sadly, this is also the case with children. These things can be correlated to many poor trends, but one of them is the introduction of high fructose corn syrup into the food supply. Fast food marketing, poor nutrition education and food processing are also big contributors. All of these factors have waged a war on people’s insulin levels, and the medical data shows it. Today diabetes and obesity, at least in the United States, are extremely common — but the good news is that these are lifestyle diseases that can be reversed with good practices and some knowledge.

One simple practice is to get into the habit of healthy substitutions. Removing things from the diet that you enjoy (like sweets) is not effective longterm, because abstinence eventually creates a rebound, which is worse. The key is to find healthy substitutes, which give your body a chance to heal and your insulin levels a chance to re-sensitize.

My mom has had diabetes (type 2) for a while, and only recently is she really getting educated and putting into practice important strategies for how she eats and cooks. One thing I’m glad has “stuck” is that she now reads the labels :P Another thing is that she uses monk fruit to sweeten rather than sugar, or worse — corn syrup, xylitol, erythritol, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) or aspartame. These last two are absolute garbage, and corn syrup is often low quality, high glycemic and full of pesticides because corn is mass produced. Xylitol should never be used to sweeten anything because it can promote blood clotting when ingested in gram amounts, and erythritol can negatively affect the microbiome.

Honey is a great natural sweetener, but honey is also impractical and good honey (like Manuka honey, yum) is an expensive treat. So the best option is a liquid sweetener that has zero calories, zero pesticides, zero glycemic impact, zero carcinogenic or microbiome deleterious effects or any other problem. Enter NOW liquid monk fruit sweetener!

I’ve used this stuff for a while, but recently I partnered with NOW Foods, a very reputable supplement company that tests their products regularly, and I’ve put some of their products in the health store. They have a fantastic fermented K2, and they also have this liquid monk fruit sweetener. Monk fruit, also known as Luo Han Guo, is significantly sweeter than sugar, up to 200 times as sweet and is a fantastic alternative to sugar in beverages. This version by NOW has a delightfully vibrant, sweet taste with very little aftertaste. It has won the 2019 Clean Eating Magazine Clean Choice Awards and it was the 2018 Taste for Life Essentials Award Winner. At just a few drops for sweetening, this large container of 8 fluid ounces will last you a while!

And now that it’s part of the health section, you can save up to 10% if you stock up or mix and match.