Excerpt from The Independent

Foods and beverages sweetened with Chinese monk fruit will be hitting US grocery store shelves within the year and could become another all-natural, zero-calorie weapon against obesity and diabetes.

photo credit scientistlive.com

About 300 times sweeter than sugar, the monk fruit – which looks like a small, green melon – is the latest all-natural sweetener to edge its way into the food and beverage market.

The biggest player making waves currently is stevia, a plant that’s been used in Paraguay and Brazil for hundreds of years for its sweetening and medicinal properties.

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