"Miracle Fruit": Natural African Berry Sweetener
Being slightly hypoglycemic, my ears perk up when I get wind of a new natural sweetener. On Mercola.com last week, I read about one made from a West African berry called Synsepalum dulcificum, sometimes called the miracle fruit.
It has some bizarre properties:
- For about an hour after you eat it, everything sour tastes sweet.
- A protein in the berry, called miraculin, binds to your taste buds, altering the tongue's sweet receptors so they activate when more sour foods are eaten.
- Cancer patients occasionally seek out the fruit because it reportedly alleviates the metallic taste which is a side-effect of chemotherapy
Mercola thinks the FDA is going to ban it, or go the way of Stevia, because it competes with artificial sweeteners.
In 1974, when a pair of entrepreneurs tried to create a powder and tablet based on this natural fruit, the FDA ruled it was a food additive, requiring years of testing that very effectively scuttled any commercial use of it. Interestingly enough, that was the same year the agency approved the dangerous, artificial sweetener aspartame.
The berry is a bit better known in Japan, as it's sold in freeze-dried, canned and tablet forms there. Here in the US, a few American growers are selling cuttings and seeds so folks can grow their own plants. (The berries are highly perishable and can't be shipped very effectively.)
NPR, All Things Considered, March 31, 2007. Audio interview with author Adam Leith Gollner who is writing a book about the miracle fruit; provides a history of the berry.
Wall Street Journal March 30, 2007 (registration required)
Truth About Trade & Technology March 30, 2007
My father has had laryngeal cancer and surgery. Now he "lost his taste". I have heard that you can reactivate the taste with a medicine coming from the miracle fruit. So I would love to have it in tablet form so I can give it to my father.
Where can I get it? Can I order it?
Thank you
Bettina Pajic from Miami
Posted by: Bettina Pajic | Oct 14, 2007 7:54:53 AM
You can special order it from
http://blog.miracle-fruit.net/?eid=28546
It is quite pricey at about $35 a box (paid at 3800yen a box) and you need to order 10 boxes.
Posted by: J Byers | Nov 16, 2007 12:44:42 PM
I bought some miracle fruit from http://miracleUK.info/ and it’s actually amazing. So much better than I thought - it really works. Everyone should try this once.
Posted by: Tim | Dec 4, 2007 6:28:22 PM
I have a young computer geek friend building a lightening fast tower to play games with. He plans on cooling the tower with a live Miracle Fruit plant inside the tower, claiming that the growing plant has cooling capabilities. Has anyone ever hear anything about this.
jim.muir@cox.net
Posted by: Jim Muir | May 27, 2008 1:13:41 PM
I heard that the Black People in the geographic area in Southern Africa are being exploited out of the monetary rewards that are being gained from the marketing of these berries which are found on their land. Is this true.
Posted by: Peter | Jun 16, 2008 3:46:17 AM
You can purchase Miracle Fruit Tablets at a great price and super fast shipping!
www.MiracleFruitTab.com
Posted by: kenny smith | Jun 21, 2008 5:56:09 PM
you can also just get them off ebay. :P
Posted by: codongolev | Jun 22, 2008 2:42:37 PM
I have a video here of Gordon Ramsay and oscar winning actress Juliette Binosh on The Graham Norton Show, trying out the berries. Check out http://www.foodtvblog.com/
Posted by: Michael | Jul 31, 2008 4:49:22 AM
Michael, that was pretty funny.
Posted by: Carla | Aug 4, 2008 6:08:20 PM
Hello,
Couldn't understand the tape, because it was so garbled.... but the fruit caught my eye.... Would like to purchase this berry...
Posted by: Annie | Aug 21, 2008 6:04:37 AM
This really is one amazing berry! Strawberries are my favourite and grapefruit is to die for!
I've made a Strudel according to their recipes and it was delicious - no sugar, but tasted extremely sweet! Link to recipes: http://www.miraclefruitworld.com
Posted by: JeffLo | Aug 23, 2008 3:07:18 PM
Hey, I received mine from Miracle Fruit World
as well. The post office accidentally damaged the item but I immediately got a replacement from the store (for FREE). Great service, highly recommended! Enjoy the fruit as did I! Bye
Posted by: john | Sep 4, 2008 1:56:12 PM
I was wondering why the berry was not more prevalent and why they were making it into pills. so it's perishable. now I know.
Posted by: Cyber Rainbow | Mar 26, 2009 2:40:27 PM