Subject: Replacement Of Sugar. Jan. 27, 2008.
Here is some information about what we can eat instead
of sugar.
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DR. ST-NGLER NATURAL
ALTERNATIVE TO SUGAR
Artificial sweeteners and the chemical processes used to
create them have been making headlines recently. The
controversy focuses primarlily on the fact that the sugar in
Splenda is coverted to a seeetener using chlorine. Little
information has been published about all the truly natural
healthy, natural options like Luo Han Guo, also referred to as
Lo Han. A rare fruit found in China. Luo Han yields a powder
250 to 300 times sweerter than sugar.
And thats just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the
benefits of Luo Han.
As a sweetener, Luo Han Guo has no calories, does not elevate
blood sugar, and is heat stable -- which means it can be can
to both hot and cold foods. It also helps prevent cavities
and has no aftrr-taste. These attributes make it an ideal,
verstile option as a natural sweetener for tea, coffee or other
beverages, and for use in making desserts.
ITS ORIGINS...
While Westerners may have much to learn about Luo Han,
the fruit has been used in a variety of ways, for thousands of
years in China. The Lo Han Guo is a round, green perennial
vine fruit in the melon family that grows wild throughout the
mountainous terain of Southwest China. Historic Chinese
writings describe Song Dynasty monks brewing the fruit for
medicinal beverages more than 800 years ago.
Luo Han, which is typlically dried and sold in Chines Medicinal
herb shops, has long been used in China and other Asian countries
as a food, beverage and to treat colds, coughs, sore throats,
stomack distress, heart stroke, even constipation and diarrhea.
The dried fruit is sold in a variety of forms, including whole,
liquid, powdered or in a tea.
Often in Chinese haouseholds, Luo Han is cooked with ****k
as a remedy for lung congestion. In fact, the enclyclopedia of
Traditionsl Chenese Medicine recommends 10-15 grams - or
one fruit - boiled in water per day, to address lung complaints,
as Luo Han is a natural expectorant and helps clear the lungs
of airborne pollutants.
The move toward using Luo Han as a sweetening agent is a
more recent developement.
THE VERSTILITY OF LUO HAN...
In 1995, Procter and Ganble Company patented a process
for making a sweetener from the fruit. Now, many sugar substitues
derived from Luo Han are available for manufaturing and home use.
The Luo Han fruit, which is sold mostly in Chinese grocery
stores in the Un-ted States can be simmered into a thick, sweet
juice and used during food preparation.
There are many benefits to using the Luo Han extract as a
sweetening agent and sugar substitute --- chief among them is
the fact that the fruit contains sweet compounds called glycosides,
specifically triterpene glycosides. The body does not
break glycosides down like other simple sugars, which means
blood glucose or insulin levels do not rise like they do with
other sugars -- making it ideal for diabetics.
Luo Han also contains high amounts of amino acids, vitamins,
minerals, and potent antioxidant properties, which benefit immune
function and the body's ability to maintain healthy balance.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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