Miracle berry comes from Synsepalum dulcificum, an African
plant. The berries are known to activate the sweet receptors in the
taste buds, an effect that lasts until the protein is washed away
by saliva, after about 60 minutes.
This video is an excerpt from "the Doctors" television show, and
demonstrates to viewers how to make a meal or snack containing no
sugar. Utilizing miracle berries, tart cherries, greek yogurt with
no sugar or sweetener, and lemon juice, a chef makes a parfait that
is clearly satisfying to all involved.
Most notable are the more far-reaching benefits of this berry.
The chef speaks of his discovery of the miracle berry working to
correct taste for cancer chemo patients. Both he and a doctor on
the show report that chemo recipients have difficulty eating or
vomitting their food due to a "metallic, rubbery" taste to
everything they eat. The miracle berry reportedly "latches onto the
sour receptor and straightens out the metallic taste for chemo
patients so they can eat normally," said the chef.
In this clip, this chef reports that the method he developed for
his friend in chemo treatment led him to explore the benefits of
the berry for weight loss and to develop the "Miracle Berry
Cookbook." Also available are sweetener tablets derived from the
miracle berry.
The miracle berry has been used in West Africa since the 18th
century and attempts have been made to cultivate it here in the
United States since the 1970s. It has not fared well in America
since its classification as a food additive, and there is suspicion
about interference by the sugar lobbies. With the chef's cookbook
and the new tablet sweeteners, it will be interesting to see how
businesses develop.
There is no denying the science of the miracle berry method:
When one ingests sour foods, which creates a low phat low pH,
miraculin, the active ingredient of the miracle berry, binds
protons and becomes able to activate the sweet receptors. This
results in the perception of sweet taste. It is indeed a miracle
for dieters who wish to banish sugar from their menu!
