Many of us struggle with #sweetproblems. While lifestyle changes like a Paleo diet or a bit of intermittent fasting are great for killing sugar cravings, sometimes you just need a sneaky little sugar hack. Enter two different superstar fruits, both with the savvy nicknames of “Miracle Fruit.” Though these two miracle fruits do completely opposite things, they’re pretty nifty tools for your sugar slaying arsenal. Prepare yourself for some #mindblown moments!
MAKE EVERYTHING TASTE SWEET
This first hack may make you question your perception of reality. I present you, dear friends, with our first Miracle Fruit: Synsepalum dulcificum (which holds the most stock on the “miracle berry” and “miracle fruit” names.)
HOW IT WORKS: The synsepalum dulcificum “Miracle Fruit” harbors a glycoprotein called miraculin, which binds to taste receptors on the tongue and makes acidic things taste sweet. The effect lasts around 30 minutes.
MY EXPERIENCE: I ordered MBerry Miracle Fruit tablets on Amazon. The directions call for dissolving a tablet on your tongue, and then tasting sour things. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I popped the candyesque pill into my mouth. (I was mostly just wondering about the negative ramifications of the corn starch additive, to be honest.) Once I’d adequately dissolved the tablet – which had a very slight sweet taste within itself – I first reached for a slice of PINEAPPLE. I noticed it tasted sweeter than usual – with the usual lingering “bite” oddly gone. I next tried a sip of WINE. It was nauseatingly sweet. Like sugar water. I put it down with disgust. Intrigued, I sliced open a LEMON – the creme de la creme of acidity. This would be the true test. I puckered up my face in anticipation, and licked the lemon, preparing myself for the inevitable shudder. Instead, I was shocked to find it tasted like a delectable lemonade fruit! I couldn’t believe it. I licked the lemon again – still sweet? So very weird! Especially when I knew what it really tasted like? Or maybe not? Maybe taste is all in our heads anyways? What is sweet?? Metaphysical thoughts began swirling through my mind. I decided to go big or go home. I reached for some APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. I couldn’t believe what I was doing as I poured out a spoonful.
DRUMROLL PLEASE.
Like the wine, the vinegar now tasted like sugar water.
Curiosity rose with a fury. What else could I taste? I began rummaging through the fridge and pantry. I grabbed my raw, unpasteurized SAUERKRAUT with anticipatory glee. Biting into the normally sour lactic cabbage now tasted like sweet relish from childhood. What else to try?? I opened up some canned HEART OF PALM. The tang of citric acid was replaced by sweet mashed goodness. This was too weird. I was beginning to feel like Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. I sighed that I didn’t have some intense BLUE CHEESE or such to try – at this point I was willingly to forgo my dairy avoidance in the name of experimentation.
For the finale, I grabbed some FROZEN ACAI which had lingered for eons in the freezer, as I’d decided it was too sour for consumption. I contentedly licked the frozen purple mass, which now tasted like a sweet popsicle.
MAKE NOTHING TASTE SWEET
This second hack is equally mind-blowing, equally effective, though perhaps not quite as fun.
HOW IT WORKS: While gymnemic acids found in gymnema sylvester can reduce blood sugar levels and attack the sugar-frenzied candida, this “Miracle Fruit” can also hack the sweet buds: it can block sweet receptors, making sweet things taste bitter!
MY EXPERIENCE: I don’t habitually consume super sweet foods, but after taking some gymnema sylvester, (which I also ordered off of Amazon) I found my go-to fruits and sweeter wines tasted oddly unappealing. They lacked any sweetness, taking on an altered, bitter taste.
While experimenting with gymnema sylvestre isn’t as fun as synsepalum dulcificum, it has its own redeeming properties: it can make you very aware of how ingrained your habits may be. Drinking wine after a drop of gymnema, makes the wine taste, well, kinda yucky. Yet I still found myself wanting to reach for the constant sip… and then being sad when it didn’t taste good. And still weirdly wanting it? I imagine this would go for people who habitually consume sweet candies, cookies, or anything really! Oh hey habit!
THE TAKEAWAY?
If you want to eat sweet things without the sugar – just trick yourself into it! Or go the other route and kill your sugar sense in the first place altogether! (I guess it depends if you prefer denial or disgust for killing the craving.) Also, I think some Alice in Wonderland -themed flavor tripping parties are in order!
