This continues the tale of synsepalum dulcificum, like a cash advance to the human race from nature. CLICK HERE if you missed the beginning of the article.

Dr. Cusnir has filed for an investigative new drug application with the FDA, who had labeled the berries a food additive back in 1974. For the necessary study, he will need at least 40 cancer patients. If results help patients maintain healthy body weight and appetite, bigger studies will be undertaken over there will be bigger studies over the next several years.

Outside of cancer patients, synsepalum dulcificum has more uses. Carmen Duporte of Fort Lauderdale, Florida “integrated the miracle fruit into her routine drinks of aloe vera juice,” writes Park. Duporte drinks this to cleanse her digestive system. The aloe alone is thick and bitter, definitely an acquired taste. “When I drink it with the fruit, there’s no taste in my mouth,” says Duporte.

Even more health benefits?

In the 1970s, researchers like Linda Bartoshuk of U.S. Navy and Army labs (and now the University of Florida’s Center for Smell) studies the miracle fruit. It contains miraculin, a natural protein which binds sugar molecules to the tongue rather than allowing it to dissolve and disappear. When acidic substances enter the mouth, the sugar molecules press on the sweet spots of the tongue.

This process could be used to help people with conditions ranging from diabetes to obesity. It can help to combat cravings for sweet and regulate excess consumption. And unlike sugar itself, synsepalum dulcificum berries have few calories. Unlike artificial sweeteners, the berries are all-natural.

Bartoshuk tells Park that claims of health benefits are now premature. “Any real claims for health benefits are going to have to be supported by good research,” says the researcher.

A cash crop

Yet farmers like Fort Lauderdale’s Curtis Mozie know people are interested. He raises the berries and ships them to online customers. He still wonders why the berry isn’t more well-known. “Why was it kept hush-hush? I wanted people to enjoy the fruit and enjoy the experience and any edible item that doesn’t taste good with the help of the miracle fruit.”

Richard Campbell of Fairchild Tropical Fruit Garden wishes he’d been more forward thinking about the berries. “No offense meant to people who want to pay money to eat miracle fruit and weird things. We used to do that every Friday. We grew up with miracle fruit. People came over, ate miracle fruit and sat around eating limes. I feel stupid I didn’t think of charging anyone.”

Related Videos:

It would be nice if there were a quick way to turn this sour economy sweet. A cash advance can help, but the important thing for individuals, institutions and governments to understand is that addressing long-term behavior is most important.

But when it comes to food, there is a way that the sugar industry doesn’t want you to know about. It seems likely they’d be up in arms, but FDA records are sealed. It’s all because of the fruit synsepalum dulcificum.

Lemon juice? Sweet!

Madison Park reports for CNN Health that this small fruit is the color of a cranberry, the shape of an almond and tastes on its own like a flavorless gummy bear. But after chewing it and letting the pulp rub against your tongue, the miracle fruit temporarily alters the taste buds. For 15 to 30 minutes, all things sour taste sweet.

Lemons taste like candy, says Park. Oranges overdose on the sweetness. Fiery hot sauce that would normally burn the tongue goes down like sweet honey BBQ sauce. Needless to say, be a dear to your esophagus, stomach and intestines and consume habañero peppers responsibly during any synsepalum dulcificum experience. You’ll need those things before it’s over.

It’s not just for foodies

Foodies are participating in “taste tripping” parties, writes Park. They pay as much as $35 to try the miracle fruit, which is native to West Africa. But here’s where it gets very important: recently, a Florida hospital began studying whether synsepalum dulcificum’s effects can restore the appetite of cancer patients whose taste buds have been assaulted by chemotherapy. Dr. Mike Cusnir, researcher and oncologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center explains:

What happens in patients is the food tastes so metallic and bland, it becomes repulsive. Most of the patients undergoing chemotherapy have weight loss. Then they cut further into their diet and then this furthers the weight loss. It causes malnutrition, decreased function of the body and electrolyte imbalance.

The theorized health benefits of synsepalum dulcificum are many. READ ON to see how good the miracle fruit could be for Americans who have never had the chance to discover its amazing properties.

Related Videos: