Miracle Berry Diet Could Hold Key To Weightloss
Chicago chef Homaro Cantu, known for his futuristic dining experiences such as printing edible sushi, is touting a wild berry native to West Africa as the key to long-term weight loss. Nicknamed the miracle berry, the fruit contains a naturally-occurring protein known as miraculin that temporarily inhibits the sour receptors on taste buds, changing the flavors of spicy, sour and bitter foods.
“It tricks your tongue into thinking something that’s sour is sweet,” Cantu said on Good Morning America.
Cantu discovered the berries six years ago while working with a cancer patient who had lost sense of taste after undergoing chemotherapy. He has now used his discovery to create hundreds of recipes that use the berries instead of sugar or other sweeteners. In his new cookbook, “The Miracle Berry Diet Cookbook,” Cantu explains how the berries can completely eliminate sugar from the diet.
Since the miracle berry not only has a shelf-life of just one to two days and is also very expensive, Cantu’s recipes use a miracle berry tablet rather than the berry itself. Before eating, the tablet is placed on the tongue and allowed to dissolve completely. Within about three minutes sour flavors will change to sweet. Lemons will taste like lemonade, limes taste like oranges and plain Greek yogurt will taste like cheesecake. The effects of the tablets last 30 to 40 minutes.
The tablets, sold as mberry, cost about $15 for 10 tablets. Fresh berries cost about $2 each.
