Does monk fruit sweetener break a fast?

Monk fruit sweetener is made from an extract of monk fruit, also called luo han guo. Many packet and spoonable products are mainly erythritol. Labels for a 1 g packet and two jar products list erythritol first and monk fruit extract second, each with 0 kcal per serving. Liquid monk fruit drops are different. One label lists water, alcohol, vegetable glycerin and monk fruit extract, with 0 kcal and 0 g of carbohydrate per 4 drops.

This site sorts answers by four goals, and monk fruit sweetener is grey for each one. The calories are close to zero. Some people find that sweet tastes make them hungrier, though the research on this is mixed, so weight loss is grey. Whether sweeteners raise insulin is unresolved and may vary between people, so blood sugar and autophagy are grey too. The evidence is early.

Blends answer the blood-sugar question partly. Erythritol barely affects blood sugar, but this database marks every sweetener grey for a blood-sugar fast. Monk fruit extract has its own open question on insulin, so a blend is grey too. A blend that lists sugar or dextrose on the label is a different product, and the sugar breaks a blood-sugar fast.

Gut rest is grey because of the erythritol in many blends. EFSA set a safe daily intake of 0.5 g of erythritol per kg of body weight, because larger amounts can cause diarrhoea. Two teaspoons of an erythritol and monk fruit blend in coffee is about 8 g. For a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, the daily limit is about 35 g.