Momordica Fruit (Luo Han Guo; Arhat Fruit)

Momordica fruit is one of the few fruits that cannot be eaten until it is dried by fire. For the last few centuries, this fruit has almost exclusively been a product of the province of Guangxi China. The people of this region have called this fruit "longevity fruit" because they have believed that a prolonged consumption of it would make people live a long life.

This fruit is said to resemble the stomach of a Buddha, which is why its official Chinese name is “arhat fruit” since “arhat” refers to a Buddhist who has attained Nirvana.

Arhat

Mamordica fruit has traditionally been used for a number of common ailments, such as cough with sputum, constipation, chronic laryngitis, hoarseness and chronic bronchitis. But it has also recently emerged as an important herb in the curing and prevention of cancer.
According to a Japanese report, this fruit contains an unnamed substance that makes it taste 300 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. Although it tastes so sweet, the Chinese nevertheless believe that it is good for diabetes.

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