Agave yea or nea?

[Mom-ninja.]

I hear conflicting things about agave.

 

Better for you than sugar/honey, the same, or worse?

 

 

 

I came across this article which I know is old. Anyone find anything that says to the contrary?

Edited September 27, 2012 by Kleine Hexe

[kokotg]

I think it's a big, fructose-laden scam, personally. It doesn't raise your blood sugar as much as other forms of sugar because the fructose is so high (a HFCS sweetened Coke won't raise your blood sugar as much as something sweetened with sucrose, either, but not because it's better for you).

[amsunshine]

I just found this by googling. This is very interesting to me as I have relatives who swear by agave. It never occurred to me to research it before.

[LaxMom]

I think it's a big, fructose-laden scam, personally. It doesn't raise your blood sugar as much as other forms of sugar because the fructose is so high (a HFCS sweetened Coke won't raise your blood sugar as much as something sweetened with sucrose, either, but not because it's better for you).

 

This.

 

I have no issue with sugars in general, but have a preference for the least amount of processing possible, so go (generally speaking) with sucanat, maple syrup, or honey. For goods where corn syrup (not HFCS, just plain old Karo) is used to prevent other sugars from forming crystals (marshmallows, homemade chocolate syrup), I might be inclined to use agave or brown rice syrup, just because it's not corn, but overall, I would go with "no".

Edited September 27, 2012 by MyCrazyHouse

[Chocolate Rose]

I agree with everyone. I keep hearing it referred to as "High Fructose CACTUS syrup". :lol:

[Rai B.]

Agave—and any other fructose sweetener—is extra sweet, someone should only use half as much agave in any instance in which they would otherwise be using sugar. Other than that, I don’t think it matters much. I do use agave as a honey substitute, but largely because it doesn’t crystalize.

[Mom-ninja.]

I don't use agave. But I found a gf/grain free website that pretty much only uses agave.

 

I'm trying to decide if I should buy agave to use in her recipes or just substitute with other sweetners like regular sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, etc.

 

I don't want it if it's just like HFCS.

[Momof3littles]

I think it is a great way to end up with fatty liver disease.

 

I use erythritol and NuNaturals stevia, neither of which is also not a really unrefined product. However, in my case, we limit sweetener consumption to probably once a week or less most weeks, and I know that even "natural" sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, etc. raise insulin levels, which for me is a concern. I have PCOS and as a result, I avoid situations that cause an insulin dump. For me, the best alternative is stevia and erythritol, even if more "refined." We don't overdo them, however.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Momof3littles

[mchel210]

I dont use it...but my husband does...after you posted this...I found a few links that show it is mainly fructose. I didnt realize that. I will have to look into it more but this is what I read:

Agave nectar has a low-glycemic index for one reason only: it's largely made of fructose, which although it has a low-glycemic index, is probably the single most damaging form of sugar when used as a sweetener. With the exception of pure liquid fructose, agave nectar has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener.

[kolamum]

We use it. In moderation, like all other natural sweeteners that we use. My biggest reason?! I for one would rather use a cactus sweetener with no nutritional value then a GMO based corn.

 

ETA: ARticle.

[LizzyBee]

Everything I've read about agave is negative. It's popular because of good marketing.

 

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/5-best-and-5-worst-sweeteners-have-your-kitchen