luckymom Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 Are low glycemic foods better for you? A friend told me that it is better to sweeten food with agave than maple syrup or sugar because it is low glycemic. Is this correct? If so, what are other good switches to make? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 Agave is no healthier and some say even worse because it is even higher in fructose than high-fructose-corn-syrup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 Agreeing with Pegasus. Your friend is technically correct, because agave doesn't impact blood glucose levels the same way other sugars do. BUT blood glucose is not the only measure of how healthy a food is. Large amounts of fructose are hard on the liver and some doctors believe they are at least partially to blame for rising diabetes rates. I don't worry about the amount of fructose that occurs naturally in fruits, I think most of us can generally handle that just fine, but I don't do any added, refined fructose, and it's the same whether its agave or corn syrup. Stevia is a good sweetener (if you like the taste) which has neither glucose nor fructose in it. It's an herb that just happens to taste sweet even though it doesn't have sugar. Eating protein with your carbohydrate reduces the glycemic impact. For example, don't have just a piece of toast alone, but have some peanut butter on it, or make a turkey sandwich. I make sure that I get some protein with every meal and snack, no exceptions. Other than that, I'm sure you know the obvious stuff: whole grains instead of refined, easy on the white potatoes, choose fruit over cookies, that sort of stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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