I found this article Agave Nectar: Good or Bad? by Kristen Michaelis from Food Renegade. She goes into great detail about why we should avoid agave nectar, a rather popular sweetener alternative. It turns out it's not a natural sweetener and isn't so different then high-fructose corn syrup. She also delves a little into why we should avoid fructose. Take a minute or two to read it and check out the website. There are a lot of great articles to read.
Sorry to say that the article is full of incorrect statements which have been proven to be false. Here's a few: There is no STARCH in the agave plant - only inulin, which is a carbohydrate. Most agave nectar available in the US is minimally processed, unlike what the article describes. This is more of fear-mongering and I suggest that if you really look into how agave nectar is raised, harvested by hand, and minimally processed, you will quickly understand that the anti-agave articles are coming from those whose profits agave is cutting into.
ReplyDeleteRead these to get the real truth... agave nectar in moderation is perfectly fine. Don't bite the anti-agave hype, please.
ReplyDeleteDr. Edward Group http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/agave-nectar/
Dr. Weil on 4/30/2010 http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400722/Is-Agave-Syrup-Dangerous.html
Elana’s Pantry http://www.elanaspantry.com/is-agave-good-or-bad/
Chad Olgren, Nutrition Author & Founder of Brain Toniq http://www.braintoniq.com/is-agave-bad-for-you-fallacy.php
I love agave - use it in my coffee and on my yogurt every morning. Ever since I cut my sugars, and have been sticking to a balanced diet, I've dropped weight and feel great. Don't tell me that agave is bad for me when I am living proof that it has helped me enjoy a few sweet things and I've become way healthier. I have my blood tested every few months from my doctor, and I have no problems with blood sugars any more. All this negative agave stuff is obviously being pushed by someone with an agenda.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I will look into agave nectar some more. It seems to be a pretty interesting topic as of late. I can't say that I've ever purchased it, because I wasn't exactly sure what it was. For an alternative sweetener I always use Stevia, but you obviously can't bake with that, except to replace some sugar.
ReplyDeleteRawlsRaw, can you tell me where you go for your sources on info. I'm always looking for new places to research health topics like this one.
Brenda, I'll be sure to check your links.
Rick, I hope that it is a healthy sugar substitute. Who doesn't want to be able to occasionally enjoy something sweet without the downfalls of sugar.