Friday, 2.5.2010

1. Agave Nectar Controversy

Before you trust that agave nectar, which is marketed as a "diabetic friendly," low glycemic, raw, and "100% natural sweetener" more healthful than sugar, DO SOME RESEARCH. Yesterday, I spent four hours hunting around online and came across several articles that claim that agave syrup is actually, "a highly refined form of fructose, more concentrated than the high fructose corn syrup used in sodas," and that "agave nectar is not a health building product, but rather a deceptively marketed form of a highly processed and refined sweetener." According to Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, a fellow of the American College of Nutrition and an associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, agave syrup is:

almost all fructose, highly processed sugar with great marketing.

about 16 calories per teaspoon, the same as table sugar.

may not have a low glycemic index.

It's often hard to parse the truth when manufacturers publish incredible benefits about a product and then obscure health websites demonize it. The problem with something like agave is that there are few credible sources that have taken the time to conduct proper research. Hopefully this current debate will spark a more formal inquiry from reputable institutions. Until then, I'm going to go back to eating sugar. But don't take my word for it, do your own agave sleuthing.

Here are a few articles you can read:

http://www.westonaprice.org/Agave-Worse-than-Sugar-Nutrition-Foundation-Warns.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/024892_fructose_food_health.html

http://preventdisease.com/news/09/062309_agave.shtml