The holiday season always makes it painfully clear just how much sugar we as a society consume. Even things that sound like they’d otherwise be healthy, like the
butternut squash casserole I made for Thanksgiving, where the recipe called for a whole cup of white sugar and a whole cup of brown sugar. Yikes!
So we tend to hone in on any new information on substitute sweeteners that are palatable and supposedly healthy. A lot of people are down on the chemical content of artificial sweeteners: those familiar little packets of Equal, Sweet N’ Low and Splenda. So a lot of people are turning to plant-based alternatives, like stevia, and another possible substitute that’s been coming up conversation a lot lately: agave syrup.
Ever heard of it? We’d be surprised if you hadn’t. Everyone seems to think it’s the ultimate solution for diabetics. We decided to do some digging about it, and what we found was pretty interesting.
Agave syrup is made from various types of agave plants, which are found in southern Mexico. The consistency and even the taste are comparable to honey. Interesting fact: If you ferment the blue agave plant, it actually turns into tequila (wow!). Otherwise, agave can be used to create a sweet syrup or “nectar” (the latter certainly sounds more benign and natural!)
Many health food advocates believe agave is a perfect solution for PWDs because it’s made of up to 90% fructose rather than sucrose, so it’s much lower on the glycemic index and thus doesn’t pack quite the same BG punch as table sugar. On top of that, agave nectar is much sweeter than sugar, so you can use a fraction of the amount in a recipe as you would with other sweeteners.
First of all, however, agave syrup is hardly a free food. A teaspoon comes with 20 calories and 5 grams of carbs — slow-releasing carbs, yes, but they’re still there. In comparison, one teaspoon of regular sugar is 16 calories and 4 carbs. And the calories, for anyone who is watching their weight, can still add up if you’re not careful. Each cup of sugar can be replaced by one-half to two-thirds cup of agave, so that can be quite a few teaspoons depending on your recipe.
Secondly, this supposedly low-GI option is not as easy on the blood sugars as it sounds, and it can actually wreak havoc on other areas of the body. Uh oh!
“It’s almost all fructose, which is just highly processed sugar with great marketing,” says Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, a Johns Hopkins professor and fellow of the American College of Nutrition, in a recent Chicago Tribune article.
What’s so bad about fructose? That’s the sugar in fruit, right? According to research, fructose found in fruit is perfectly fine, but fructose found in processed foods, like agave syrup, is bad because, as Kohlstadt says: “Fructose interferes with healthy metabolism when taken at higher doses. Many people have fructose intolerance like lactose intolerance. They get acne or worse diabetes symptoms even though blood glucose is OK.”
And if the word “fructose” is reminding you of our frenemy high-fructose corn syrup, you’re not off-base. HFCS is a mix of 55% fructose and 45% sucrose, and agave syrup products can contain up to 90% fructose.
There’s quite a bit of debate among experts about the potential negative effects of fructose. A 2009 study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation states that fructose-sweetened beverages can cause weight gain and insulin resistance — certainly things we PWDs want to avoid!
Most of us have heard the warnings about high-fructose corn syrup, and seen the corn industry’s slimy commercials purporting that it is “safe.” Is fructose from the agave plant really much different than from corn syrup? Especially in such large (concentrated) quantities?
As it turns out, agave syrup may not even be that “natural” after all. The Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to health and nutrition, states: “The process by which agave glucose and inulin (a water-soluble dietary fiber present in agave) are converted into ‘nectar’ is similar to the process by which corn starch is converted into HFCS. The agave starch is subject to an enzymatic and chemical process that converts the starch into a fructose-rich syrup — anywhere from 70% fructose and higher according to the chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites.”
But that doesn’t mean some PWDs aren’t enjoying and benefiting from agave. Jeff Cohen, a type 2, writes on the TuDiabetes forum: ”I’ve had great success with Agave. I also like the taste, something most other sweeteners don’t provide.” He points out that most of the warnings he’s seen were for a few particular brands of agave — Volcanic Nectar — accused of adding “fillers” like maltose, which have their own long list of ill effects. Jeff believes that “not all agave should be written off.”
But Gerri, a type 1 PWD who does her own investigating, shares the same concerns we’ve raised here: “Agave may not increase your BG (assuming that’s what you’re referring to about great success), but it’s not healthy regardless of the brand because it’s fructose. The refined highly concentrated fructose in agave raises triglycerides, reduces the sensitivity of insulin receptors & has other negative effects.”
On our DiabeticConnect community, the taste of agave seems to get two thumbs up, especially from folks who don’t like the taste of artificial sweeteners. Marley, a type 1 PWD, wrote in, “I just tried agave nectar for the first time in my banana/peanut butter smoothie this morning. Yum!”
But KDRoberts, another type 1, just couldn’t get over the comparisons to high fructose corn syrup: “I can take it or leave it, leaning towards the leave end of the spectrum. It’s still a sugar but unlike most, has a very high concentration of fructose which is linked to raise triglycerides, belly fat and insulin resistance. Some agave is not really that different to high fructose corn syrup.”
Has anyone else tried agave? It seems to us that pretty much every artificial sweetener or sugar substitute has some kind of major drawback — which offsets the notion of avoiding sugar itself! The only one that seems safe is stevia, but many folks don’t like aftertaste of that one. What — if anything — are you all using to bake your holiday cookies or sweeten your morning Cup of Joe?
Thanks for a great article! My dad has been trying to push this on me for a long time, and my research has turned up much of the same things!
My experience with Agave nectar has put me off of it completely. I started using it a couple of years ago–I was thrilled that I could bake with it and it didn’t seem to spike my husband’s blood sugar (I don’t care for the taste of Splenda or any of the other chemical sweeteners.) So what was the problem? I gained belly fat–and quickly. The agave was the only thing in my diet that had changed: exercise and everything else stayed the same.
I started doing some reading and came to the conclusion that it is as bad, if not worse than, HFCS. I stopped using it, and the belly fat did come off. I pitched what we had left, which was painful because that stuff is expensive.
I still use locally produced honey for recipes along with stuff like mashed bananas and apples. They work great. For my sports drinks, stevia does the job. Great article BTW!
I’ve tried here. Here in Texas, Agave is pretty common. A lot of my friends have been after me to swap to it. My research really hasn’t impressed me. Sugar is sugar, regardless of the source. It hasn’t been the first time the “healthier alternative” has wound up being the opposite.
Eating in moderation? All around win.
normally i don’t use any sweetener. i tried stevia, and it is tooo bitter for my taste. if i need to sweeten my tea or coffee, i will just use regular sugar and include it as part of my meal and bolus for it.
Great article. Very interesting.
“If you ferment the blue agave plant, it actually turns into tequila ”
Actually it turns into mescal. Tequila is mescal that comes from the city of Tequila in western Mexican state of Jalisco. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila
I’ve know about the sugary nature of agave nectar/syrup for quite some time. I simply read the lablel.
“It’s almost all fructose, which is just highly processed sugar with great marketing,”
Quite right!!!
My very dear friend gags at the mere mention of artificial sweeteners and will practically gag if she’s found out she just consumed something that might have a trace of it. While she doesn’t judge me, she does look a bit uncomfortable if I drink diet Coke around her.
She’s been dieting recently on a plan that calls for no refined sugars at all, but she’ll still put agave in things now and then. She will cook with maple syrup (the real stuff) and has recently purchased palm sugar and date sugar. When I look at any of the nutrition ingredients, all I see are carbs. Carbs carbs carbs.
I don’t know what to do about making things sweet anymore. I tried to get some sugar that’s organic, not bleachy white, and isn’t supposed to be totally refined, but you never know. Just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s great for you. *chomps on organic tortilla chips just to make a point*
At the AADE convention in Las Vegas last August, I attended 2 different presentations about diet, and specifically, sugars. One thing that BOTH presenters were very definite about is that processed fructose is bad for EVERYONE, not just diabetics. There is no cell in the body that uses fructose for fuel, so the liver converts it ALL to triglycerides and VLDL, and that means one thing — FAT. Even excess glucose (like when your BG is high) gets converted into triglycerides and VLDL. This effect on triglycerides has been confirmed by papers on heart disease, which something we are prone to, as diabetics, anyway (sorry for not having the cites). Agave syrup is absolutely the WORST thing we could put in our bodies — ANY artificial sweetener is better. And sucrose is no different from high-fructose corn syrup — they’re both about 50-50 glucose and fructose. So it looks to me like artificial sweeteners, which by now, have been in use for MANY years, are safer than fructose or sucrose. In Canada, cyclamates NEVER became illegal, and they have been in use for more than 50 years, and there are STILL no reports of ill effects. It’s time to stop the hysteria over sweeteners and pay attention to the scientific evidence.
Agave is really not healthy. I took me too long to figure that out. Thanks for the post.
People need to read labels and rely on good solid evidence before eating anything. You commented about the safety of stevia. How long has it been out and are there any studies showing it is better than the others that have been available for many years?
In an attempt to lower the quantity of declarative over reactions here…
I’ll add that if you like margaritas, and have had BG problems from them. My experience is that tequila, agave nectar and lime juice over ice makes a tasty margarita that doesnt spike my BG nearly as much as others. Milagro tequila is giving away a bottle of nectar in gift packs with their silver tequila.
As far as belly fat or conversion to lipids, I found 25 years ago in my first T1 diet class that ANYTHING that tastes good is not good for you, if its low sugar its high fat, or high sodium and vice versa.
So everything in moderation ….
( I know that alcohol is bad…. Im a sinner with a 20+ year record of a1cs under 7 )
I’m LOLing that ” Agave syrup is absolutely the WORST thing we could put in our bodies ” really ? LOL Wow…
I am curious how fructose from fruit is “perfectly fine” but fructose from corn syrup and agave nectar converts to triglycerides. Isn’t the fructose in both chemically the same or is there a difference? If anyone has an explaination I am quite interested.
Also, I find xylitol (Xyla) to be a great tasting sweetener with minimal effects on my blood sugar. The only side effect that I have seen is that it can cause intestinal discomfort when eaten in larger quantities (I haven’t experienced this yet). The label on xyla says its “safe for diabetics since it is metabolized independently of insulin” however a book I read says sugar alcohols do affect blood sugar, just not as much as sugar. Does anyone know a good source that can accurately clarify this?
I find that in general, I am constantly running into conflicting information when it come to diabetes and food that are safe/not safe and low/high glycemic load.
CJ, the scientists that I heard at the AADE specifically noted that there is no evidence one way or the other about the fructose in fruit. But fruit has other nutritional benefits, whereas agave syrup has none.
And, Doug, yes, I misstated when I said agave syrup was the worst thing we could put in our bodies. What I was thinking was that agave syrup is the worst SWEETENER we could put in our bodies, but what the mind thinks and what the fingers type can be 2 different things, especially when you’re a fast typist, LOL!!
I use Agave and have for almost a year. I can’t use artifical sweeteners because of the affects they cause. Iused them for years and had sever IBS from the use. I find Agave works for me. The taste is pleasant, I use only a quarter of a teaspoon in tea and it has helped curb my IBS symptoms. I can’t say it is healthy but it beats a full teaspoon of sugar and lets face it, any overindulgence in anything isn’t good. OH! and my fasting sugar is 101 so I am fine.
Keep in mind that triglycerides are stored and can then be broken down for energy later. It seems that someone who eats a healthy diet that’s low fat and low sugar with a modest amount of agave syrup (or any fructose for that matter), and exercises regularly is at a pretty low risk of becoming obese and developing complications. I am still confused why fructose in fruit is okay? All the research I find discusses high fructose corn syrup, soda, and fruit juice but never mentions fruit. Perhaps its the fiber in fruit that helps, or perhaps no one wants to make the claim that to much fruit can be unhealthy??
Although fructose, as well as other sugars are converted to triglycerides, they are stored as energy and can be used/burned later (via exercise). So someone who eats a healthy low fat and sugar diet, eats modest amount of agave (or any form of fructose for that matter), and excercises regularley should have a low risk of obesity and other ill health effects. I still can’t figure out why fructose from fruit is okay. All the studies I see reference high fructose corn syrup and sucrose. Perhaps the fiber in fruit helps, or no one wants to make the claim that fruit is unhealthful?
I’ll just stick with Splenda, thanks. Great article and drives home the point that for people trying to avoid sugar there are many pitfalls to be avoided as well.
Very interesting article
I try to avoid using agave. I don’t give my son any artificial sweeteners. I use small amounts of organic maple syrup, raw honey, bananas or unsweetened applesauce.
I think people make way too much about artificial sweetners. When I was first diagnosed in 1982 as a child, Tab was the best thing ever created to me. I have since drank diet sodas and use Splenda in tea. Have great a1c’ s and perfect (per my MD) cholesterol, triglycerides, and all other levels. It’s all about moderation and not sweating the small stuff.
I have never tried it and after reading this I have no interest in trying it. I have a “diet coke addiction” I am trying to break and really trying to get away from so many artificial sweeteners in general.
I’m glad to see all this info!