Ok I’m like so bummed out man. Over the past year I’ve made a considerable effort to clean up my eating–especially eliminating some sugar. I’m not a big candy or dessert eater but sugar lurks everywhere. On top of that I do like it in my coffee, and I like something sweet in my plain yogurt some days.
I can’t do those artificial sweeteners on a regular basis so I went in search of what my choices are.

I’ve blogged and done whole audio postcards singing the praises of the sweet syrups honey, molasses and agave nectar as sugar alternatives. Once I discovered I like the taste of agave, and that it was a low glycemic index sweetener, I was thrilled. (The glycemic index and load of foods indicates how much and how fast a carbohydrate food raises blood sugar. The lower and slower the better.)

If you aren’t familiar with agave syrup it’s amber like honey but thinner and has a sweeter taste than sugar so you can use very little for a lot of yumm.

Like a good love affair gone bad when the real person starts to emerge, agave had me fooled. In truth the marketers for this popular sweetener did it.

Agave–from the Greek for noble–has been around for centuries. Mexico proudly harvests 100 different species. According to Bottom Line Health, “extracts from the agave plant have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.” Sounds like a winner right? From plant to commercially produced syrup is a long journey and there are none of those compounds found in the stuff in the squeeze bottle.

That’s not all. Although low on the glycemic index, agave is comprised of, depending on the manufacturer, between 70% and 95% frustose. Why is this a cause for concern? Fructose, when used as a sweetener, as opposed to when found naturally in fruit, has been linked to high trigylcerides, and weight gain. And it puts you at risk of all sorts of nasty lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

We talk about avoiding high fructose corn syrup but that’s only 55/45 fructose to glucose, table sugar is about 50/50. Agave is much higher. You might hear that agave syrup gets its sweetness from inulin, a kind of fiber that does have some redeeming aspects. How much is left after processing this plant down and concentrating it to form a syrup is debatable.

I do want to be clear here about the fructose found in fruits. It comes packaged conveniently with nutrients, fiber, and a very low % of the total for many fruits. Apples have about 7% for instance. If you want to learn about fructose in fruits and look up your favorite you can at this website.

That said, too much fruit is still a form of too much sugar.

So does this mean we can never use agave syrup? Not on your life. For most of us life is sweet because we make the best choices we can and include some sweets, a little adult beverage, the occasional bagel with a schmear. 

As long as you know the truth about the myriad foods out there that vie for our attention you have choices.

Stop back often for your dose of the facts on staying healthy, fit, sassy and sane for the second half.