Dirty Thirty #5: Agave Nectar

This one makes me so sad, and it honestly took me a long time to come to terms with it. Agave nectar: natures natural low-glycemic sweetener. I had created new "healthy" recipes using the new miracle and even turned friends onto it. Now, however, I must make amends.

Traditional agave nectar is harvested by natives and comes from the boiled sap of the agave plant. Commercial agave nectar (and, yes, this includes organic and so-called raw) comes from the starchy root and, as "raw" has no definition for food labels, anything can be labeled "raw." The "nectar" is made from the starchy inulin, which is made up of fructose.

To quote Sally Fallon Morell and Rami Nagel of the Weston A. Price Foundation, "The process by which agave glucose and inulin are converted into 'nectar' is similar to the process by which corn starch is converted to HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup). The agave starch is subject to an enzymatic and chemical process that converts the starch into a fructose-rich syrup--anywhere form 70 percent fructose and higher according to the agave nectar chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites."

WHAT????

Why is this a problem? Fructose, in addition to being pretty high on the glycemic scale, does damage to the liver. It is quite dangerous to ingest in high quantities. Yes, fructose is the sugar found in fruits, but, when you are eating whole fruits, you are also getting the fiber and other nutrients that help move the fructose through your system without raising your blood sugar or damaging your liver. Fructose in whole fruits = good. Fructose removed from its source = bad, really bad.

So, now what? First, avoid using sweeteners to sweeten things like coffee, tea, oatmeal and cereals. Learn to enjoy the natural flavors of your food. Second, if you absolutely do need to sweeten something, use green stevia extract. Avoid Truvia and other stevia products that are not labeled as "green stevia extract." They contain other things you don't want. In baking, substitute coconut sugar. This substitution is actually much easier than agave nectar, as coconut sugar replaces cane sugar 1:1. Coconut sugar has a slightly more deep and rich flavor than cane sugar, more like brown sugar. It's still really good.

Sorry to burst your bubble on this one, but you need to know!

To read the full article about high fructose corn syrup and agave nectar by Sally Fallon Morell and Rami Nagel, click here.

Check back tomorrow for another Dirty Thirty!