Last year I fell for the agave syrup/nectar scam – it is purported to be a low GI, safe, natural sweetner.
Then I learned it has almost double the fructose content of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which we have all been told to avoid. Read more at this link (or Google “agave expose”):
Seems like we can’t believe much that is pushed at us these days, and have to check everything out ourselves. My new trigger word that makes me run to the computer to search the product is “natural” which we all assume to mean safe and good. Un-uh – not so.
When I found out the truth, I dumped out two large, very expensive bottles of agave and resolved to be a smarter consumer. And now you can be smarter too!
Todo bien. (It’s all good.)
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Morning Lisa, You are so right! I threw out a bottle also, rather use sugar, I know where that comes from…TRACK
Thanks for this info…It really gets to be a sad day when so many are out for a buck …That is becoming the American way :. Lie,Get and live lavish on the backs of others.
People are seeking healthy alternatives to live but beware everything that appears healthy is not that is why I stick to butter …Real butter.Remember the margarine scams?
As trainer Jillian Michaels says “If if didn’t come directly from the ground, or have a mama, don’t eat it!” Butter had a mama! lol
I also like “If it comes from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, skip it.”
Great sayings…back to the basics.
Wow! Thanks for that info, Lisa. I, too, am now going to throw out my expensive bottle of agave. I just started a vegan program, through the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and it appears that the recipes on that site call for pure maple syrup as a sweetener. It’s not bad, but it is really sweet. Kathillo
Have you read Suzanne Somer’s book “Knockout”? She covers many things cancer survivors can do to strengthen and improve their immune systems and health pre-and-post-treatment. She cites many specialists and resources re: diet. (Sorry, but vegan seems really extreme to me and I worry it would be hard to follow!). From reading her book, there are folks out there who can assess your specific case and recommend the rights foods/diet just for you. For example, some people do need meat, while others don’t. Good luck!!
I am wondering about his new Stevia sweetener. For my own part, I try to minimize use of all sweeteners, esp aspartame. I don’t eat many sweetened items like cookies, cakes, etc. When I want something a little sweet in tea or oatmeal, I use honey because I think it has some natural goodies in it that have not been stripped away!
Stevia isn’t new. Apparently it’s not harmful; the problem is it has an aftertaste that is bitter to some. I can’t use it – I can really taste it.
truvia is the one to be careful of….stevia is a plant and truvia is a manufactured sweetner said to be made with stevia. I use stevia to sweeten plain yogurt and my oatmeal once it is cooked; I avoid truvia, agave and try to limit white anything especially sugar.
Wow, stevia tastes just like sugar to me. I am a vegan, so thanks to all for your information on this thread. Veganism is absolutely awesome. My doctor jumps up and down over my test results. My complexion is great and, most of all, my CONSCIENCE is clean regarding animals.
You probably all know that one of the worst offenders is Splenda, right? “Made from sugar!” They make it by adding chlorine during processing. It destroys the environment around the factories, and does about as much good for your health as Clorox.
Yes, Splenda was actually initially developed as a pesticide, according to the book “Skinny Bitch.” It is sucrose which is, indeed, really bad for us due to the manufacturing process.
Thank you so much for this info. I also saw it endorsed on Dr. Oz and bought a big expensive bottle which I’m also throwing out. I actually found it awfully sweet so didn’t use it too often. What I use for coffee, tea, fruit, etc. (not baking with it!) is Sugar in the Raw put out by Kraft Foods. It IS sugar but I find I use much less of it and it has a really delicious taste. It is expensive and comes in a shaker but what a difference between it and refined white sugar in taste and I use a fraction of the amount so far less calories. I don’t know if it’s any healthier but I don’t think it goes through the refining process and I think it has molasses in it as well. I have a sweet tooth so I can’t do away with all sugar and I thought I’d pass this on to others who need their sugar fix! I try to avoid artificial sweetners but I do drink Diet pepsi occasionally and have since it came out years ago. I don’t know how harmful it is but it should have killed off millions by now if it’s as bad as they say it is !!
I hear you! It’s a conundrum when it comes to sweetening.
Raw sugar is still heavily refined (how else did they get it out of the sugar cane or sugar beet?) and molasses simply gives it a darker (less refined looking) colour.
From what I have read, diet sodas (artifical sweetners) have probably significantly contributed to the explosion of metabolic disorders, and things like diabetes, obesity, and even degenerative brain ailments. These ailments hardly existed and were not increasing at such rapid rates, prior to the 1970′s when agri-business really started messing with “food.”
Millions might not have been “killed off” outright (yet), but artificial anything likely contributes to killing off our health and length/quality of life. And governments allow it – witness the tobacco industry and other lobby groups. Anything that is a cash cow for governments is going to be allowed to pretty much do what it wants, no matter how bad it is for the populace.
Dr. Oz, to me, speaks for corporations. What he said about flaxseed the other day shocked me. He has said a number of things that I have to shake my head about.
So does this include agave nectar too? Ingredients listed are organic light agave nectar????
Yes – you will see my post mentions both agave syrup AND nectar. Being organic does not make fructose any better for us, nor does being “light” – which, in this case, I think refers to the colour of the nectar (there is dark and light agave). These words make us feel safe and that we are making a good choice – when fructose is terrible for you. I even e-mailed the Dr. Oz Show and gave him what for after he featured a nutrionist/weightloss person who used agave syrup in a recipe. Dr. Oz is death on fructose!
Glucose is marginally better for us than fructose, simply because every cell in the body can metabolize/utilize glucose, whereas only the liver can metabolize fructose, and the excess gets stored as fat.
According to John Tesh when random environmentally green products were tested for veracity over 95% proved to be false claims. Hearing that really shook me to the core. I’ve been in advertising for 30 years and we’ve been held to extremely strict standards in any of our claims. We won’t say something unless we can prove it AND back it up. I was stunned to realize that this much fraud can exist, and in an area that is supposed to be operating on a plane above the common folk.
In all honesty, it’s been a long time since a product I bought for it’s miraculous claims has worked on any level. It is so disheartening to find that the perfect product is a perfect fraud!
Wise words - have to check everything out ourselves. It pays to be educated and to read the labels! It is sad that we can longer just trust…
Yes, we need to read labels…and if you need a graduate degree in chemistry to understand the ingredients’ label, put it back on the store shelf.
The difference is that it is not highly processed sugar, and easier on your body.
To blatantly dismiss a certain form of sweetener shows a lack of understanding on both the makeup of sugars and the physiology of how our bodies use sweeteners. My husband is in culinary school, and at the age of 52, I’ve learned more about sugars and sweeteners than I ever planned to know.
Agave is completely safe, and there is no problem at all using it. If someone buys it thinking it will be a low-calorie sweetener, then that is a lack of understanding on what agave is and its origin.
To throw away a sweetener because you found out it has fructose is a sign of not understanding fructose. Agave is definitely high fructose, but a different form of it than corn syrups, which are more highly processed.
You do not use as much agave as you do other sweeteners. For example, if you needed 1 cup of sugar, you only need 3/4 cup agave at most. But, being a fructose, it is still going to have a fairly high glycemic value, just like regular sugar.
Your post perpetuates a lack of understanding, and now many people will probably not even try it because they think oh no – it’s fructose! If you don’t want that, then you will also have to give up berries, most melons, honey, oranges and apples too, to name a few.
Your source of information is someone’s personal blog against foods, and does not even bother to deal with the actual nutritional value (or lack of it). You need to research how various sugars are metabolized in the body, and then make an informed decision based on that decision, not the name of fructose, or any mental connection to the “evils” of high fructose corn syrup products (which are NOT the same composition as agave nectar). (PS – your source of this “nutritional information” also thinks that almonds have no nutritional value unless they are in the raw form and soaked in water before eating. Yeah, that sounds about right. Not!)
If someone is looking for a natural low-glycemic sweetener alternative, then may I suggest you try stevia.
How sad that you don’t research it and understand sugars further before swearing off a very natural sweetener.
But to call fire in a crowded room over it just because it is a type of fructose is just irresponsible.
I’m not going to debate this, but wish to emphasize my research on agave syrup goes FAR beyond that one link I provided. It IS highly processed and is flat-out bad for you, according to health/wellness experts like Jillian Michaels, Jorge Cruise and Suzanne Somers, to name just a few. Google it and read.
Fructose found in whole fruits in their natural state is in no way comparable to the high fructose of a refined syrup.
People can and should do their own homework if they are interested, and make their own decisions.