photo credit: miss karen

Many people have switched to agave from table sugar. No wonder why they’ve found it equally as sweet — because it is. Agave was introduced to the natural health market as a replacement for sugar, but as it turns out, it’s just as bad for you.

Agave is a succulent plant, mainly found in Mexico, but also grows in southern and western United States and in central and tropical South America.

A leading maker of agave sweetener, Madhava, states, “Limiting glucose consumption is a contemporary concern for many people. The introduction of this new sweetener is timely as it has a relatively low glycemic index due to its higher proportion of fructose and lower levels of glucose. This fact should prove attractive to those with special diet considerations or who monitor glucose intake.”

But recent research is showing that agave isn’t a health product by any means. Although agave is indeed an ancient plant, the truth is that the agave nectar used as a sweetener was invented in the 1990s.

Journalist Rami Nagel, who has spent some time investigating agave, concludes,”The retail refined agave syrup label does not explain that it goes through a complicated chemical refining process of enzymatic digestion, which converts the starch into the free, man-made chemical fructose that has a direct link to serious the degenerative disease conditions so prevalent in our culture. While high fructose agave syrup won’t spike your blood sugar levels, the fructose in it will cause: mineral depletion, liver inflammation, hardening of the arteries, insulin resistance leading to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and may be toxic for use during pregnancy.”

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