Agave syrup

Agave syrup / agave nectar

The harmful effects of sugar are one of the few things that most health experts agree on. As many people try to avoid sugar, many other sweeteners - both artificial and natural - are becoming increasingly popular. One of these sweeteners is agave syrup, a sweetener found in many supposedly healthy foods. Agave syrup is marketed as a natural sugar alternative that is suitable for diabetics and does not cause severe increases in blood sugar levels. In reality, however, agave syrup could be even more harmful than regular table sugar. This article will take a closer look at the reasons for this.

What is agave?

Agave is native to the southern United States, Latin America and South America. Although agave is relatively new to the Western diet, it has been used in Mexico for hundreds - if not thousands - of years. Traditionally, the agave is said to have medicinal properties. The juice of the agave plant has long been boiled down in Mexico to produce a sweetener known as miel de agave (1). The sugar of the agave is also fermented to produce tequila. In fact, tequila is the most common use of agave today. Like many other plants, agave probably has some health benefits. However, the purification and processing involved in making agave syrup tends to destroy some - if not all - of these health benefits.

How is agave syrup made?

What is commercially produced today as agave syrup has little in common with the traditional sweetener that was historically made from agave by the Mexican people.

The first steps of the production process are the same: the plant is first cut into pieces and squeezed to extract the sugary sap. Even though this juice is high in sugar, it contains healthy fiber called fructans, which have been linked to positive effects on health and insulin levels (2). However, when this juice is further processed into syrup, the fructans are extracted and broken down into fructose by heating the juice and/or processing it through enzymes (3, 4). This process - which is very similar to the process of producing other unhealthy sweeteners such as high-fructose mouse syrup - destroys all the health-promoting properties of the agave plant.

Summary: The agave syrup available today is produced using heat and enzymes, destroying all the potential health benefits. The end product is a highly refined, unhealthy syrup.

Agave syrup has little effect on blood sugar levels

The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly the carbohydrates in a food enter the bloodstream as sugar. In other words, foods with a high GI cause a greater increase in blood glucose levels and may have a more negative impact on health (5, 6, 7). Unlike glucose, fructose does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels - at least in the short term. This is the reason why high-fructose sweeteners are often marketed as healthy or suitable for diabetics. Agave syrup has a very low GI - which is primarily due to the fact that almost all of the sugar it contains is fructose. At least in comparison to regular sugar, agave syrup contains very little glucose. A recent study carried out with mice compared the metabolic effects of agave syrup and sucrose (household sugar) over a period of 34 days. The mice fed agave syrup gained less weight and also had lower blood glucose and insulin levels (8). In such short-term studies, the glucose contained in table sugar increases both blood glucose and insulin levels, which is not the case with fructose. However, GI is only one factor to consider when comparing the effects of sweeteners on health. The harmful effects of agave - and sugar in general - have little to do with the glycemic index and much more to do with the high amounts of fructose - and agave syrup is very high in fructose.

Summary: Agave syrup is low in glucose and therefore has little effect on blood sugar levels. This gives agave syrup a low glycemic index.

Agave syrup is very rich in fructose

Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup contain two simple sugars: glucose and fructose in a ratio of about 1:1. Even though fructose and glucose look similar, they have quite different effects on the body.

Glucose is a very important molecule. It is found in many healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables - and even the body produces it to ensure that there is always enough glucose available. Every living cell on the planet contains glucose, as this molecule is essential for life. However, while every cell in the body can metabolize glucose, the liver is the only organ that can metabolize fructose in significant amounts (9). Consuming large amounts of fructose can therefore have devastating effects on metabolic health (10). This is because the liver becomes overloaded and begins to convert fructose into fat, which increases triglyceride levels in the blood. Many scientists believe that some of this fat is stored in the liver and can lead to the development of a fatty liver (11, 12, 13). Although fructose may not increase blood glucose levels in the short term, it can contribute to insulin resistance when consumed in large quantities. This can lead to a significant increase in long-term blood glucose and insulin levels and greatly increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (14, 15).

In addition, high fructose intake can increase levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL cholesterol, as well as contribute to fat storage in the abdominal area (16). With this in mind, it is important to bear in mind that agave syrup is 85% fructose - which is much more fructose than household sugar (17). None of this applies to fruit, which is packed with fiber and quickly makes you feel full. The body copes well with the amounts of fructose that occur naturally in fruit.

Summary: As agave syrup contains much more fructose than regular sugar, it has a higher potential for negative health effects such as increased fat storage in the abdominal area and the development of a fatty liver.

Conclusion

If you want to sweeten your food, agave syrup is not the product of choice. Several other sweeteners including stevia, erythritol and xylitol are much healthier. In fact, agave syrup might be one of the worst sweeteners in the world, as it makes regular sugar seem healthy in direct comparison - which is really saying something.