Agave: Health Food, Health Fad or Health Fraud?

Agave has become the sweetener of choice for many health enthusiasts. It is appearing on store shelves everywhere, in many new products and being promoted in magazines and cooking shows. One of the main benefits we hear is that it is lower in the gylcemic index. Is Agave really a health food and something you should be including in your diet?

No, but to understand why, let us take a closer look at the issue.

To begin with, we have to understand some points about fructose which is the main form of sugar in Agave. Fructose is metabolized differently than other sugars. Instead of going into the blood stream (where it could raise blood sugar), most of it goes directly to the liver. This is why Fructose has a lower Glycemic index as the GI is based on a foods influence on blood sugar.

While many promote this as a positive, as the consumption of fructose tends not to raise blood sugar, fructose, or any concentrated caloric sweeteners high in fructose, can cause elevated levels of triglycerides and increase someones risk for heart disease. It may also somewhat increase the risk of metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance. And these effects are most likely in those who are insulin resistant, and/or overweight and/or obese. It also may not effect the satiety mechanism as well as pure sucrose.

For the record, these are all the reasons we are being told to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) as it has a higher level of fructose than regular table sugar or regular corn syrup.

Here is the real irony in all of this.