Is agave syrup healthy??

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 1:46 am Post subject: Is agave syrup healthy??

Please don't tell me it's not healthy because your allergic!!!!!
Or is honey or sugar better? Or is there a healthier option?

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 1:55 am Post subject: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

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Diamond Member Joined: Sep 18 2004 Posts: 2600

Agave is not healthy.
Honey is a much better option. Also pure maple syrup.
You can also make lots of baked goods using dates, other dried fruit, overripe bananas, even prunes as sweeteners.

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 29 2010 Posts: 2922

I thought honey isn't any better than sugar. I'm so confused these days about healthy vs unhealthy in some areas.

Or is oney better than sugar just not better as far as calories.

I have honey, "real" maple syrum and agave and I'm really confused as to health of them.

What exactly is agave?

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 2:44 am Post subject: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

It depends on how you define 'healthy'.... are you comparing calories? or nutrients? or are you looking at glycemic index?

As I understand it, Agave (which is highly processed stuff... it comes from cactus leaves) has just as many calories as honey or maple syrup, but it has a much higher glycemic index.. meaning, the sugars are processed through your body very fast.. they spike your blood sugar quickly an then you experience a 'drop' in energy.

Maple syrup has lots of minerals and is a more complex sugar, which is metabolized quicker and stays in your body for longer. Honey also has nutrients in it and is processed by your body more slowly.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/

Agave is very concentrated and that's actually why I think it's sooo unhealthy. Once you start eating super-sweet foods, then you don't enjoy less-sweet foods so much and you have cravings for sweet foods more often than a regular person who just eats regular foods.

IMO, save your money. Use plain old regular sugar and just limit you consumption of sweets. Have one cookie and really enjoy it... don't spend a bunch of money trying to make 'healthy' cookies that don't taste the same.
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Gold Member Joined: Aug 19 2011 Posts: 2327

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 29 2010 Posts: 2922

maybe the reason people like agave as a semi healthy sweetner is because you can use much less? Is it really so much sweeter than sugar?

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 3:14 am Post subject: Re: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 7:35 am Post subject: Re: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 7:50 am Post subject: Re: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48223

It's a fad. We stick to sugar in our house.

Diamond Member Joined: Sep 18 2004 Posts: 2600

One of it's possible side effects is miscarriage.

Platinum Member Joined: May 22 2005 Posts: 13796

Without getting into claims of miscarriage, etc. a benefit of agave nectar is that it is sweeter and you can use less of it. I have a recipe for parve icing from the Babycakes cookbook that uses only 1/4 cup and tastes great! Where would I find a recipe that called for that little sugar?

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 4:29 pm Post subject: Re: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

Platinum Member Joined: May 22 2005 Posts: 13796

Color me dubious.

Platinum Member Joined: Apr 12 2010 Posts: 5882

Posted: Sun, Jun 03 2012, 5:39 pm Post subject: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

It depends what you are looking for when you say healthy.

I'd go with honey. More calories. But healthier for your body.
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Posted: Mon, Jun 04 2012, 2:26 am Post subject: Re: re: Is agave syrup healthy??

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 14 2009 Posts: 6022

Geez I hadn't looked into it but it's all over the recipes called "healthy" Confused

Oh dear... I want to have healthy habits but I think I need to take a few years off of life to just research in order to make heads or tails of what that even means...

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 30 2006 Posts: 2613

Agave isn't standardized, which is one of the issues.

Sucrose is 50/50 fructose to glucose. Agave may be anywhere from 90/10 to 55/45. It's highly processed.

Ultimately, sugar is sugar and very few sweeteners contain enough minerals or anything else to make a substantial difference healthwise. It's not healthier to sweeten with honey or maple syrup or what have you. There's a big controversy about fructose. People latched onto it because it makes blood sugar levels (the test measures glucose) much more slowly. There's a researcher at UCSF, Dr. Lustig, who is virulently anti-fructose, but other researchers say his claims don't hold up.

In short, I believe agave is as healthy as any other caloric sweetener. Which is to say, use it in moderation only, and don't be fooled that recipes using agave/date syrup/maple syrup/Rapadura are any better for you than ordinary cane sugar. Or even HFCS--the real issue with HFCS is that it is so cheap we can add tons of it to everything. If we swapped it out for equivalent amounts of sugar, we'd be just as badly off.