Have you looked at the natural sweeteners on the store shelves? Honey, molasses, cane sugars, sucanat, date sugar, and agave are all names most of us recognize. But wait…Agave? What is that? We are lead to believe it is from Mexico and a natural product of the agave century plant or yucca. Not so!
Agave was developed in the 1990’s and is primarily made in Mexico. The sweetener is made from the starchy part of the roots of the yucca or agave. However, contrary to what the food companies want you to believe about how natural it is, just the opposite is true. Agave is a highly processed chemically treated substance that is being hailed as a natural sweetener. In fact agave is loaded with synthetic fructose and manufactured by a highly processed operation to convert the carbohydrates of the root into nectar. The process uses caustic acids, clarifier, filtration chemicals and results in a syrup that is from 70%-90% pure fructose. This is certainly far from a raw or natural product and affects our bodies in a negative way.
Sally Fallon Morell and Remi Nagel authors of Agave Nectar: Worse Than We Thought, write that synthetic fructose can raise blood triglyceride levels 200 times when people drink glucose sweetened drinks. Synthetic fructose is bad for you. Agave nectar is packed with it.
In place of agave use raw honey, date sugar, molasses, maple syrup, sugar cane from reputable sources. Even sucanat or rapadura make the grade in place of agave. Be sweet, but above all “be natural.”
