The Agave Nectar-High Fructose Corn Syrup Debate-Part 1
Growing consumer resistance to HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) has been a hole-in-one for the agave industry. Need a healthy alternative to those evil HFS products?
Agave syrup to the rescue!
In case you doubt the influence of marketing in setting trends and consumer buying habits, look at these statistics:[1]
- New agave products more than tripled in number between 2003 and 2007, from 56 to 176. Agave syrup is now appearing in products such as energy bars, cereals and organic ice creams.
- Revenues for the category “other liquid sweeteners,” which includes agave, rose to more than $10.3 million in 2007, which was a 50 percent jump from 2006.
- McCormick & Co., a major food manufacturer, placed agave syrup in its “top 10 flavors” list for 2009.
What is Agave?
“Agave” literally means “noble”. It is a drought-resistant member of the lilly and amaryllis families that commonly grows in the Southwestern United States, Mexico and parts of South America. Agave juice is distilled to make tequilla and mezcal. The herbal remedy world and shamanic traditions claim it offers relief for indigestion, irregular bowels and skin wounds.
One of the more exotic varieties, Blue agave, grows in the rich volcanic soil of Mexico under the hot tropical sun. It is said that it blooms only once in its lifetime. These romantic and shamanic images are ones that the agave “nectar” sellers want you to remember, using agave’s “royal pedigree” to cover the truth that what they’re selling you is a bottle of high-fructose syrup – so highly processed and refined that it bears NO resemblance to the original plant.[2]
How Agave Nectar is Made
Agave nectar is typically made by draining the agave plant of its juice and then cooking the juice to evaporate excess water, per Craig Gerbore, president of Colorado-based Madhava Honey.
Madhava began distributing agave nectar in 2002, when, Gerbore said, the sweetener was not easily available in U.S. stores. It now outsells the company’s namesake honey, comprising about two-thirds of Madhava’s $9 million-plus annual sales.[3]
So…Why the debate about AGAVE?
Like many plants, the agave undoubtedly has many different phytochemicals with health-supporting properties. The problem lies in the processing, which, like any food processing, destroys most of these nutrients. Obviously, branded products undergo different amounts and types of processing, under different temperatures, etc.
What you’re left with after processing, then, is a high-fructose syrup, similar metabolically to high fructose corn syrup in terms of metabolic impact. Regardless of the organic-ness, regardless of the care taken in processing, regardless of the overall quality — agave syrup is mostly fructose. Plain and simple.[4]
Most agave syrup has a higher fructose content than any commercial sweetener — ranging from 70 to 97 percent, depending on the brand, which is FAR HIGHER than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which averages 55 percent.
This makes agave actually WORSE than HFCS.[2]
Can Fructose Become Toxic For Us?
Remember fructose is not a poison like aluminum or mercury, that needs to be avoided at any dose.
Fructose is only a poison when you consume it at doses greater than 25 grams per day OR if you have elevated uric acid levels which appear to be a marker for fructose toxicity.
“People are disgusted with aspartame and Splenda, and they’re looking for an alternative to high-fructose corn syrup,” said Kantha Shelke, a food chemist specializing in natural foods and principal with the Chicago-based food science think tank Corvus Blue.
Agave offers no advantage in terms of caloric content: about 16 calories per teaspoon, the same as table sugar. But the syrup’s chemical makeup can differ significantly from that of other sweeteners. Whereas table sugar is composed of sucrose, which is broken down to yield half fructose and half glucose, agave can contain up to 90% fructose, Shelke says.
Dr. Mercola recommends to keep your daily dose of ALL fructose down to below 25 grams, or approximately three tablespoons per day – assuming you have NO other sources of fructose, such as fruits, fruit juices, sodas, and most processed foods. Anything more than that would put you over the 25 grams-per-day limit, at which fructose toxicity begins.
In Part 2 of this series, we will look at whether Agave is really a beneficial sweetening alternative for diabetics, or marketing hype…
[1] Carr C. “Agave’s sweet spot,” January 31, 2009. Time Magazine
[2] Dr. Mercola,”Shocking! This ‘Tequila’ Sweetener is Far Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup”, March 30, 2010
[3] David Olson, “Increasingly popular agave nectar is no better for you than sugar, nutritionists say”, The Press Enterprise, May 14, 2010
[4] Dr. Mercola, “Is this Popular Natural Sweetener Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup?”, July 3, 2010.
[5] Elena Conis, “Agave syrup’s benefits are in debate”, Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2009
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You can use agave nectar as an alternative to maple syrup or honey. Baking with agave nectar is same with when using traditional ingredients, but there are some rules you must observe in order to get good results. What is your favorite recipe for baking with agave nectar?
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