This is the same plant that is used to make tequila. Agave nectar requires multiple processing steps before it can be consumed. Processed food may be less healthy because the process of refining foods often means losing some or all of its natural health benefits.
Honey comes from bees. These busy little insects produce honey by collecting the nectar of plants. But certain brands of honey are heated pasteurized to prevent crystallization and to kill bacteria before storage.
Raw honey is all-natural and unprocessed, making it the wiser choice. Agave nectar and honey have about the same number of calories. Both a tablespoon of agave nectar and a tablespoon of honey contain roughly 64 calories.
Keep in mind that agave nectar and honey both add these calories to your dish with little extra nutrition. The Glycemic Index GI measures how much a carbohydrate-rich food may raise blood glucose levels. Sugar is a carbohydrate. GI is an especially important tool for people with diabetes, who need to control their blood glucose levels to stay healthy.
Foods with a higher GI can trigger a spike in blood sugar and insulin release after eating. High-GI foods are also digested quickly, which can mean feeling hungry again much sooner. The lower the GI value, the less the food raises your blood glucose. If you only consider glycemic index, then agave nectar takes the cake. Honey is made mostly out of the sugars glucose about 30 percent and fructose about 40 percent.
It also contains smaller amounts of other sugars, including:. Agave nectar, on the other hand, consists of percent fructose. Although glucose and fructose look very similar, they have completely different effects in the body.
Due to a new trend in healthier eating, more people are switching from maple syrup to agave nectar. The decision between these two sweeteners comes down to personal preference. Agave nectar is a natural, sugar-free sweetener that can use in many recipes.
Unlike brown rice syrup, which has an unpleasant flavor and leaves behind gritty residue mixed with other ingredients, agave nectar blends smoothly without any clumps or chunks to worry about. You might be surprised to know that the main ingredient in corn syrup is high fructose corn sugar, linked with obesity and diabetes.
The best replacement option? Agave nectar! Made from a cactus-like plant native to Mexico of all places, this natural sweetener offers more than just fantastic taste — it also boasts an impressive nutritional profile, including calcium, iron potassium, and magnesium. There are many benefits to substituting Agave Nectar for corn syrup in your everyday cooking. Not only does the use of this sweetener make a healthier breakfast, but it is also more economical than sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.
There has been an explosion of new health-conscious foods popping up on supermarket shelves these days, and one that caught my eye was agave nectar. I always try to stay away from refined sugars as much as possible, so I saw how similar its chemical makeup is to honey minus those pesky allergens. Like corn syrup, agave nectar will not crystallize. Agave Nectar is sweeter than sugar and has a low glycemic index GI. Agave nectar may be just the thing to take your baked goods from so-so to spectacular!
It therefore does not have a special nutritional profile and only contains small amounts of potassium, calcium and magnesium. Agave contains less glucose and so has a lower glycemic index GI value than table sugar. This means the body absorbs agave more slowly into the bloodstream and as a result does not cause such a rapid spike in insulin. However, agave contains significantly more fructose than sucrose table sugar. Although this gives it its sweet taste, fructose is metabolised differently from glucose.
Whereas glucose is converted into energy by the mitochondria of all cells, fructose is primarily metabolised by the liver. Consuming excessive fructose is thought to put pressure on the liver and may have undesirable effects on the body. Because fructose is considered to be one of the most damaging forms of sugar, always use agave in small quantities and buy organic, raw agave rather than the cheaper, highly processed version.
Some people also have trouble absorbing fructose and may experience unpleasant side effects such as bloating or abdominal discomfort in sensitive individuals, particularly those with irritable bowel syndrome. The jury is out on whether agave is actually better for you than table sugar. It will have less of an immediate impact on your blood sugar levels due to its low GI score but the high fructose content may make it more difficult for your body to process. Some opponents of agave claim it is simply a condensed fructose syrup, with minimal nutritional value.
GI measures how high a food raises blood sugar—the lower the GI, the better, since a high spike in blood sugar gives you a fleeting surge of energy followed by a crash. Research links low GI diets to reduced levels of the hormone insulin and inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, and higher dietary GI to greater risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. High GI diets are also associated with obesity and increases in belly fat.
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