Agave syrup: is it really a natural and healthy sweetener?

    Agave syrup: is it really a natural and healthy sweetener?

    Is agave juice really a natural product and less harmful than sugar? Judging by the production methods and the amount of fructose contained, it would seem not ...

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    By now we know it would be better consume as little sugar as possible, Holland is even thinking of taxing it since this substance is accused of creating addiction like a real drug. Here then is that those who care about their health confidently approach natural alternatives: stevia, maple juice, rice or barley malt, honey, etc. Among these there is also the agave syrup, however recently accused of not being really natural, let's see why ...





    Il agave juice, used since the Aztec era, is a sweet syrup that is extracted from a succulent plant typical of Mexico, Agave Tequiliana Weber. To be questioned is the industrial method with which it is produced today andexcessive amount of concentrated fructose present in this syrup now widespread in natural food stores.

    The juice obtained from the starch of the root of the agave bulb would be in fact subjected to chemical processes to ensure that the product can be used as a sweetener and stored for a long time. These processes drastically change the sugars naturally present in the plant, transforming and concentrating them. Which certainly cannot be considered natural nor beneficial and healthy.

    Another detail not to be underestimated is the fact that, to make the syrup, high temperatures are used and this causes all the mineral salts and vitamins present in the plant to be destroyed, thus creating a final product devoid of nutrients.

    In the opinion of Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, doctor of the American College of Nutrition, this sweetener "is almost all fructose, highly processed sugar". Adds Dr. Mercola: "Most agave syrups have a higher fructose content than any commercial sweetener - 70 to 97 percent depending on the brand, which is far greater than that of the fructose syrup itself. , which on average is 55% ". As is now known, ingesting high quantities of concentrated fructose (very different from that naturally contained in fruit that our body is able to assimilate and use to the fullest) can cause diabetes, heart disease, increased cholesterol and fatigue in the long run. liver.

    But it does not end there ... this syrup would not even have the advantage of having a few Calories since they are 16 for each teaspoon, practically the same as the common sugar.



    Conclusion? When in doubt it is best to avoid it, also considering the price and given that we can choose between other more natural sweeteners or give ourselves directly (but in moderation) a little brown sugar.



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    - Stevia: grow and produce your own natural sweetener

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