Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Agave & Corn I will not love you anymore...

I am always so excited to eat out at Raw vegan Restaurants... but I don't like how my body feels afterwords!

I was bent over backwards trying to figure it out and then I heard the Aha! in my head.... and I had to double check... could it be? in my case, yes it is.

I believe I have written about this already, but it's in my life again, so here you go..

Agave is the new sweetener of choice and it's being used everywhere. Lot's of raw vegan recipes call for it, lots of raw vegan restaurants use it by the bucket.

I don't think it is a very good choice. First of all, it's not really raw. Second, it messes around with blood sugars amongst other things. Third, it's left me bent over backwards with breakout on my face!

Here is an excerpt from an article by John Kohler I have found fascinating:

"Agave Syrup is not a “whole" food. It is a fractionated and processed food. Manufacturers take the liquid portion of the agave plant and “boil” it down, thus concentrating the sugar to make it sweet. This is similar to how maple “sap” that comes directly from a tree is heated and concentrated to make maple “syrup." Agave Syrup is missing many of the nutrients that the original plant had to begin with.
Agave Syrup was originally used to make tequila. When Agave Syrup ferments, it literally turns into tequila. The enzymatic activity therefore MUST be stopped so that the syrup will not turn into tequila in your cupboard. Raw or not, if there is no enzymatic activity, it is certainly not a “live” food. As Raw Foodists, we want the enzymes intact.
According to my research, there are three major producers of agave syrup. Some of these companies also have other divisions that make Tequila. For the most part, agave syrup is produced in the Guadalajara region in Mexico. There are those within the industry who I have spoken to at various trade shows who say that some of the agave syrup is “watered down” with corn syrup in Mexico before it is exported to the USA. Why is this done? Most likely because Agave Syrup is expensive, and corn syrup is cheap.
Agave Syrup is advertised as “low glycemic” and marketed towards diabetics. It is true, that agave itself is low glycemic. We have to consider why agave syrup is “low glycemic.” It is due to the unusually high concentration of fructose (90%) compared to the small amount of glucose (10%). Nowhere in nature does this ratio of fructose to glucose occur naturally. One of the next closest foods that contain almost this concentration of glucose to fructose is high fructose corn syrup, which may contain up to 80% fructose. Even though fructose is low on the glycemic index, there are numerous problems associated with the consumption of fructose in such high concentrations as found in concentrated sweeteners."



Some of the health problems associated with Agave are:

  • Mineral deficiency
  • Inability to control blood sugar levels
  • Heart disease
  • Liver damage


Beware of trends and beware of advertisers.... it's not so simple. Even on the latest "health trends", healthy packaged foods are still packaged, and agave and corn syrup are still dangerously high on fructose. 


If you want to sweeten your goods, use raw honey, stevia, leftover water from soaking dried fruits, maple syrup, sucanat, yacon syrup. 


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"Eat whole fresh fruits and vegetables, they are always best. Always question processed and concentrated foods that are not found in nature, even if “raw”.- John Kohler
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