Thanks for that! lol...
I think Robyn is the nutrition expert on the board, for sure.
I'm kinda a "hippie" myself when it comes to my food. Organic, nonprocessed, vegetarian. So that's why I knew about Agave nectar. Plus it's used to make tequila, so I guess that would make me an expert! lol!
(just a joke - I can't drink any more because alcohol is a seizure trigger for me.)
Agave nectar is just as sugary as anything else with equal sweetness, it's just a different type of sugar (fructose vs glucose). Sort of like the difference between high fructose corn syrup and cane or beet sugar.
If your fellow hippie friends don't believe the rumors about agave nectar:
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 used in making soda(HFCS 55), which only contains 55% 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:
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/agave.html
That article gives you an earful about fructose vs. glucose. And, they provide footnotes on where they got their info (MD's, PhD's, govt. studies, etc) I found sites that cheer about the benefits of Agave Nectar, but most of them belong to companies that produce, market, import, or sell it.
As an alternative, I love stevia. Read all about it here:
http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/2169001.html
Stevia is 200 times sweeter than sugar, and it isn't absorbed in the intestines so no calories, no carbs, no sugar. In native people it's been used as an herbal remedy for diabetes.