Agave: the full story behind the "healthy" sweetener

With its quick rise to popularity, agave walks around with the confidence of a sweetener shielded by the "health halo." What is this halo I speak of? It's the crown that foods with a reputation for being healthy receive solely because they appear to be healthy, but in actuality aren't all that great for you.

This isn't to say that agave doesn't provide any health benefit, for a serving of the light-flavored syrup mixed into your food or beverage may aid in preventing osteoporosis, and because it's sweeter than sugar, you may not need to use a full 60 calorie serving. These qualities aside, what truly brought agave to fame is its low glycemic index, which helps keep blood sugar levels from spiking. These factors have lead many to believe that agave is a better alternative to sugar (which has a high glycemic index), but these qualities alone shouldn't override the sweetener's less attractive traits.

Agave is typically made up of anywhere from 55-90% fructose (percentages vary depending on how the agave is processed), which makes high-fructose corn syrup, coming in at 55% fructose, look pretty good (don't get the wrong idea, it's not). Taking in too much fructose can result in high blood pressure, liver disease, obesity, and kidney disease. It's true that fruit contains fructose as well, but fruit provides you with a host of benefits, including mighty doses of vitamins and antioxidants, that agave does not. Fruit also contains far less fructose than agave; it's important to keep in mind that it's high quantitates of fructose that can lead to health problems, and eating a few servings of fruit won't put you anywhere near a dangerous level of intake.

Another reason people choose to use agave is because it's "natural", but there's much debate over whether this claim is legitimate or not. Agave in its completely natural state is known as aguamiel, which is the juice extracted from the agave plant. In order to produce a syrup/nectar, the aguamiel has to go through a multi-filtering process (with which many manufacturers use chemicals), and the end product is what you'll find lining the shelves of your local grocer or health foods store. Natural? I'll let you decide.

Agave isn't exactly what all of its impressive marketing has chalked it up to be, so if you're a fan of the sweetener, I recommend opting for the varieties containing lesser amounts of fructose, such as Xagave. With a 47% fructose content, it contains less fructose than other brands of agave on the market and is processed without the use of chemicals. Even when buying varieties with better manufacturing methods, be sure to consume agave in moderation, just like you would any other type of sugar. After all, no matter the form, sugar is sugar.