share. learn. thrive!

Is Agave healthy?

I recently read various articles stating Agave may not be good for you. Can someone please comment on this article and there claims.

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/agave.html

Hoping to get feedback from Brendan!

Thanks,

Bill

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jenifer Duron on August 14, 2009 at 1:50pm

Thanks everyone - great information!

Andrea - great site! I have a similar story to yours...I used to get migraines a lot. I became a vegan 8 months ago and they completely went away. The more I learn, the healthier I eat and the better I feel! Thanks for providing great info!!!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Andrea McNinch on August 14, 2009 at 6:27pm

Oh, and thanks about my website! :)

Nathane L. Jackson said:

Andrea,

Thanks for the info and you have a great website.

Nathane L. Jackson
Vega Ambassador
www.nathanejackson.com

Andrea McNinch said:
Hi everyone.

Yes, most agave is heated above 118 degrees. There is a brand that is not. It's by Ultimate Superfoods and is even backed by David Wolfe. As for agave, I try not to use it too much, or any high-glycemic sweeteners such as bananas, dates, etc. The only raw-vegan sweeteners that DO NOT raise your blood sugar are Stevia and xylitol. Even yacon spikes blood sugar. There is another sweetener that rocks the house, Jerusalem Artichoke syrup? Heard of it?? My friends who own Vivapura sell it - it is about 13-15 on the glycemic index, as agave is like 30 and yacon is around 20.

There are also claims that diabetics can have agave. This is NOT true!! I am actually in the process of getting my masters in live-vegan food nutrition from the world's foremost nutritional pioneer, Gabriel Cousens, M.D., and we practice a low-glycemic raw-vegan diet. But, for those who are mostly eating a SAD diet and are not diabetic, I'd rather have them eating agave than white sugar or artificial sweeteners. But if you're super into proper health and/or raw foods, avoid agave as much as you can!

Be Well,
Andrea
www.how2eatraw.com

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Krissdee on October 12, 2010 at 6:33pm

ITS casusing me to crave sugar and I have become addicted therefore I feel this is not a NO if you are a sugar addict....nothing sweet I guess...unless natural but dates set me off too. Bummer! Im on my first week without and so far I haven:t been set free, feels like my old sugar days...if its to good to be true...it is

Andrea McNinch said:

Another really good thing to know is that truly raw agave is clear and truly raw stevia is not pure white - it comes from a green plant!! This makes sense, right? The whiter it is, the more refinement/processing it undergoes (stevia). It's pretty inexpensive to have a stevia plant and just pick the leaves right from the source! I love it!!

Agave is just the opposite - I forgot the David Wolfe has his own REALLY raw agave now too (I think it comes from the same place as the one I posted earlier), but his is called: Sunfood Clear Agave. This one is also organic. They only heat it to 104 degrees and then it is subjected to an evaporation process that takes 12 hours. The result is truly raw agave (which is clear). I know there were some agave manufacturers that had to change their labeling because they were heating them to like 250 degrees. You just have to stay informed, which brings me too...

It's GREAT that more and more raw-vegan food products are becoming mainstream and readily available, but this also has it's negatives. When "industry" gets a hold of things the integrity behind the product is lost and unfortunately our health takes a back seat to the all mighty dollar. I think Nikki got into this a little bit in an earlier post. I agree with her to some degree, but agave does in fact raise your blood sugar - and if you get the truly raw agave, none of things she mentioned are true (including that is DOES NOT spike blood sugar; even the truly raw stuff DOES). I don't want misinformation going around about agave - like the great cacao (raw chocolate) debate. This is a whole nother post)!

And as for substitutions, fructose is fructose!! Dates and bananas are SUPER high fructose. Yes, moderation for sure.

Nathane L. Jackson said:
Andrea,
Thanks for the info and you have a great website. Nathane L. Jackson Vega Ambassador
www.nathanejackson.com

Andrea McNinch said:
Hi everyone.

Yes, most agave is heated above 118 degrees. There is a brand that is not. It's by Ultimate Superfoods and is even backed by David Wolfe. As for agave, I try not to use it too much, or any high-glycemic sweeteners such as bananas, dates, etc. The only raw-vegan sweeteners that DO NOT raise your blood sugar are Stevia and xylitol. Even yacon spikes blood sugar. There is another sweetener that rocks the house, Jerusalem Artichoke syrup? Heard of it?? My friends who own Vivapura sell it - it is about 13-15 on the glycemic index, as agave is like 30 and yacon is around 20.

There are also claims that diabetics can have agave. This is NOT true!! I am actually in the process of getting my masters in live-vegan food nutrition from the world's foremost nutritional pioneer, Gabriel Cousens, M.D., and we practice a low-glycemic raw-vegan diet. But, for those who are mostly eating a SAD diet and are not diabetic, I'd rather have them eating agave than white sugar or artificial sweeteners. But if you're super into proper health and/or raw foods, avoid agave as much as you can!

Be Well,
Andrea
www.how2eatraw.com

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Holberton on August 28, 2011 at 12:30pm

Hi Andrea,

Can you point me to the "the great cacao (raw chocolate) debate" please?

Thanks, Michael

Andrea McNinch said:

It's GREAT that more and more raw-vegan food products are becoming mainstream and readily available, but this also has it's negatives. When "industry" gets a hold of things the integrity behind the product is lost and unfortunately our health takes a back seat to the all mighty dollar. I think Nikki got into this a little bit in an earlier post. I agree with her to some degree, but agave does in fact raise your blood sugar - and if you get the truly raw agave, none of things she mentioned are true (including that is DOES NOT spike blood sugar; even the truly raw stuff DOES). I don't want misinformation going around about agave - like the great cacao (raw chocolate) debate. This is a whole nother post)!