One of the first and best ways to help the environment is to go vegan. What you put in your body is not only critical to living a healthy life but can be critical to save the planet too. Let's have a look at agave nectar.
Agave nectar is a sweetener commercially produced from several species of agave, including the same plant tequila comes from. Most agave syrup comes from Mexico and South Africa. Agaves are large, spikey plants that resemble cactus in both form and habitat, but they are actually succulents similar to the familiar Aloe Vera. When the agave has grown to 7-10 years old, the leaves of the plant are cut off, revealing the core of the plant (called the "pina"). When harvested, the pina resembles a giant pineapple and can weigh in at 50 to 150 pounds. Agave syrup has either a dark or light amber colour and it’s slightly thinner in consistency than honey.
Agave syrup is sweeter than honey and about 1.5 times sweeter than sugar. In order to get the weight maintenance balance you need to use less than you normally would. Much like high-fructose corn syrup, it's highly processed before you can add it to your tea, top your pancakes with it, or get it in an energy drink, bar, or other product. "Because agave is less refined than many sweeteners, it is often considered more natural," says Nicole Fetterly, a registered dietitian in Vancouver, B.C. "And it is a natural food, just as honey and maple syrup are." In contradiction to the previous statement, Agave is certainly far less refined than many other so-called natural sweeteners on the market, she adds, including turbinado (refined sugarcane extract) and brown sugar, which is stripped-down table sugar with added molasses. While processing methods can vary, most involve enzymes, chemicals and heat. People who do not like the taste of honey find agave a more palatable choice. It also has none of the bitter aftertaste associated with artificial sweeteners.
Agave has about 60 calories per tablespoon, compared to 40 calories for the same amount of table sugar. So to save on calories, you'd need to use less, which should be possible, since agave is sweeter. In theory, it's high in fructose and low on the glycemic index, making it a better option for people with diabetes than refined sugar. The American Diabetes Association lists agave as a sweetener to limit, along with regular table sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, and all other sugars.The fact that agave syrup doesn’t spike your blood sugar and insulin has led many manufacturers to market it as “diabetic friendly."
Liz Applegate, director of sports nutrition at the University of California, Davis, agrees. She says your body doesn’t know where the fructose or glucose comes from, be it fruit, agave, or high-fructose corn syrup; so if you eat too much of it, that's a problem.
Applegate's advice: It's better to choose naturally sweetened items that have some nutritional benefit, like fruit or even a little bit of honey, which is richer in antioxidants than sugar is.Just like most other added sugars, agave offers no miraculous health benefits, Applegate says. It simply adds sweetness.
If you want to switch from one sweetener to another, Applegate suggests instead looking at the overall amount of added sugars already in your day. Some of them are in foods you might not expect. Check food labels, write down everything you eat for a week, and see how much sugar you're already getting.
The Aztecs prized the agave as a gift from the gods (much like they did with chocolate) and used the liquid from its core to flavor foods and drinks. Now, due to increasing awareness of agave nectar's many beneficial properties, it is becoming the preferred sweetener of health conscious consumers.
Agave is ideal for sweetening hot beverages like tea and coffee, and especially cold drinks such as iced tea and lemonade because it dissolves well. It's a direct substitute for maple syrup on pancakes or waffles, or a substitute for honey in baking.
If you prefer a caloric sweetener – be it agave syrup, honey, maple syrup or white sugar – use as little as possible. If you want to use agave for health benefits I would recommend that you rather cut back on sugars and sweeteners. I have tried it. I stopped drinking sugar in my coffee, a few months later and I don't even miss it.
**Saving the environment through what we eat series was written to inspire people to change their eating habits in order to save the environment and the world we live in from climate change. Eating more plant-based foods can stop deforestation, soil degradation and greenhouse gas emissions, help slow climate change and secure global food supply.
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