Happy MORSELICIOUS MONDAY & 1st day of October!

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We have a fantastic guest post from a fellow Moreslite and colleague!

Thank you, Jaime for sharing this wonderful post on Agave, a topic close to my heart.

Onto, Jaime’s post:

This month I take a look at the controversy surrounding agave nectar, which has been heating up over the last few years.

Touted as a healthy sugar substitute suitable for diabetics because of its low glycemic index,

the question remains, how healthy is it?

On the topic of desserts, my all-time favorite combination is chocolate and peanut butter.

I used to be obsessed with peanut butter cups, and when I worked at TCBY frozen yogurt as a teenager,

I did more eating of them than serving them as a topping to customers:)

Always in pursuit of healthy treats, I recently created a very simple recipe for a

chocolate peanut butter spread that kicks ‘Nutella’s’ butt. See below for the recipe.

THE AGAVE CONTROVERSY

For many years now, I have happily been using agave nectar as a sugar substitute.

It has a low glycemic index (and therefore doesn’t spike your blood sugar), it tastes delicious,

and it even bakes well. However, in recent years I have watched a controversy brewing

in the health world concerning agave. I have with-held my final judgement

as I waited for a clear consensus amongst the health experts. Just days ago,

Dr. Weil finally weighed in, declaring that he no longer recommends

agave nectar as an alternative sweetener. It breaks my heart a bit,

but after all of the information I’ve gathered on the topic, I feel it’s time to greatly reduce,

if not eliminate, agave nectar from my own diet.

For those of you who don’t know, agave nectar comes from the agave plant,

a cactus like plant from which tequila is made. The way that agave syrup is produced widely

differs amongst agave manufacturers. Many of the bigger, mainstream makers of agave

process agave in much the same way as high fructose corn syrup, with the use of harmful chemicals,

making it highly refined. In fact, there are even claims that some companies in Mexico,

apparently controlled by tequila mafias (I’m not making this up), have been found

to add high fructose corn syrup to their agave product. It seems that common agave

is neither natural nor healthy.

The biggest concern about agave nectar however, is that it  has a higher fructose level

than high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is about 55% fructose and 45% glucose,

whereas many agave nectar brands have a fructose level upwards of 70%.

As Dr. Lustig points out in his now infamous lecture about why sugar is toxic (you can watch his lecture here),

concentrated fructose is processed by your liver like a toxin, which makes it a huge health risk

and extra burden on your liver.

Since the fructose doesn’t get absorbed into your bloodstream and converted into energy

like glucose does, it won’t spike your blood sugar, which is why I have loved using agave nectar.

However, it can still be converted to fat by your liver and it inhibits the hormone your body

uses to tell you that you’re full, which is one of the same arguments against high fructose corn syrup,

a large contributor to obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.

Fresh fruit of course also contains fructose, but it is full of fiber, versus agave or HFCS

which are refined sweeteners; you get a relatively low amount of fructose from a piece of fruit.

According to David Wolfe (health and raw food expert), there are agave companies like Ultimate Superfoods

that claim their agave nectar is not processed with harmful chemicals and has a fructose

content of only 50%, the rest being mostly inulin. It does seem that the processing

and the manufacturer is very important here.

As more information on agave has come to the surface, I’ve noticed a major shift in

many of the healthy desserts  on the store shelves in Los Angeles. I’ve watched agave nectar

get systematically replaced by coconut nectar or palm sugar, which have a similar glycemic index as agave,

but have a very low fructose content, and are much less processed. In its raw form,

coconut nectar is also high in minerals, nutrients and vitamins like Vitamin C.

It is currently my favorite alternative sweetener. I switched to using raw coconut nectar

in my version of a healthy ‘Nutella’ spread.

The final verdict on agave nectar may still be out, but in the meantime, the

best advice when it comes to any sweetener that you choose to use, is to remember to enjoy it in moderation:)

VARIATION ON ‘NUTELLA’ SPREAD

Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp organic peanut butter (I like MaraNatha brand- creamy with a hint of sea salt, or equiv)
1 1/2 tsp raw coconut nectar
1 tsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (alcohol-free preferred)
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl with a spoon. It will take a minute to get the ingredients to blend together. You can add a touch more coconut nectar for a sweeter taste.

Yields 1 serving.

Enjoy!

Jaime Saginor is a Board Certified Holistic Health Coach through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP). She received her training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the only nutrition school in the world that integrates all the different dietary theories- combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies such as Yin/Yang and Ayurveda with modern concepts like the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods. Teachers include top wellness visionaries such as Deepak Chopra and Dr. Andrew Weil.

As an ex-sugar addict, Jaime helps other sugar addicts reduce the amount of sugar in their diet without feeling deprived.

http://jaimesaginor.com

http://www.themorselist.com