Agave Syrup – Is It Good For You

Agave syrup (also known as agave nectar), long since used to make products with less than desirable health effects (like tequila), is actually very sweet, much sweeter than sugar. Due to the smaller volumes required to sweeten something to the same level of sweetness, in addition to a few other factors, a few companies have made claims that agave syrup is a natural sugar substitute for diabetics. But, is it actually better for diabetics than sugar is?

As it turns out, the path to the answer is through a little bit of science. Just a little bit, I promise! You see, the standard table sugar is split 50/50 between glucose sugars and fructose sugars. Fructose sugars have a much slower absorption rate into the body, which makes it tend to increase obesity problems more than glucose sugars when consumed in large quantities, but it also helps diabetics because the sugar can be sent through their system at a slower rate, preventing dangerous spikes.

Since agave syrup is usually 10% glucose and 90% fructose, it has a low glycemic index. One of the main problems is that certain variants of agave nectar have 55% fructose and 45% glucose, which is only a little bit better than normal sugar for a diabetic. In fact, that is the same distribution of glucose and fructose that normal high fructose corn syrup has. It’s just not good enough.

Keep in mind that agave syrup has just as many calories per ounce that table sugar does. The catch is that agave syrup is significantly sweeter than normal sugar, so you can use less of it to get the same taste effect, which has the obvious benefit of ingesting less sugar.

So, is sugar worse for a diabetic than agave nectar? If you get the right kind, it is. However, it is still a sugar, so its benefits are limited. Furthermore, the variances within agave syrup emphasize the need for diabetics to research what exactly is in the food they are eating, as believing that you are eating a healthier item than you are could lead to over-consumption, which can be very dangerous for anybody dealing with diabetes.

While I have covered a fair amount of information, you should always do more research on anything like agave syrup before deciding if it is good or bad for diabetics. As any diabetic probably already knows, when you try anything you haven’t tried before, especially anything sweet, you should pay close attention to your blood sugar levels just in case your body reacts in unexpected ways. Good luck, and happy eating!