Tuesday Tip: To Agave or Not to Agave?
I was at the mother ship the other day (Starbucks) and saw that they are redoing their goodies and taking out artificial everything and, most importantly, taking out the corn syrup. Yeah Starbucks! Kudos! I knew there was a reason I loved you so.
In the raw food world many desserts contain the added sweetener agave. Agave is much like honey with a low GI. But it is actually good for you? I have my reservations.
One reason is the look of it. I haven’t personally tried it, but was about to, until I saw some YouTube videos. It’s thick. Really thick. On camera it looks like the consistency of honey or molasses.
The second thing I noticed are the faces of the raw fooders. I so want to play poker with them! They have terrible tells (terrible for them; good for me!). Nearly all of them had the same face when they talked about agave: wincing. Okay, so that’s an obvious tell. On one hand they are trying to sell you on using agave instead of table sugar; on the other, well, they end up saying how very very sweet it is. Those with candida issues? Stay away.
I decided at that point to bypass using agave all together until I was more comfortable. Something in me was telling me to stick to stevia, especially because I already knew from personal experience that for my husband (who has been taking diabetic medication for eight years) it was not raising his blood sugar. Anything that doesn’t raise his blood sugar is a good thing for him to be well and an indicator to me on what I can use to stay well.
What clinched it for me?
I was on a nutritional call with Dr. Ann de Wees Allen. You might have heard of her when she broke the story with Katie Couric on how diet cola actually makes you fat. She’s known as an “Alpha Scientist”, which simply means she’s at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs. For more info on her background, you can click here.
On the call a couple of weeks ago she ended up mentioning agave. She was doing a clinical trial with Diabetics and agave. She had to stop it in the middle because the Diabetics kept on passing out! She doesn’t believe that only because something is natural and has a low GI it’s necessarily great for you. She’s dedicated on finding things that are kid, diet, diabetic, and GI friendly.
Dr. Ann de Wees Allen has joined our company (GBG) as head of research. And I’m so glad to! We have the best looking out for us, for you, and for the next generation.
Should you skip agave? You will need to listen carefully to your body to find out if it’s something that you can use, even in moderation.
As for me, I’ll stick to my stevia. Which do I use? Swanson Vitamins has the best stevia I have ever tasted. No bitter aftertaste. Blends easily. And way way inexpensive. And, if you are a new customer, you can “Google” for a code and get free shipping! Click here for the link to the stevia I use. It’s only $3.99 for 4 oz! Shipping is quick to. I typically get my orders in a few days.
Till next time, may you prosper and be in health as your soul prospers.
~Raquel
[...] Original post by raquelsoto [...]
Tuesday Tip: To Agave or Not to Agave?
July 7, 2009