Agave nectar nutrition

Joanne Bleiler Aug 26, 2012 · 2 min read

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Agave nectar nutrition is important to understand if you are using this natural sweetener in place of sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Agave nectar nutrition …

Agave nectar comes from the agave plant which can be found in Mexico. It has in the past several years become the sweetener of choice for many who are interested in improving their diet and health. But is agave nectar nutrition any different than sugar! Is it really better for you?

One of the biggest claims of agave nectar is that it’s a “natural” sweetener. When we look at that word, we might think that the nectar is simply tapped right from the plant, similar to honey. But that’s not really the case. The nectar goes through a processing system that breaks down the syrup into simple sugars fructose and glucose. This is something you should be aware of if you assume that agave nectar is not a processed food.

Another claim of agave nectar nutrition is that it is a low glycemic index food (GI=30). Table sugar is a high glycemic index food (GI=70. As you may know, we want to eat more foods that have a low glycemic index to prevent the blood sugar spikes that come with high glycemic index foods. However agave nectar is mostly fructose and the GI index only measures glucose, so this can be misleading.

In terms of calories, both table sugar and agave nectar are carbohydrates and, like all carbohydrates, each grams contributes 4 calories, so each has 15 calories per teaspoon. One benefit of agave nectar is it is about twice as sweet as sugar so you should use much less of it, thus ingesting less calories.

Agace nectar is popular with vegans because it is an animal-free product.

Agave nectar dissolves easily in liquid which makes it easy to add to recipes.

So the bottom line is agave nectar nutrition isno better than sugar. Both, if used too much, can cause weight gain and related health issues.

Here is a list of common sweeteners and their glycemic index.

agave nectar 27
fructose (fruit sugar) 32
lactose (milk sugar) 65
honey 83
high fructose corn syrup 89
sucrose (table sugar) 92
glucose 137
malodextrin 150
maltose 150

source: blueagavenectar.com

It’s really up to you to determine which sweetener you want to use based on your priorities. You may want a sweetener that is not processed, like honey. You may really like the taste of table sugar in your coffee. Whatever you use, moderation is the key.

So any time you want to add a little sweetener, no matter which one you choose, do so in moderation.

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Agave nectar nutrition

Agave nectar nutrition …

Agave nectar nutrition is important in your decision about which sweetener to use.