Superfoods are those with unnatural amounts of dense nutrients. I don’t know about you, but I hear super food and I immediately think its good for me and that I should be eating it. The word superfood blinds us and automatically makes us assume we should be eating a certain food. Thus, agave has been marketed as a natural sweetener with a lower glycemic index compared to sugar or honey, and because of this it has become branded as a superfood.
The Hype
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Many of us have become obsessed with including superfoods in our daily diets. We hear superfood, and we immediately say yes. Agave, has become one of them, but how super is it really?
Super Food or Nah?
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We live in a world where we continue to search for healthy food that actually tastes good, we think agave is the right move to still have our sugar fix. What we don’t realize is agave is still an additive sweetener that adds to the empty calories we consume.
At first, many thought agave was a better alternative because it doesn’t seem to spike your blood sugar, which is why it became a super food. However, it is made up to 85 percent fructose, which many experts have said is converted into fat more rapidly than glucose. The rise of fructose is dangerous and many who eat a lot of fructose can gain weight, especially belly fat.
The fructose found in sugars is the most dangerous part. It raises your chances for diabetes as you increase your intake and also puts you at risk for certain heart diseases as it raises triglycerides.
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Agave is hyped up as this natural, healthy alternative to artificial sweeteners and refined sugar, when in reality, it is simply a concentrated, sugary, high-fructose syrup. Agave actually contains more fructose than in high fructose corn syrup. It is not what marketers have hyped it up to be – a healthy alternative to sugar.
Furthermore, our hearts can be in danger if we consume too much agave. There are many health risks which have arisen in those who consume agave, it is not something we should turn to for an alternative sweetener.
A Better Alternative
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Want a sweetener that’s not agave but just as sweet? Try these miracle berries that are better than artificial sweeteners. Or if you want something similar, check out these alternatives to both types of sweetener.