Stay away from agave nectar, folks. There is a major misconception that agave is a healthy sweetener. It’s not. It’s actually quite unhealthy.
For one thing, it is not low-glycemic, so it’s really not any different from sugar. It’s just sugar masquerading as a health food. Take off that mask, agave! You won’t fool us!
Second, it’s highly unregulated. So we really don’t know what’s in it or how it’s made – some even contain corn syrup. Yuck. Healthy is knowing what goes into our bodies.
As an alternative, cook/bake with coconut nectar or coconut crystals which are a low-glycemic option. The nectar is like syrup and the crystals are closer in texture to sugar. And if you don’t like coconut, don’t worry – these sweeteners don’t actually taste like coconut. Not at all. The Coconut Secret brand is organic, raw, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, and GMO-free. Yay! Buy online or look for them at Whole Foods or your local health food store.
So make sure to read labels to see if the “health” food you’re about to buy has agave in it. And if a recipe calls for agave, sub in coconut nectar instead and you’re good to go. If I tweet or pin a recipe that contains agave, I’m only endorsing the rest of the recipe as healthy and assuming that you will sub out the agave. Glad we cleared that up!
Health Coach Jillian 
That is pretty creepy. There is always something with these health foods. The only things that can truly be trusted is making things yourself. Would you happen to have any evidence based research discussing agave nectar? sounds like something that would be interesting to look further into.
Creepy, indeed. You are right that preparing our own food is so much better than eating out or eating packaged food. Check out http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-agave
That should answer most of your questions but you can always google “the truth about agave” for more.
Thanks for posting this! I am heading to the store today to find coconut nectar.
Do you mind if I put a link to this post on my blog and on FB? There are a lot of people who are misinformed about agave. I was one of them early on. I am proud to say there is no more agave in our house 🙂
Thanks, Armed! I would love a repost. I want everyone to hear about agave and to STAY AWAY! 🙂
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