Give Up The Agave

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. The Coconut Secret brand is organic, raw, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, and GMO-free. 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.

10 Comments

Filed under Agave, Coconut, Gluten-free, GMO-free, Low-glycemic, Organic, Raw, Sugar, Tips and Tricks, Vegan

10 responses to “Give Up The Agave

  1. vegancharlie's avatar vegancharlie

    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.

  2. 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 🙂

  3. Pingback: More Victories! | Health Coach Jillian

  4. Pingback: Sugar Ain’t So Sweet | Health Coach Jillian

  5. Pingback: Food Finds, Part 1 | Health Coach Jillian

  6. Pingback: Adventures in Nut Milk | Health Coach Jillian

  7. Pingback: Day of Pumpkin | Health Coach Jillian

  8. Wow, marvelous blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?

    you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is wonderful,
    let alone the content!

Leave a reply to healthcoachjillian Cancel reply