High Fructose Corn Syrup | Straight Talk about Eating Smart

June 29, 2011

Agave Syrup…How Sweet is It?

Agave nectar, also called agave syrup, is a sweetener from the agave plant, which is a Mexican succulent like a cactus. Agave juice is collected from the plant and then filtered and processed to break down the carbohydrates into sugars. The result is the popular syrup.

So agave is a processed sweetener, less processed than some and more processed than others, but still processed as most sweeteners are. Some companies process agave using organic standards.

Agave contains inulin, a more complex form of fructose thus making fructose the main sweetener. Sugar and agave have approximately the same number of calories….about 16 per teaspoon. Agave is sweeter than sugar so you could save a few calories by the amount you use.

Popular for its delicate taste, agave is used in desserts as well as to sweeten teas and health drinks. Plus, it’s a trendy sugar alternative frequently used in cocktails. The darker agave syrup is good on pancakes or waffles.

Agave is one more caloric sweetener choice in the ‘added sugars’ category that already includes honey, maple syrup, sugar, raw sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. The word ‘sugars’ refers to all of them.

Here’s an interesting bit of trivia. Previously I’ve mentioned the antioxidant content of spices such as cinnamon and ginger. Well, a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association looked at the antioxidant content of various sweeteners and found that sugar, high fructose corn syrup and agave have minimal antioxidant activity while dark and blackstrap molasses had the highest antioxidant activity with maples syrup, brown sugar and honey coming in somewhere in the middle.

Is agave better for you than any other sweetener such as sugar, maple syrup or honey? Agave is promoted as a low glycemic alterative for diabetics. Is it? If you’re diabetic or have friends or family members who are, you don’t want to miss this. Sugar is technically called sucrose, which is composed of 50% fructose and 50% glucose when it is broken down in the body.

Agave varies in its fructose content with a range from 55% up to 90% or more. It all depends on the agave vendor and processing method used that can affect the fructose content. Agave nectar with 55% fructose is about the same as high fructose corn syrup so don’t miss this…there would be no benefit in agave with 55% fructose over sugar, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar or honey from the standpoint of composition and utilization by the body, only taste and personal preference.

The reason you hear agave nectar touted as safer for diabetics is that a higher fructose composition typically doesn’t cause dangerous spikes in blood glucose. Currently, we don’t have clinical studies as it regards agave’s safety in diabetes. Unless there is a label stating the exact percentage of fructose in the agave nectar, it can range as we just talked about from 55% up. So if you are diabetic, your blood glucose may or may not be spiked…all depending on how much fructose is in the particular agave product consumed and your particular case of diabetes.

Want more? Listen to this week’s podcast below.

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June 16, 2010

Three Simple Strategies for your Kids’ Summer Snacks

According to the American Heart Association the average teen consumes about 34 teaspoons of sugar…or about 500 calories…in a typical day. It’s so easy to reach for snacks loaded with sugar and fat and empty when it comes to nutrition. With just a little planning, you can feed them well and feel good about it.

On the podcast this week, Margit Ragland, Health Director at Family Circle magazine joins me to share simple strategies for your kids’ snacks.

Try these simple strategies from Family Circle’s July issue:

Offer smart snacks. Choose options that override cravings for sweets such as peanut butter or almond butter and whole grain crackers or whole wheat bread. Try fun, prepacked freeze-dried fruit, trail mix or squeezable applesauce.
Focus on fruit. Fruit contains natural sugar or fructose plus a load of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Summer is peak season for a lot of fresh fruit. Serve it with frozen yogurt or make parfaits with granola, fruit such as blueberries and your favorite yogurt. I like to use Greek yogurt and make parfaits for snacks and breakfast.
Rethink drinks. Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are major culprits in over-the-top sugar consumption. Try mixing juice with sparkling water or seltzer, unsweetened tea, or try the lower-sugar fruit-juice-blend products. Don’t forget milk.

What simple strategies work for you? Tell me.

The Nutrition Facts label is very confusing when it comes to figuring out sugar intake. I hope that changes with the label update. For now, your simple strategy is to do the math so you know the amount of sugar in a product.

Determine calories from sugar: grams of sugar in a serving x 4 (4 calories/gram) = sugar calories

Teaspoons of sugar: grams of sugar per serving divided by 4 = teaspoons of sugar per serving

Remember that currently the Nutrition Facts label doesn’t separate out naturally occurring sugars such as fructose or lactose from the added sugars. You must go one step further and look at the ingredient label to see what sugars have been added.

In your body, sucrose which is sugar, molasses, honey, raw sugar, high fructose corn syrup or maple syrup are all sugars or sweeteners and the body doesn’t differentiate between them regardless of what the Internet scares tell you.

Each month Margit shares a recipe from the Family Circle kitchens and this month it’s a Berrylicious Shake. It’s quick and includes fresh blueberries which are in season now.