Agave nectar

[[File:Agave tequilana0.jpg|thumb|right|165px 
|Blue agave (''Agave tequilana'')]]
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'''Agave nectar''' (or agave syrup) is a [[sweetener]] made from plants in the genus ''Agave''. Other uses of the agave plant include the production of [[alcohol|tequila]], which is fermented from the blue agave's sugary juices.

There are four camps related to the sweetener: The marketers who promote it as a "natural alternative" to sugar; the [[CAM]] users who hate it for being "[[Chemophobia|unnatural]]" and processed; the people who know ''it's just sugar!''; and those who know it's mostly sugar and way too expensive, but has a distinct flavor to it that makes it different from sugar in some culinary applications.

==Criticism==
Agave nectar is marketed as being somehow better and more natural than white sugar and [[high-fructose corn syrup]], even though it actually contains more fructose than HFCS (agave nectar can contain anywhere from 55% to 90% fructose, while high-fructose corn syrup usually contains 42% to 55% fructose).<ref name=webmd>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100530065738/http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-agave The Truth About Agave], WebMD.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070806094539/http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/sociss/release.cfm?ArticleID=1470 Not Enough Evidence to Indict High Fructose Corn Syrup in Obesity], University of Maryland.</ref><ref>It's been called "High-Fructose Cactus Syrup" by its opponents.</ref> This can cause extreme distress in people with [[food allergy#Food_sensitivity|fructose malabsorption]] or similar conditions, with the side effect of being not as easily identifiable on a list of ingredients (the fructose content of agave nectar is not as obvious as a label listing "high-fructose corn syrup") or when encountered in prepared food as a "healthy" substitute.

Some<ref>[http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/is-agave-nectar-safe/ Is Agave Nectar Safe?] Global Healing Center.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120715002157/http://realfoodforager.com/why-i-never-use-agave Why I NEVER Use Agave], Real Food Forager.</ref> (including [[Joseph Mercola]])<ref>[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/02/agave-a-triumph-of-marketing-over-truth.aspx  Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth], Joseph Mercola, July 02, 2009.</ref> criticize it for [[Appeal to nature|not being natural]] (as though that actually mattered), and for having too much fructose (which is more reasonable). (Agave is indeed highly processed.)<ref name=webmd2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100530065738/http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-agave Agave], WebMD.</ref> The [[Weston A. Price Foundation]] condemns agave on the grounds that it contains saponins, which possibly cause miscarriage;<ref name=wap>[http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/agave-nectar-worse-than-we-thought Agave Nectar: Worse Than We Thought], Sally Fallon Morell and Rami Nagel, The Weston A. Price Foundation.</ref> however, other plants that contain saponins include chickpeas, alfalfa sprouts, oats, beans, red onions, and potatoes.<ref name=hsw>[http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/agave-fructose-corn-syrup.htm Is Agave Worse Than High Fructose Corn Syrup?], HowStuffWorks.</ref>

==The rational perspective==
It's just sugar. Besides being quite high in fructose, and having 50% more calories per tablespoon than table sugar, it is nutritionally essentially no better or worse than any other kind of added sugar.<ref name=webmd2/> Like honey or molasses, it has a richer taste profile, so it is a nice addition to teas, cereals, or anywhere you are looking for something more than just "sweet." Because 
no bugs are harmed in its production (tequila weevils, ''Scyphophorus acupunctatus'', are probably killed)
 bees are not enslaved during production, it also makes a good [[vegan]] honey substitute.<ref group=Note>Never mind the agave-pollinating bats who starve because the plants end up as syrup before they can bloom. The bees are the only pollinators people care about.</ref> (Then again, so does [[high-fructose corn syrup]], but for some reason the vegan community doesn't seem too fond of that.)
==See also==
*[[Sugar]]
*[[Sweetener]]
==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Diet woo]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Plants]]

Categories: Diet woo, Food, Plants