I know I said I'd be posting some recipes next time I wrote; and I do have one to share but it will have to wait a little; as my day took a decidedly different turn.
I got a call from my mother this morning (we are both very taken with this new Primal lifestyle, but she has more money to spend!) and told me that after her order of agave nectar arrived, she noticed something worrying. Now, I have been going on and on about agave to any and all who'll listen, and raving about how great it tastes, how it stops my son's high-low blood-sugar swings and how it's totally natural, 100% organic and not nearly as expensive as xylitol (more on that one in a minute). So when my mom said that she was not at all happy I was completely crestfallen.
On the bottles of agave I've been buying it says under ingredients: 100% organic agave nectar, and I was, foolishly, trusting enough that I didn't think to question it. But on the brand that my mother received, it actually states fructose syrup and glucose. My mother is, by now, quite savvy on the different sugars and syrups, and knows that the US problem with high fructose corn syrup is severe. HFCS is 55% fructose. After doing some research she came across this site, which explains agave in detail, and found out that agave is up to 90% Fructose.
But, you say, fruit contains fructose, doesn't it? Technically, no it doesn't; not the highly processed stuff in the bottles of agave or even in HFCS. Naturally occurring fruit fructose is referred to as levulose and is accompanied by all the other great-for-you nutrients that is found in fuit. But, you now ask, why is this processed fructose so bad for you when it's naturally occurring counterpart isn't?
In order to understand why fructose is so bad you need to understand what it does to your body. This site explains it really well, but to give you the gist of it: instead of being digested like normal sugar (though don't take this to mean normal sugar is good, please) it goes straight to your liver because your body doesn't recognise it as a food substance, where it is converted into liver fat (triglycerides) and increases visceral fat formation. Visceral fat is the lining of fat that cushions your organs; you need a little, but a lot can kill you, literally. When a person is carrying a lot of subcutaneous fat (under the skin) you can be pretty certain that they'll be carrying heightened amounts of visceral fat too, particularly those who have a large stomach. Pear-shaped people are less at risk. Read here for more info on fat (adipose tissue).
Another problem with fructose is that it suppresses leptin (the protein hormone that tells you when you have had enough to eat) so you end up eating more than you need, increasing even more your chances of gaining that dangerous visceral fat as well as the unsightly subcutaneous fat. This is particularly dangerous for diabetics, as it's the insulin resistance they suffer that causes their condition, and the more they eat, the higher their blood sugar levels (especially those on the recommended high whole grain, low fat, low sugar diets), and the more insulin they require to deal with the glucose in their blood, the more resistant their cells become to the insulin, requiring more and more insulin to be effective. Lots of insulin in the blood inhibits the body from using the fats already stored, increasing weight gain, and compounding the problem in a never-ending, terrifying cycle.
In case you were wondering, insulin is the hormone that shuttles the glucose in your blood to muscle tissues that require it for energy, for instance if you were working out, and there it is converted into glycogen. But if your glycogen stores are full, it then deposits the glucose in your adipocytes (fat cells) and stores it as triglycerides (fat) because too much glucose in your blood is toxic.
But agave is being touted as great for diabetics since it is so low on the glycemic index (because it doesn't get digested but converted straight into triglycerides in the liver) but it's been suggested that those who consume a lot of fructose are shown to be even more insulin resistant and in danger of the complications that arise from it, than those who consume similar amounts of glucose. Considering that agave contains almost double the percentage of fructose than the frightening HFCS, it is shocking to see how they are promoting it as for the diabetic community.
I don't think agave nectar is very common here in the UK yet, but with our obesity rates climbing to match the USA's very swiftly, I don't think it's going to be long before it becomes a lot more high-profile. I only hope that people who are wary enough of their diets to buy something unconventional to avoid the sugar that is so cheap and freely available, will also be wary enough not to be dazzled by very clever packaging, and not to take the ingredients list as Gospel. I've made that mistake with agave and I certainly won't be doing it again! But all this begs the questions: what on Earth can I actually use? And especially for diabetics, what is natural but not high GI?
The best thing I've found also happens to be the most expensive. Xylitol. At around £10 per kilo it really does hit you in the wallet area, but it is so beneficial in so many ways it's hard to find fault with the stuff.
Pro's: low GI (7 on the scale of 100, 100 being glucose and just beneath that is honey) and perfectly fine for diabetics; naturally occurring sugar found in many fruits and vegetables, though usually mass produced from hardwood trees and corn; very sustainable; looks and tastes like sugar, though produces a cooling effect in the mouth; extremely good for your teeth as it renders the plaque on your teeth inedible to bacteria, literally starving them of their food source (which is why it's great in the chewing gum industry), reduces middle ear infections and is also 33% lower in calories than sugar. Read more here.
Great, you say, but what's the catch? Well, aside from the price tag, it just doesn't behave like normal sugar in some cooking and baking applications. For instance, you can't make meringues with it and it wouldn't feed yeast for a yeast baked product such as bread. But if you did some reading after my last post, you would know that bread is no longer a concern! Meringues on the other hand, if made with a natural sweetener would be beneficial for the protein in the egg whites. And I don't know about you, but I can't resist a meringue when I see one...
So what else is there on the market that would fit the bill? Well stevia is gaining in popularity, and rightly so if you read here, but unfortunately I have found it to have a bit of "sweetenery" taste, and hence didn't do much experimenting in the kitchen with it as I bought the agave at the same time and loved it. So I don't know if you can make meringues with it, but I'd guess that you could. I plan to hunt around and see if I can find stevia in a form that tastes good (I tried the little pill variety for hot drinks) and play around with it. If anyone reading this knows of a source of great-tasting stevia extract, and has had success with it in the kitchen, please do share!!!
I hope this has been informative and I hope you follow those links, because there is a world of information out there, at our very fingertips. And at the end of the day, in our sickening modern world where capitalism is king and the power of advertising is literally killing people slowly with smiles on their faces, if you don't take charge of your health and ask the questions, you will end up one of the numbers in the statistics. Don't be a sheep; take control and start right now!
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