Overview of Agave

Boycotting diabetes is one of the major reasons many people avoid excessive sugar consumption today. This is commendable, as the percentage of people living with diabetes worldwide is rising. Thus, it is best to prevent it than manage it. Managing diabetes comes with lifestyle and diet restrictions and the gulping down of medications in dozens.

In the bid to cut down on their sugar intake, many people have substituted sugar for natural sweeteners like honey and agave. These sweeteners not only sweeten their foods but also are packed with health-benefiting properties that can help maintain and protect the health of their consumers.

This article is focused on analyzing one of the most natural food sweeteners. Researchers have also found that this natural sweetener is the sweetest among other natural sweeteners, and this sweetener is agave. Let’s get started.

What Is Agave?

Agave is a plant from the family of Asparagaceae. It used to be common only among Americans and Mexicans. Nonetheless, today, it is one of the most widely used natural sweeteners in the world. Agave sweetener has been recorded by its users to be extremely sweet and even sweeter than sugar, such that you will require a tiny amount to sweeten your food.

This extreme sweetness of agave has raised many concerns about whether or not it is worse than sugar since it is sweeter than sugar. However, recent studies showed that as much as agave sweetens foods even much more than sugar, it is still diabetes-friendly.

Being a natural sweetener, it rather adds more benefits to your health through its natural properties, rather than deteriorating your health by spiking your blood sugar level. In other words, despite being extremely sweet, it is safe for consumption.

Being assured that agave cannot give you diabetes should make you interested in knowing what else agave has to offer apart from sweetening your food.

This is why researchers have taken the time to study the plant and compile its nutritional content. Below is the nutritional profile of the agave plant;

• Carbohydrates
• Calories
• Protein
• Fiber
• Glucose
• Healthy fats
• Minerals
• Vitamins like vitamin K, vitamin B9, B2, and B6.

Every part of the agave plant is useful and adds several health benefits to the body. However, one thing that makes it less natural is “Processing,” or the artificial extraction of the nectar through fermentation and other unnatural processes. These cause the plant to lose its naturalness and also make it harmful for consumption.

This is because ingredients that can tamper with health are added while processing it. In other words, consuming processed agave syrup can spike your blood sugar levels and give you diabetes. Hence the need to extract it yourself naturally and at home.

Having seen the nutritional profile of the agave syrup or sweetener, the question now should be, “How can this benefit my health?” This leads to the second part of this article;

Health Benefits of the Agave Plant

Lowers Cholesterol Level

There are two types of cholesterol, and in simpler terms, they are called the good cholesterol (HDL) and the bad cholesterol (LDL). The former is needed in large amounts for the body to run properly. However, when the latter gets too much in the body, it can trigger severe heart-related conditions.

Due to its antioxidants properties, agave sweetener is capable of lowering the level of bad cholesterol in the body. Some of the antioxidants in agave include; saponin, terpenoids, and glucosides.

These antioxidants work hand in hand in reducing the amounts of bad cholesterol in the body, thereby reducing the risks of heart damage in the process. Consuming agave nectar as your sweetener keeps you a thousand steps away from diabetes and two thousand steps away from the cardiologist.

The Agave Plant is Packed with Essential Vitamins

Studies have shown that agave has more vitamins than other natural sweeteners. It is packed with vitamins B2, B6, B9, and B12, all of which play essential roles in the maintenance of a healthy body. These, according to research, are concentrated in agave, and this makes it the best and most nutritious sweetener.

In addition, consuming fruits and foods that are great sources of these vitamins can also play major roles in boosting the immune system and improving your general wellbeing.

Contributes to a Healthy Pregnancy

Pregnancy comes hand in hand with health conditions in many women. This is why pregnant women are closely monitored and are bombarded with lots of vitamins and health supplements. One of the most active vitamins in agave plants is vitamin B6, also known as folate. It is a pregnancy vitamin that prevents birth defects and delivery complications.

It aids in the development and growth, development of the fetus’s nervous system and also prepares the pregnant woman for a healthy delivery. Coupled with this, the folate content in agave can help improve pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness.

As a pregnant woman, folate supplements and folate-rich natural foods should not be far away from you. Rather than sugar, you can consume agave. It is both a natural sweetener and a great source of vitamin B6 (folate).

Improves Metabolism

When the body’s metabolic rate crashes, the body automatically crashes. This is why nutrients like the ones packed within agave are important in maintaining health and improving metabolic rate. Apart from being an awesome sugar substitute, its vitamin B6 (folate) content helps in the regulation of the body’s metabolic rate. It ensures that foods and food nutrients are properly broken down in the body.

When food nutrients like carbohydrates are not properly broken down in your body, it may cause your blood sugar to rise, thereby placing you on a journey to developing diabetes. However, with agave and other natural foods that can boost metabolism, your wellbeing is assured.

Low Glycemic Index

Compared to other natural sweeteners, agave has been discovered to have the lowest glycemic index. This makes it a great choice for people who want to lower their blood sugar, especially people living with diabetes.

Foods that have low glycemic index help in the regulation of blood sugar. In other words, they prevent the blood sugar levels from skyrocketing and also prevent them from dropping below normal in the process.

Are you trying to manage your diabetes? Or are you trying to prevent diabetes? You should reduce your sugar intake or take natural sugar substitutes like agave and also add foods that flaunt a low glycemic index to your diet, and agave should not be an exception.

Great Sugar Substitutes for Vegans

Following a vegan or vegetarian diet may be stressful, especially when you are just starting. This is because it involves a commitment to eating only plant-based foods, as the case may be.

On the one hand, you need to learn to stick to the plant-laden diet, while on the other hand, you need to eat right even when following that diet. In other words, you need to work harder to get edible vegetables and fruits that can supply you with the required amounts of nutrients your body will need to perform its functions effectively.

Fortunately, most vegan or vegetarian diets contain almost all the nutrients the body requires. According to dieticians, since agave is a plant-based sweetener, this makes it a great choice for vegans.

Protects the Heart

Heart-related conditions have made it to the list of the top 10 health conditions that constantly lead to death. This is why it is important to prevent them as much as you can. Doing this involves the consumption of heart-healthy foods and adopting certain lifestyle changes.

On the other hand, studies have demonstrated that agave is packed with properties that can help in the reduction of compounds like homocysteine in the body. When the homocysteine level in the body is high and unchecked, it can lead to severe heart damage and long-term stroke.

Thus, in a bid to protect your heart, consume agave, not just as a sweetener but also as a heart-health improver.

Conclusion

Agave, when processed naturally without artificial additives, is a healthy sweetener and the best sugar substitute you can ever think of. It supplies the body with a wide range of health benefits, including blood sugar regulation, healthy pregnancy, improved heart health, and healthy metabolism. Side effects begin to creep in when you consume artificially processed ones.