agave nectar

I have made a new  discovery: Agave Nectar – a naturally low GI alternative to refined sugar or those fake sugars like Splenda or what have you. The name has been popping up for a few months now on the internet and has been heralded as an answer to the prayers of sugar addicts everywhere.

Sounds like a fad – right? This honey-like substance, apparently used by the Aztecs in ritual worship, is found in the same cactus as tequila, and is actually sweeter than table sugar. The most impressive thing about Agave Nectar is its low GI. When it comes to GI, the lower the better to avoid the rushes and crashes associated with sugary sweets and drinks. Normal sugar has a GI of 68, honey 55, but this Agave nectar has an astonishingly low GI of 11. This means that you can have that sweet snack without the associated crash afterwards, the kind of crash that usually leads to low mood and, often, binge eating.

So that’s all very interesting, but is it true? I got myself a bottle to test it out, and I have to say that it has been great. I have used it instead of brown sugar in tomato-based dishes, as a natural sweetener for baking, and as a topping for a snack of sliced banana with raisins. Though inevitably more expensive, it seems to live up to its claims, and is a useful aid to those who wish to eat as cleanly as possible.