Agave Vs Honey Vs Stevia! Great Article
(23 posts) (15 voices)-
PrimalGoddess
MemberAgave nectar, honey and stevia not necessarily healthy sugar alternatives
Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Mehmet Oz
The You Docs
Monday, February 16, 2009When it comes to satisfying the occasional sweet tooth, we're not big fans of artificial sweeteners. The trouble with these no-calorie additives is that they're essentially invisible to your brain's satiety center, so they never quite "fix" a sweet craving. The result: They usually send you foraging for something else ... and something after that, and something else after that. Enter the newly hyped "natural" sweeteners. Are they any better? Or just more expensive? Here's what you need to know:
Agave nectar or agave syrup
The facts: This sugary syrup is made from the cactuslike South American agave plant. On the flavor front, it tastes similar to honey. While agave has the same number as calories as sugar, it has an unexpected upside: Because it's seriously sweeter than sucrose (aka table sugar) you don't need nearly as much of it, resulting in a big calorie savings. How much? You can use one-quarter to one-eighth the amount of agave nectar to deliver the same sweetening power you'd get from sugar. Agave fans also like it for its low glycemic index (Translation: It doesn't raise your blood sugar as quickly or as much as sugar.). But that hardly makes it diet food. In the end, agave still delivers a spoonful of empty calories, so don't think you can load up on it and expect to squeeze into your favorite jeans.
Our verdict: Try it for the occasional sweet treat, or when you absolutely must use sugar in a recipe.
Honey
The facts: The original all-natural sweetener, honey has been prized for its supposed health perks for centuries. And while it has more antioxidant power than, say, refined sugar, it's hardly going to stomp out all those free radicals that age you.
In fact, a January 2009 Journal of the American Dietetic Association study of different sweeteners ranked honey only as intermediate on the antioxidant power scale, falling behind heavyweights such as dark and blackstrap molasses.
But the real shocker is that honey packs 33 percent more calories than sugar. That means a tablespoon will set you back 64 calories compared with 48 calories for a tablespoon of sugar.
Our verdict: A teaspoon of honey in your tea is fine, but calorie-wise and blood sugar-wise, it's a worse bet than sugar.
Stevia
The facts: With zero calories and 200 times the sweetness of sugar, you'd think that stevia would be the perfect sweetener. Especially since it comes from a plant instead of a lab. Not so fast: Until last year, the FDA wouldn't even allow stevia to be sold as a food ingredient because of concerns about potential reproductive harm and infertility. That meant you had to trek all the way to a health-food store to get it.
A newer body of research (supported by the same companies that lobbied the FDA to lift the stevia ban) concludes the stuff is safe. So today, you can find several stevia-derived sweeteners (including Truvia and PureVia) in your local supermarket parked right next to the sugar.
Pretty soon it will be popping up everywhere: Now that stevia is fair game, food manufacturers are scrambling to add it to all kinds of foods and drinks. While it's still unclear exactly how safe stevia is, proponents point out that it has been used in Japan for more than 30 years to sweeten pickles. That's not the strongest argument since the Japanese don't eat pickles all day long the way we swig diet soda.
And if you think this sweetener is a shortcut to a flatter belly, remember that like other calorie-free sweeteners, the part of your brain that's responsible for satiety doesn't recognize stevia, either. So stevia-sweetened foods may not even make you feel satisfied the way a little bit of sugar does.
Our verdict: The occasional stevia-sweetened drink is OK, but we wouldn't use it to fill your sugar bowl just yet.
When it comes to any sweetener, remember that "all natural" doesn't mean "better." After all, cyanide is natural. The best way to enjoy sugar is still in its truly natural forms: as in fruit and other naturally sweet-tasting foods. You can retrain your taste buds by s-l-o-w-l-y weaning yourself off sugary foods. Then, for those occasional times when you do need some sweetness, don't feel guilty about adding a teaspoon (that's a teaspoon, not a tablespoon) of sugar or agave to an otherwise good-for-you food or drink.
Posted 7 months ago # -
OnTheBayou
MemberSo, because Stevia can elicit a brain response? Wow, that's an indictment..
He also doesn't mention that Japan has stevia sweetened Coke.
And everyone here, by now, should know about agave being a Mexican HFCS, essentially. It's even made the same way, except it is almost all fructose, no sucrose.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Katt
MemberHere is what the WAPF says about Agave:
http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/HFCSAgave.pdf
In spite of manufacturers’ claims, agave “nectar” is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from the starch of the giant pineapple-like, root bulb. The principal constituent of the agave root is starch, similar to the starch in corn or rice, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of chains of fructose molecules. Technically a highly indigestible fiber, inulin, which does not taste sweet, comprises about half of the carbohydrate content of agave.
See the article for full details.
Posted 7 months ago # -
ohiolopez
MemberHere is an article about these two doctors
Good or bad you decide-
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/realage-real-stupid-real-sleazy/Posted 7 months ago # -
OnTheBayou
Memberkatt, enzyme processing from starch is how "corn syrup" or glucose syrup is made in the US. It's an old, old process, and mimics what happens in our digestive system with starches. We break it down into the shorter sugar molecules, just like the enzymes do.
So, the plant or the part of the plant the starch comes from is not of concern. Actually, the process isn't either.
It's the end result, up to 95% fructose.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Oh man, I liked Dr. Oz. <sigh> Another illusion shattered.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Agave vs. Honey vs. Stevia??? Nothing good in any of 'em!
I'm happy to say that for the past year +, NO sweeteners of any sort are in my dietary regime. Took a while to kick the Splenda sweetened drinks, but I've gone sweetener free and I'm not looking back. Give it a try, really is freedom to be free of sweets.
That means my 20% has tightened up to under 10%!
Posted 4 months ago # -
Nooooo!!! Stevia is all I have left to add to the PG Tipps/ Red Label/ Chai in the morning! Poopy. I guess Ill go look up the infertility thing now...
Posted 4 months ago # -
billman89
MemberPeople need to start realizing that sweet is NOT good at all.
Our bodies are smarter than we think, and even a sweet taste produces an insulin response. This has been shown in various studies.
Sweet is an addiction. The only way to break it is to go cold turkey with anything remotely sweet for a while. Respond to your sweet cravings with FAT, preferably animal fat.
Posted 4 months ago # -
STevia doesn't even taste good to me and since I've been using it heavily, I have REALLY stalled on my weight loss, even gained weight (OK, I won't put all the blame on it for that, but still...).
I think I really should go cold turkey (again). Sigh. It's a fight against my stupid brain (again).
Posted 4 months ago # -
It's up and down. I exercise (back at it again) almost daily (skipped Monday and today, this week).
I've been a little naughty, so I won't say that it's the Stevia, per-say. BUT, I was going for an IF day with zero carbs in between and normally, that get's me to drop weight like crazy. But this time, with the Stevia here, there, here again, during my 'zero' or 'low' carb & IF days, I've been hindered.
Again, don't think it's the Stevia, but I'm just not helping to eliminate my 'sweets' issue by substituting. .... I think.....
Posted 4 months ago # -
Vick
MemberHere are my thoughts based on reading papers from people smarter than me.
One or two days of high carbs or nutrients (supplements on a medium to high carb day) will signsl your insulin to tell your body to store "fat" rather than burn "fat". I experienced this the week of my son's wedding (Labour Day weekend) and Thanksgiving up here.
My exercises are not designed to burn calories. They are designed to trigger the insulin to tell the body that we must burn "fat" not store it.
I really suggest you cut the carbs to under 100 grams a day. You may be there all ready, I'm not sure.
Next is to stress the highest weights for the shortest period of time. 4-5 exercises of heavy lifting using different muscle groups. No longer than 60 seconds per exercise. Do that once a week.
I beleive that will probably trigger the insulin to tell the body to burn "fat" not store it. Why? Because the high stress of the exercise will damage your muscles requiring repair and growth so it can handle the next stress at that level. To meet that healing of the muscles and growth the body must burn "fat" not store it.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Yeah, I've been naughty on ALL accounts lately. Coffee with sweetener, no workouts (getting back now). I am a huge fan of heavy lifting for short sets and I know that the lack of these this past month has set me back.
I'm IF today (with some 'detox' shake consisting of ONLY distilled water and organic spinach). That got rid of my naughty-girl-ate-Halloween-candy bloat!
Now to get back to full Primal and cut out all sweets, for as long as I can! (Goodness, THanksgiving sure is sounding good right about now...)
Posted 4 months ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.