A few readers have recently asked us about agave, and why we rank it higher than honey in our “star” system ranking. We hope this will answer your questions:
Our star system for sweeteners works like this: 3-star sweeteners are the least concerning, 2-star sweeteners are less concerning, 1-star sweeteners are more concerning but OK for use once in a while, and ½ star sweeteners should be used for rare treats. We rate agave as a 3-star sweetener and honey as a ½ star sweetener.
Honey is a natural product and is not that much more refined than agave is. However, it has a high glycemic index, in the range of 55-65 depending on the product. Glycemic index measures how much a specific food raises your blood glucose level.
Agave, on the other hand, has a glycemic index of only about 13-19, depending on the specific product. The low glycemic index means that agave does not increase your blood sugar as much as honey or other high glycemic index foods will, and this is why we rank agave with 3 stars versus the ½ star for honey.
Agave isn’t a perfect food, since it contains a lot of fructose, which has various harmful effects on the body. So we recommend that you use an average of no more than 1 teaspoon a day (of the maximum 5 teaspoons of sweetener per day that we recommend). We list other sweeteners in the 2 and 3 star categories that can make up the other 4 teaspoons. Agave is sweeter than sugar, so 1 teaspoon agave is equivalent to 1.5 teaspoons of sugar.
For more information on The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, visit BlockMD.com.
Comments