I read an article recently by Dr. Mercola on agave syrup that provoked a desire to write on the topic. Dr. Mercola’s newsletter is one of my most respected and reliable sources for natural health information, however I don’t always completely agree with him on everything and this is one of them. Here’s the link, if you’d like to read it and I encourage you to do so:

http://www.healthiertalk.com/agave-triumph-marketing-over-truth-0871

He makes some excellent points in his article, pointing out how clever marketing can create a perception about a product that is not accurate and actually encourages unhealthy behavior. We see this kind of marketing in the raw cacao craze as well.

Additionally, Dr. Mercola points out that many people are addicted to sugar and always looking for a way to continue their addiction, that agave is a simple and processed sugar, not a raw or whole food and highlights all the devastating effects that sugar, fructose etc. has on the body. These are all important, true and valid points one should be aware of and I’m in total agreement with him on these aspects.

However, in his discussion, he tells us that agave should be completely avoided and honey should be the only sweetener you use and this is where I disagree.

Dr. Mercola’s article says agave may not have a low glycemic index and it is likely to spike your blood sugar in the same manner as sugar and high fructose corn syrup. He also states that it won’t stimulate insulin secretion and leptin production, and thus will interfere in regulation of appetite that results in an increase of food intake.

My personal experience with agave syrup does not support these statements.

Before I explain why, I first want to clarify that I am not encouraging you to eat agave on a regular basis. All refined sweeteners, even the more wholesome ones, should be kept to a minimum and not part of the daily diet. When consumed on a regular basis, they are destructive to the human body and mind as Dr. Mercola points out and you frequently hear me say as well. When we do eat sweets, the bulk of any sweets that we consume should consist of whole food sources from fruit. Whole food sweets are always healthier and the preferred choice. This is especially true for anyone with a health condition like diabetes, hypoglycemia, obesity, candida overgrowth, depression, anxiety, alcoholism, drug addiction and sugar addiction.

If you want something really sweet, then bananas, dates, raisins and figs are a good choice, however they are very high in natural sugar so shouldn’t be eaten daily either. Other natural sweets that aren’t as high in sugar include pears, apples, peaches and berries of all kinds. Even these should be kept to a minimum, because they too break down into sugar in the body and if eaten in excess can also have a negative impact on your health.

However, there are times in life when it is not possible to adhere to these restrictions, like when we are eating out, or perhaps we have a special occasion like a birthday or a holiday, when we desire to have something sweet. I believe in having a great deal of self-discipline and eating as healthy possible, but feel there is no harm in allowing ourselves an occasional sweet pleasure in life. When we do indulge, we want to choose the healthiest sweets available to us, but be flexible and realistic.

For these occasions, then I feel it is acceptable to have a healthier sweetener, and in my opinion, agave is quite frequently the healthiest choice we have. In my experience it has less negative impact on health than honey.

I first found agave syrup several years ago when my doctor, who is an alternative medicine doctor, was selling it in his office and recommended I try it. I’ve seen other doctors mention on their websites that they feel agave is a healthier choice. So not all doctors are in agreement on the agave syrup issue.

When I am going to indulge in a food that contains a healthier sweetener here are the things I take into consideration when making my choice:

• Dose it set off my sugar addiction and make me want to binge
• Does it flare my Candida symptoms
• Does it over stimulate my neurotransmitters
• Does it give me anxiety
• Does it give me a spike in blood sugar and result in hypoglycemia symptoms
• Do I feel depressed and irritable the next day

All sugars — white sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, and even organic sugar will trigger all the items in my list above with great intensity and must be avoided. If it has the word sugar in it, it must be avoided. However, maple sugar and date sugar would be a healthier choice, if sugar is absolutely needed.

All the sweeteners that end with ‘tol’ like xylitol, mannitol etc. give me diarrhea and gastrointestinal pain.

Honey, although certainly a healthier choice than sugar, triggers all the negative effects in my list almost the same level as a sugar. Although I can and sometimes do eat a small amount of honey, if there is a significant amount, I will feel the effects.

When I eat agave syrup, it does not trigger most of the issues in my list above very significantly. I have no spike in blood sugar, my blood sugar stays stable, I don’t have a boost in neurotransmitters where I feel high and then depressed, I have no anxiety, I don’t feel depressed or irritable the next day and I have no desire to binge on more sweets. I don’t feel like I’ve eaten sugar at all, except that sometimes it will trigger a minor flare in Candida.

However, please keep in mind, I only eat agave occasionally, maybe 2 or 3 times a month. When I go out to get groceries and need to have lunch or while I’m eating out for a special occasion. I only eat out at health food restaurants to avoid the nasty white sugar and other garbage food.

I’d also like to point out, that like Dr. Mercola, I agree that if you’re going to use any sweetener, the most healthiest choice is stevia. Stevia is an herb and in my experience has no effects at all on Candida, blood sugar, sugar addiction, neurotransmitters, etc. However, cooking with stevia is not that easy and you will not find any health food restaurants using it in their recipes.

Besides stevia, I also don’t experience too many negative effects if I eat something that is sweetened with fruit juice or rice dextrins, if I keep it to a minimum. But again, if you’re eating out, it’s hard to find anything sweetened with either of these items.

Prior to agave syrup coming on the scene, all the health food restaurants were using organic cane sugar, juice or syrup, falsely believing this was a healthy move. It is not. Although organic sugar is free of pesticides and herbicides and contains more nutrients, it still impacts the body and mind in the same negative way as regular sugar. Because of this, it used to be that I was not able to eat most things on the menu even in a health food restaurant. Now I can enjoy an occasional raw food cheese cake made from nuts, or coconut ice cream on a hot summers day. So although the use of agave in the health food industry is over abundant, it is a huge improvement over organic sugar.

It’s just not realistic that most people’s life will allow for complete abstinence of all forms of sugar every day, so in my experience choosing agave syrup is the healthiest choice available, as long as we are not indulging frequently.

On the other hand, we are all unique and each of us may have a different response to the foods we eat. Some people may find honey to have less negative effect, if that is the case then you should follow the wisdom of your body. Your body will always tell you what you should and should not be eating, by the way it responds to what you consume.