John Myers
Agave syrup may be trendy, but it is far from being a vegan magic drug. How healthy is the sugar substitute?
Agave syrup is very popular
Agave syrup was still a real rarity in the 90s. At that time, the sugar alternative from Mexico was only available in a few health food stores, today agave syrup has arrived in the mainstream. You can find it in almost every supermarket and also in most drugstores. Sugar or honey can be replaced with agave syrup, but you should be particularly careful with the dosage. Because agave syrup has a higher sweetening power than sugar , so even a small amount is sufficient for sweetening, according to the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) .
The thick juice from the Central American cactus is currently so successful in the kitchen because it has the reputation of being particularly healthy . And: agave syrup has only a slight taste of its own. Only dark agave syrup has a slightly stronger taste.
Agave nectar is neither healthy nor environmentally friendly
Like any other plant syrup and any other syrup, agave syrup is ultimately only viscous sugar , says Stefan Kabisch , a study doctor in the Clinic for Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine at the Charité in Berlin: ” It is less important whether it is primarily sucrose or mostly fructose or glucose relevant.” The calorie content is the same, according to Kanisch.
High fructose content is problematic
But there is another problem: the fructose content of agave syrup is particularly high. The agave syrup traded in Germany has a fructose content of between 70 and 75 percent.
Animal models show that fructose promotes weight gain and fatty liver formation more than glucose. Observational studies in humans have shown that too much fructose can also lead to the development of fatty liver, but also to gout or high blood pressure . ” Randomized controlled studies see such disadvantages only with hypercaloric nutrition, not with constant body weight ,” adds researcher Stefan Kabisch. One thing is certain: fructose is almost certainly not an advantage. “The best alternative to sugar is therefore less sugar; A clear advantage has also not been proven for sugar alcohols and sweeteners and certain risks are still unclear ,” says Kabisch.
High sweetening power increases sweetness preference among children
There is another problem with agave syrup, and that is the already described sweetness of the syrup. Due to the high sweetening power (1.2 to 1.5 times higher than normal sugar), children’s preference for sweets can increase. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) in Bonn warns of this: ” Due to the sticky consistency, agave syrup is more damaging to teeth than sugar.”
After all: Due to the high fructose content, agave syrup has a low glycemic load, which means that it causes blood sugar to rise more slowly than normal refined sugar. Compared to this, agave syrup – like all unrefined types of sugar – also has a higher content of minerals or trace elements, for example. However, in order to actually take in meaningful amounts of these substances, you would have to drink several liters of agave syrup.
Are negative effects compensated for by inulin?
There are also those who claim that the negative effects of fructose are offset by the positive properties of inulin. Inulin is a polysaccharide made from fructose. Inulin cannot be digested by humans and the fructose of the inulin is accordingly not absorbed. ” However, intestinal bacteria can decompose it and the short-chain fatty acids formed in this way are resorbed and metabolized,” says Kabisch.
” Short-chain fatty acids are actually pretty good for us humans, they improve gut lining and promote a healthy gut barrier .” They also improved insulin sensitivity , explains Kabisch. Inulin has, among other things, anabolic properties in various tissues, such as liver, adipose tissue and muscles. Put simply, it determines where incoming calories go. So if you want to build muscle, for example, you will be happy about the high insulin sensitivity of the muscles.
However, inulin does not only have advantages. Since it causes increased gas formation , large amounts can lead to flatulence or diarrhea . “Therefore, it is advisable to take inulin only in moderate amounts,” says the Munster ecotrophologist Kraatz. There is also currently a lack of meaningful data on the question of whether inulin has a beneficial effect on the liver. However, the first studies on this question are already underway.
But the proportion of inulin in agave syrup only plays a subordinate role anyway . If you consider that the fiber content of agave syrup is only specified as 0.5 grams per 100 grams, the inulin content will also be low, according to Kraatz. ” This means that the proportion of inulin can be a maximum of 0.5 percent,” because inulin must be in the dietary fiber. The positive properties of inulin hardly play any role in agave syrup.
Inulin is also found in many other foods
Overall, however, inulin does more good than harm. However, we don’t depend on high-calorie syrup to ingest it. It is also found in other root and leek vegetables, such as artichokes, chicory, leeks, garlic, onions and salsify. And it’s in Jerusalem artichokes, bananas, wheat or rye.
Agaves are also rather harmful to the environment
While there are many foods containing inulin in our country, agave syrup often comes from far away. The high demand has further promoted agave monocultures, says Andreas Buerkert, Professor of Agroecosystem Research in the Tropics and Subtropics at the University of Kassel.
Agave monocultures are primarily found in central Mexico . “Like any monoculture, agave cultivation is not unproblematic,” explains Buerkert. If only the agave is used, other plants will be displaced. In addition, the working conditions for the harvest workers on agave plantations are not good.
Another problem: In monocultures , the soil becomes impoverished because the same nutrients are always withdrawn. It is really problematic when forests in Mexico are cut down for agave cultivation. The result: Less biodiversity, fewer forests and even more monocultures.
After about eight years of growth, the sweet juice is extracted from the heart of the agave. So the harvest time is very short. According to Buerkert, the plant dies after this one-off bloodletting. According to the DGE, the juice is boiled down in a very energy-intensive manner until the water content is only 25 percent. “ Most of the vitamins contained in the fruit are lost in the process.”
Transport produces a lot of CO2
After all, the vegan sweetener has to be transported from Mexico to Europe with a great deal of energy . The juice must first be transported from the plantations to the port, from where the journey by ship usually begins to Rotterdam.
From there, the truck continues to the distribution centers of German supermarkets and drugstores. Even if the CO2 emissions cannot be calculated in detail because they depend on too many factors, some carbon dioxide is emitted from overseas for our sweet treat.
Reluctance to eat
Agave nectar is a sweetener. And therefore it should not be treated differently than sugar or honey. Due to the high sugar content, consumers should consider the total daily intake of sugar when using agave syrup, which should be 30 to 50 grams per day , taking into account all sugar content in food.
” It is recommended not to consume more than 30 grams of fructose per day, whereby a part is already covered by the recommended consumption of two servings of fruit per day and therefore only a small proportion is left for sweeteners such as agave syrup,” says Alwine Kraatz , nutritionist at the Münster University of Applied Sciences. It is therefore advised not to use more than 1-2 tablespoons of agave syrup per day .
Replace agave syrup with regional products
Instead of thick juice from agaves, you should also prefer thick juices from local fruits , such as pears or apples. Turnip cabbage would also be an alternative from Germany. Nutritionists and researchers agree that it is even better to generally reduce the sweetness in desserts, cakes or yoghurts.
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