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Agave Nectar: Terrible or Terrific?
Photo credit: higherperspective.com
The Truth about Fructose
High fructose corn syrup and sugar both contain two simple sugars, about half fructose and half glucose. Although these sound similar, they are handled by our bodies very differently. Glucose is vital to the body and is found in many natural foods such as potatoes and carrots. To be certain that we always have enough, our bodies even make some of it. Every living thing on earth has glucose, because this substance is vital to life itself.
Every cell in your body can therefore metabolize glucose. However, your liver is the only organ in your body that can metabolize fructose. This is why the typical high carbohydrate, high calorie American diet is so harmful to our health.
When our liver is overloaded with fructose, it simply turns it into fat, which raises our triglyceride levels. Some of this fat gets stuck in the liver, which can lead to fatty liver disease. So while fructose does not raise blood sugar levels in the short run, it can lead to obesity and insulin resistance when consumed in large amounts.
Here’s what they don’t tell you about agave nectar: it’s about 85 percent pure fructose. That makes it higher in fructose than plain old white sugar.
Now this does not apply to the small amounts of fructose found in whole, natural fruits. Our livers are designed to deal with those small amounts of fructose. It’s the added stuff we put in our foods that cause us so many problems.
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