The Agave Nectar Scandal
Some of you might’ve already heard about this if you are involved in raw-forums but, for those who haven’t, I’m gonna brief you on the issue. It seems that some of the manufacturers of agave nectar/syrup have been duping us!!
Beautiful plant but what some are doing to it ain't so pretty
Lemme break down some of the issues here. We have been told that, amongst other things, agave is a healthy alternative to refined sugar and corn syrups, etc. We’ve also been told that it is produced in a low-temperature refining process. Well both of these have been discovered to be BS! It turns out that agave nectar’s sweetness comes from a process of converting the agave saps’ starch into a highly refined sweetener. They do this through an enzymatic conversion process that utilizes genetically modified enzymes as well as a series of chemical treatments involving caustic acids, clarifiers and filtration chemicals!! Yeeeech , to say the least! The resulting sweetener is called fructose in an attempt to liken it to fruit sugar but, fructose actually refers to “man-made” highly refined sweeteners. Naturally occurring sugars (like those found in fruits) is actually levulose. The two have some chemical similarities, so they have been labeled in a way that is deceiving consumers. How high is the level of fructose in agave nectar? Well you may have heard about all the health issues surrounding High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS); HFCS contains 55% fructose while agave (the supposedly healthy alternative) contains up to 70% and higher!!!!
For more info I highly recomend checking out the article posted Monday at Natural News ~ http://www.naturalnews.com/024892.html
*Since posting this some people have contacted me to remind that the article could be biased, this could be true but, prior to this article I’ve been starting to hear not so good things about agave in a lot of raw forums lately that have had me reconsidering it’s use. This new info comes as a huge shock and let-down for me personally, as I have been using agave nectar for almost three years now and have been recommending it to family and friends as a healthy sweetener that’s safe for diabetics. And I’ve also been using it in recipes in my videos! Unless this information is found to be untrue we are not going to be using it anymore as a sweetener in our house or in our recipe videos, and are no longer going to recommend its’ use. I think it would be great if there were a third party certification/inspection process to verify the production methods of raw food products. Also it’d be cool if the producers of agave nectar and other raw products would put out some videos of their production facilitie’s techniques, not only to assure the quality of their products but, it would be fun to see how they’re made!
Now that we got the bad-news out there let’s look into what alternatives we have available!
Raw-Honey! ~ Although honey is not a vegan product as it is taken from bees and some of them can be harmed during harvesting it is still a great natural sweetner. I’m technically considered a “bee-gan” because my diet contains no animal by-products except those from bees. I use honey often because it has numerous health benefits, due to it’s active enzymes, pro-biotic content and abundance of minerals. It also has antioxidant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties! Simply Google “honey and health” to find a great deal of resources on the many benefits of honey.
Pure organic maple syrup ~ although not raw, undergoes a very simple process of refining, involving boiling it down from the sap of sugar maple trees. You lose the enzymes but, it still contains an array of trace minerals as well as zinc, manganese, and calcium.
Dates contain numerous healthy goodies like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and fiber! Now here’s a cool natural sweetener that you can whip up yourself and it’s freakin’ easy!
Date Syrup ~ Take 1 part dates and soak in 1-2 parts water (for example 1 Cups dates to 1-2 Cups water) Soak for at least 1 hour and then blend thoroughly. This delicious thick “syrup” is great to add to smoothies, drizzle onto your fruit salads, add to raw-desserts, top off your raw-cereals, and sweeten up whatever you need sweetened up! I store it in the fridge for 5-6 days with no-problem. You can also get creative and experiment with blending in fruit, vanilla cacao or carob into it to make your own flavored syrup creations!
Whether you’re goin’ raw or just trying to switch over to healthier sweets, I hope these ideas help! Peace everyone and have a happy Thanksgiving! :0)
This is very interesting to me, as I have given up white refined sugar and use agave as one of my natural sweeteners.
Have you done any extensive research on the validity of the article? I looked at it and feel like there needs to be more research done on agave before throwing it out completely…especially if some producers of agave are doing it the right way, it would be too bad to dis on them. However, if this is truly going on, then what a shame! I agree with you about the raw honey. My parents-in-law harvest honey and it has been wonderful.
In the natural news article, they say: “NaturalNews does not agree with every statement in this story, but we posted it because we are aware of an increasing amount of fraudulent, low-quality “agave” products in the marketplace, and we think a public discussion on agave nectar product is of value. Some readers have pointed out that some of the sources mentioned in this article have conflicts of interest, as they are aligned with competing products such as brown rice syrup. It’s up to you, the discerning reader, to decide what to make of this article.”
I would also be interested to talk to some producers themselves, of agave, and get their comments about this.
November 27, 2008 at 12:20 am
I’m a raw honey kinda girl, myself. Never jumped on the agave band wagon and now I’m glad I didn’t. LOVE dates. Use them often when ‘baking.’ Never thought to make a ‘syrup’ to keep on hand in the fridge – thanks for that great tip!
Thanksgiving Blessings to you and your family, Rory!
November 27, 2008 at 1:05 am
Hey My year without! I agree that there may be some more to this issue, I’ve actually updated the post a bit to lend some credit to those out there that may actually be producing the nectar correctly. For me that info upon all the other negative things I’ve been hearing about agave we’re enough reasons to stop using it for the time being until there is more info out there about reliably safe sources. Thanks for the awesome comment! :0)
Hey Earthmother! Happy Thanksgiving wishes to you and yours as well!! I was all gung-ho about agave then as the time went on I kept hearing people baggin’ on it in various forums, other producers were bad-mouthing other producers, and then you hear about “Truly Raw Agave” and its like $11 for 17oz! Yikes! For me this new info led us to go to our other fave raw sweetners! Thanks for the kind words! :0)
November 27, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hi there,
I’ve been in communications with the head of Madhava over the past couple of weeks regarding this issue. He’s putting together a formal response that will set the record straight. He’s given me a copy, and here’s an excerpt:
“Their discussion of the processing of agave nectar is in no way reflective of how Madhava’s agave nectar is produced. There are three ways to convert complex sugars into a simple sugar sweetener such as agave syrup. It can be done thermally, chemically, or enzymatically as ours is. There are no chemicals whatsoever involved in the production of Madhava’s agave nectar from agave salmiana, nor is it cooked. Our agave is subject only to low temperatures during the evaporation of excess water from the juice.
The author states “The principal constituent of the agave is starch, such as what is found in corn or rice.”
This statement, which is the foundation of much of their argument comparing agave nectar to corn syrup, has no basis
in scientific fact, THERE IS NO STARCH IN THE AGAVE.
How can the author be so mistaken on this statement which is central to his attack?
All plants store energy in one of two ways, as starches or fructans. All agave plants create fructans, not starches, as energy storing means.
Agave plants have inulin, not starch. From Wikipedia: Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants. They belong to a class of fibers know as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a means of storing energy and it typically found in roots or rhizomes. Most plants which synthesize and store inulin do not store other materials such as starch.
There is no starch in either variety of agave, and agave nectar is not from starch as the author and Mr. Bianchi claim. They have tried very hard to propagandize the public with a false fact, either by design, or ignorance, for which there would be no excuse.
Such an error of fact certainly casts doubt on the validity of the rest of Nagel’s article, as the lack of depth of his research has to be apparent to all. Really, he is just regurgitating the singular views of Mr. Bianchi.
I personally spoke with the author during his “research”, as did at least one other in the industry. He chose not to include one word of the information given him by us, which I will repeat below, and failed to make any distinction between Madhava’s Nekutli agave nectar from salmiana and that from the blue agave plant. He only mentions blue agave. The plants differ, the locations differ, the methods and production differ greatly. The information we gave him did not fit his purpose and so was omitted in favor of a generalized attack.
Madhava’s source is exclusively agave salmiana. If you haven’t already reviewed our site at http://www.madhavasagave.com , you will find background information there. Briefly though, the native people supplying the juice collect it from the live plant, by hand, twice daily. There is no heat involved in the removal. The juice is immediately brought to the facility to remove the excess water. The juice is approx 50% water, and will ferment rapidly if left standing. It is during the removal of the moisture that the only heat is applied. The juice is evaporated and moisture removed in a vacuum evaporator. The vacuum enables the moisture to be withdrawn at low temperatures. The temp is closely controlled. Subsequently, our agave is handled and packaged at room temperatures. No other heat is applied. And, rather than convert the complex sugars of the juice thermally, we use gentle enzymatic action. Just as a bee introduces an enzyme to flower nectar to make honey, we introduce an organic vegan enzyme for the same purpose. The technical term for the conversion of complex sugars into their simple sugar components is hydrolysis. Inulin is a fructan which is hydrolyzed into the simple sugars composing agave nectar, fructose and glucose. Honey is composed of the same simple sugars.”
I hope that this small excerpt helps clear things up a bit. Keep an eye out for the entire response.
November 30, 2008 at 9:03 am
Thanks for the article. I use agave in all sorts of dishes, cakes and even drinks. I started with small bottles and now buy gallons at a time.
The last few times I ordered it online at Whole And Natural.com. They have all sizes at very reasonable prices and ship fast.
Healthy Holidays to all,
Debby
December 6, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Some new experiences with agave! I’ve tried the “Real” Raw Agave Nectar ( from Ultimate Superfoods ) while doing the raw chocolate workshop with Glen and it was delicious! Glens’ got faith in the manufacturer and I’ve checked out their website. The way they produce it sounds good! They maintain that there are no added enzymes or acids and that everything’s low temperature. Here’s a link to the info on how they do agave nectar for those who are still on the quest for the elusive raw agave syrup! If the high price is of concern, there’s still the other options for healthy sweetners I’ve mentioned in the post!
http://www.ultimatesuperfoods.com/ProductDescription.aspx?comcode=NC&plinid=AGVNEC&selection=0&listitem=Agave
December 13, 2008 at 12:01 am
There is no proof (that I have seen) of the effects of agave use over years period, (besides enthusiatists personal stories) people stay healthy because of their innosense, of belief of doing something good for the body. No one knows how much “better” we can feel Tomorrow until we experience it. The mind is the source of all dis-ease. check it, stop giving power to entities that say their product is “the best”, the ethics of this supposed “health food industry” are very questionable, dont believe the hype! Live simple, happy and free! Free from the brainwashing
October 12, 2009 at 10:16 am
Hi there.
Would you please tell me which Agave products may be okay to ingest. I have Allos (it is German) but clearly labelled as Bio-certified.
I am American but I live in Europe so sometimes I cannot determine if in some cases I am using products that are being properly labelled. I know the EU is much for exigent toward companies and product labelling.
Thank you. Great website!
PKP
December 4, 2009 at 7:08 am
Life Extension Foundation [lef.org] sells a product for digestive-immune support that contains inulins from agave. This Organization has researched health issues and remedies for years in order to bring good products to the marketplace. Agave must be good stuff.
December 13, 2009 at 5:10 pm