Comments on: Is agave nectar (agave syrup) healthy?

By: Nef

Nef — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:44:20 +0000

I have internal sensors for fructose. I have fructose malapsorption so you don’t even have to tell me of there is high fructose in something (natual or added) my stomach does… I start to bloat within a minute or so of eating it and feel lots of pain and discomfort. I just did a search for agave nectar and fructose because I had some agave nectar in the cupboard that I never used and today decided to make myself some flavored water with about a teaspoon of that and some fresh lemon. I’m in pain now. I didn’t stir it so it mostly sunk to the bottom. It hit me when I got to the bottom of the cup. I will be throwing the stuff out.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:18:05 +0000

To Jim: I lost all respect to you with your “Stop reacting, you dumb Russian luddite, and read what I wrote, instead of what you wanted to read.”

Much the same way you wanted her to respect your writting you should have respected her opinion instead of “reacting” in a much harsh and rude way. It is a fact that every time we do or say something there will be people who will agree, people who won’t, and people who will remain neutral or on the fence. More professionalism please!

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:55:53 +0000

There’s an article in the New York Times that discusses the work of Robert Lustig and the effects of sugars on the body. It addresses many of the facts and opinions in the responses to your blog here.

The link is http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

The edition is April 17, 2011.

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:56:07 +0000

Agave is used by vegans as a substitute for honey because honey is an animal product and agave is not.

By: jen

jen — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:12:15 +0000

thanks for the info! although it might sound strange, i have to read everything the opposite way that most people do… my daughter has a condition where she cannot break down sucrose (congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency) as well as lactose. so agave and hfcs is something she CAN have. otherwise, the sugars just ferment in her stomach and she is left with agonizing pain… etc… no fun at all. that which everyone is trying to avoid and vilify, we are looking for. she’s 5’4″ and 100 lbs, barely, and would welcome a little adipose!

@MP btw, alcohol kills brain cells and the liver. it will always be poison. but it’s my favorite poison…

moderation ya’ll.

By: MP

MP — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:48:28 +0000

All interesting info. this is making me wonder about alcohol, which i assume being a highly refined sugar also goes into bloodstream too quickly, and is not good for those who need to lose weight or are diabetic. So, following that logic, if an alcoholic beverage contained some type of fibers or nutrients in it, would it be less poisonous to our systems?

By: Aimee

Aimee — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:41:33 +0000

In response to a comment on your post, genetically modifying organisms at the level of DNA is quite different than traditional plant or animal breeding that has been taking place for thousands of years.

For example, there is no way to cross breed an arctic fish gene into a tomato through traditional breeding practices.

GMO’s are radical and unprecedented experiments and we do well to not only avoid them for our health, but to shrink the market for them for the sake of the ecosystem.

At the same time, I believe a lot of conventional sugar is derived from GMO beets. Best to go organic which excludes GMO’s.

By: Leelee

Leelee — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:54:20 +0000

HFCS wreaks havoc.
We know that, but please people, don’t go hating on fruit.

Fruit sugar is buffered by the fiber and water content + fruit contains a myriad of essential micronutrients + the organic acids contained within; acetic, citric, malic, oxalic, etc naturally renders fruit (not fructose) lower on the glycaemic charts.

If you eat too much of ANY nutrient, the excess will be stored as fat. Even though fructose is converted to fat more efficiently than glucose, these fat stores are just as readily mobilized when the energy is needed. When it comes to weight maintenance, ones energy input should equal their energy output.

By: JM

JM — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:06:58 +0000

Linda: Thanks for mentioning Dr Lustig’s research into fructose and obesity. A direct link to the blog post with the embedded video is:
http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/blog/?p=1072

I do think fresh fruit is relatively safe, but in reasonable quantities. It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, too: when there was a fruit harvest, it was a very short period with an enormous bounty of fruit. It would make sense to gorge and fatten up, presumably because the bounty wouldn’t last long.

Nowadays, when fructose is plentiful and ubiquitous, our instinct to gorge and fatten is never turned off.

By: Linda

Linda — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:40:54 +0000

I watched a youtube movie last night that clears up all of the questions that you might have about the “differences” between fructose, glucose and sucrose. If you go to http://www.cookusinterruptus.com and click on the link in the box to the top right of the screen (“The Bitter Truth”). It’s an hour and a half video of a seminar given by an MD who works with obese children. It was worth the time. Very informative. Basically, if you eat a whole apple (fructose), nature has taken care of the problem by combining it with fiber. Apple juice, on the other hand, is a problem. Watch the movie!!