That statement wasn’t well written & it wasn’t mine. I accidentally left off the end quotes.
Nothing wrong with inulin itself, but lots wrong with agave. Thanks for pointing this out.
I tried a lot of different brands of stevia until I found one I liked. Some are very bitter with a weird after taste.
Whatever we use has a down side. The point about agave is that its marketing as a “natural” healthy sweetener is bogus. High fructose corn syrup is known as a very unhealthy sweetener & agave is worse.
Don’t mind me, just off on a typical rant.
I’ve also found stevia to have a harsh taste. What brands did you like?
Thanks for the reply. I should have quoted him directly too: “Use regular stevia in moderation, but avoid stevia-based sweeteners like Truvia and PureVia because they have undergone more processing.”
You can get Agave that is almost 100% raw but you won’t find it on the grocery shelves - you have to order it online. When I used to do a raw food diet (way before the D), we used agave because most sugars are not raw or natural. I never remembered it being touted as being good for diabetic - in fact, I don’t think it was ever consider a low-glyemic food. It is very sweet and tastes like a combo of honey and maple syrup. Since raw vegans don’t eat honey they go for the agave. That said, their is another more natural sweetner that is consider to be low-gyemic (well at least in the world of raw food) which is called Yacon syrup - it is very much like molasses but isn’t as sweet as agave. I don’t know what the index is on it though and whether or not it diabetic same - my guess is no. There is also jerusalem artichoke syrup which is even suppose to be lower than yacon syrup but very expensive - I have ever tasted it but it is supposed to be beneficial for diabetics because it has inulin in it (which I guess is supposed to be good for the pancras). Again another one of those things you have to buy online but I think remember seeing something that had it added to it at the health food store. I would be up for trying it some day.
I have an ethical problem with things like high fructose corn syrup and processed sugars like that. It is just the big companies way to cheapen our food without regards to whether or it is healthy for us and still make money off us. I refused to eat it for many years - even before the D - and I still would not.
Something interesting though- I saw a thing on I think is was Discovery Channel - it is that show called “Life After People” and they had one on what would happen to all the food if humans just vanished - Well, the food that would last the longest, if it was sealed in an air tight glass container and stayed that way, was honey! It would apparently they said still be good to eat after some 100 of thousands of years or some obscene number like that. It even beat out canned foods! I thought that was pretty interesting!
The Vitamin Shoppe brand is good & uses fiber for the bulking agent so it’s zero carbs. NuNaturals pure stevia is very good, I think. I don’t like things very sweet, so I don’t use a lot.
I extensively researched agave & there doesn’t appear to be any that’s truly raw despite label claims because it’s not like honey or maple syrup that can be tapped from a plant (or hive) without a lot of processing. That’s why it’s sooo sweet. Big furor of how misleading agave marketing has been. It’s a scam.
I’ve been meaning to try Yacon syrup.
White sugar lasts about forever also. Have you ever seen moldy sugar? It doesn’t go bad.
I don’t use sweeteners, Gerri, but it does sound like you’ve done lots of research and provided some great info. Interesting because yesterday’s episode of DiLife had a recipe for something using agave! I like that show but have been fairly unimpressed by the recipe segment.
Thanks, Gerri!
Coconut crystals are a great low-glycemic, natural alternative, or so I’ve found. They’re just wicked expensive.
Ooo, that sounds great!
Hope you like one of them. The worst stevia I’ve had was liquid.
My tummy can’t handle Splenda, Stivia, etc. I eat oatmeal, etc, with no sweetener.
Keep a skeptical eye out when claims are made about fructose and high fructose corn syrup. There is little valid scientific evidence of harm - other than that from over eating. Educate yourself at this link: http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4157
Yowza. I’m a little skepthical of this skeptoid. Claiming HCFS is just like table sugar and referring to that esteemed authority, Dr. Oz, the guru expert to the Oprah just totally moves me. Excuse me for not being convinced. I would certainly agree, cut back on the sugar. But please don’t try to substitute HFCS for sugar.
I am as well, Brian. Dr. Oz–arrgh. Do you think Dr. O knows as much about biochemistry as he does about diabetes:) Maybe Dr. O gets funding from the corn lobby.
The whole point about HFCS not being the same as table sugar is precisely because of its higher concentration of fructose that our bodies are not equipped to handle. Once the diasaccharides are broken down (unbound), the body is flooded with high concentrations of fructose. Fructose in its natural state (fruit) has accompanying fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, etc. It’s about impossible to eat so much fruit that you’d even approach the level of fructose of HFCS.
So to respond to Skeptoid’s article, it does make a difference to our bodies n your body “whether they came in as table sugar or as HFCS” & hence the problems of HFCS.
Hi Jeff:
I’m interested in Agave… could you provide me with the brand you use? Are you on meds to help control fuctose/glucose response?
I’m type 2 and really would like to try this but I’m a bit concerned. Thanks.