Is Agave Nectar Fattening?

Agave nectar, also called blue agave syrup, is a popular sweetener that you can find in health food stores or the natural foods section of your grocery store. This sweetener, made from a cactus plant that originates from Mexico, has a reputation as a healthy sugar alternative. However, like all sugars, natural or processed, agave nectar can promote weight gain or prevent you from losing weight.

Calories and Sugar Content

Agave nectar contains a similar amount of calories and sugar as is found in table sugar, molasses, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup. For example, 1 tbsp. provides 60 calories and 16 g of sugar. If, believing that agave nectar is a healthier sweetener, you start adding it to tea, oatmeal, yogurt, marinades and homemade baked goods, you could gain weight. Your body converts extra calories and sugar to fat and stores it in your body fat cells.

Fructose Content

Agave nectar differs from other sweeteners in that it has a very high fructose content. Table sugar, honey, brown sugar and maple syrup are approximately half fructose and half glucose, while high fructose corn syrup generally contains 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. In the case of agave nectar, 90 percent of its sugar is in the form of fructose and only 10 percent is glucose. Your body does not metabolize glucose and fructose in the same way, and the high fructose content of agave nectar could make it more fattening than other sugars.

Fructose and Weight

A high fructose intake is not only associated with high triglycerides, insulin resistance and an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart diseases but also linked to obesity. According to Dr. Robert H. Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology of the University of California, San Francisco, fructose is one of the main factors responsible for increased rates of overweight and obesity. Fructose is more readily converted to fat and easier to store as excess pounds on your body compared to other nutrients, which could explain why agave syrup, with its high fructose content, could be fattening.

Avoid Sweeteners

Natural sweeteners, processed sweeteners or artificial sweeteners may give a pleasant touch of sweetness to your diet, but they do not provide any important nutrients. In addition to providing empty calories, sugars of any kind contribute to maintaining your sweet tooth and stimulating your cravings for sweets and carbohydrate-rich foods. Challenge yourself to eliminate all sweeteners from your diet for at least 3 to 4 weeks. This experiment can be hard at the beginning, but you feel better and more energized within the first couple of weeks. Moreover, your sweet tooth will slowly go away and you will notice that your clothes fit better.