The healing power of agave

It is better to use agave syrup to sweeten drinks than sugar, according to scientific research. This is in stark contrast to the opinion of various food experts on agave syrup. They reason: there is fructose in agave syrup and so it is bad. But that is far too short-sighted. The fructose in agave syrup is of a completely different nature and composition than the fructose synthesized from corn. In fact, it is very confusing to give both substances the same name. It is better to distinguish between natural, unprocessed fructose and freshly synthesized fructose. You may have guessed it: the latter is indeed unhealthy, almost as unhealthy as sugar.

General information agave

Agave is a perennial plant native to the southern United States. , Mexico and tropical parts of South America. The plant is known as a succulent or succulent; agave, however, does not belong to the cactus species. The agave is often used in the tropics as an ornamental plant in the garden and in cooler areas such as the Netherlands and Belgium it is a much sought-after houseplant. However, agave offers more than just decorative value; it is a medicinal plant. The Aztecs, a people that can be counted among the original inhabitants of Mexico, had many other uses of agave. They used it as food, drink, the fibers were used as the basis for clothing and they used parts of the agave as writing material.

The Latin name we use in science for agave is Agave americana. The Mexican name of this plant is maguey. Americana refers to the fact that agave originally only grows on the American continents. In English, the Agave americana is also known as a century plant. Century means 'century'. This name refers to the fact that it takes a long time for the plant to start flowering. A variety of agave is Agave barbadensis. These agaves are not used for the production of tequila; Agave azul or Agave tequilana is responsible for this. Mezcal, a Mexican liquor, is also made from agave.

Agave contains all kinds of healthy substances such as flavonoids, homoidsoflavonoids and phenolic acids. In Mexican folk medicine, agave leaf is used to make a tea that helps with constipation and flatulence. A tincture is also used for the same purpose. In addition, the leaves are a diuretic or diuretic agent. Agave root tea is taken orally against arthritic joints. An agave root tincture is also used for arthritis.

On the Internet, there are several bloggers who completely denounce agave syrup as a safe alternative to sugar. How did that happen? A serious confusion underlies this negative image of the natural, unprocessed syrup. Agave syrup contains a lot of fructose. When people hear this word they start to become suspicious. Fructose, or high fructose corn syrup, is known to be very bad. Glucose fructose syrup is sometimes also referred to as fructose. In fact, there is perhaps deliberate name confusion here. Glucose fructose syrup is a sweetener obtained from corn. To get this sweetener from corn, the corn has to undergo a lot of chemical processing. This fructose type from corn, or glucose-fructose syrup, is a freshly synthesized product. There is little natural about it. It contains no other substances than fructose. And in that case, fructose is just as big a poison as sugar. But the fructose that occurs unprocessed in fruit and all kinds of natural products is a fructose of a completely different order! This fructose is taken along with all kinds of necessary vitamins and minerals. In addition to fructose, agave syrup also contains inositol. In addition, it contains a range of other nutrients. All the components in agave syrup together make this sweetener many times healthier than sugar, according to scientific research. There are less healthy effects of the syrup prepared from agave, but these are insignificant compared to sugar.

Researchers from the US published a study in 2014 measuring the difference between agave syrup and sugar. Mice were used for the study. One group of mice was fed 20% agave syrup and the other group was fed sucrose, the sweetener contained in granulated sugar. Subsequently, all kinds of parameters were measured in mice, such as weight gain and insulin in the blood. It turned out that the mice that had taken agave syrup had much less weight gain than the mice that were given granulated sugar. The researchers found that agave syrup has a positive effect on weight control and blood sugar levels compared to sugar. In other words, agave syrup is a lot less bad than sugar.

Despite the fact that agave syrup is a lot less bad than sugar, it is advisable to be careful with it. Drinking a whole bottle of agave syrup is also not good. If you are too used to the sweet taste, agave syrup can be a great transition agent to a sugar-free diet. In combination with agave syrup, you can use sweet fruits, dried fruits and stevia to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Agave contains sapogenins, hecogenin and tigogenin. These substances have an anti-inflammatory property. Italian research from 1997 investigated to what extent agave syrup can be used in edema or fluid accumulation. It was found that together these substances had a strong anti-edematous effect and that they do not cause damage to the gastric mucosa like the pharmacotherapeutic drugs indomethacin or dexamethasone 21-phosphate, which can also be used for this purpose. In other words, agave syrup is a better edema medicine than its allopathic, pharmacotherapeutic counterparts.

When harvesting agave, be careful not to get your hands into too much contact with agave juice. This can cause contact eczema in some people, which manifests itself in the appearance of blisters that remain visible for one to two weeks. To avoid this, put on plastic gloves when harvesting agave.

A study from India published in 2010 reports that chemotherapy is relatively ineffective in breast cancer cells. Agave, on the other hand, managed to stop breast cancer cells from developing. This eventually leads to the breast cancer cells that form a tumor being destroyed by apoptosis or natural cell death. According to the scientific standard, agave is one of the potent cancer-fighting substances, the Indian researchers conclude. Potent means 'strong'. In fact, the researchers say: agave works better than chemotherapy for cancer. That in itself is not really surprising since one side effect of chemotherapy is that it can actually cause cancer.