How Can Agave Nectar Make You Feel Great?

AYURVEDIC ANALYSIS

Agave, the main ingredient in Tequila, has resurfaced as a health fad in recent years. Sticky and delicious agave nectar, produced from the agave plant, has been touted as a healthier sweetener because it has a slightly lower glycemic index than sugar. However, according to the American Diabetes Association, "It is okay for people with diabetes to use agave nectar as a sweetener, but they should not treat it any differently than regular sugar or corn syrup. It provides just as many calories and carbohydrates as regular sugar, honey, etc."

Agave, Appetite & Fat Tissue

Agave, like corn syrup, is high in fructose. Like corn syrup, agave bypasses our natural appetite suppressor mechanisms, which can lead to overconsumption. Additionally, the liver converts agave sugars directly into fat tissue, bypassing the normal conversion of sugars into glucose. For this reason, diabetics can consume agave without raising blood sugar levels. Increased fat production, however, is hardly a solution for diabetics.

Agave is a Highly Processed Food

Using the word nectar to refer to agave sweetener may be misleading, as it is not made entirely from the sap of the plant. A better term would be 'agave syrup.' Instead, starches in the plants bulbous root are extracted, refined and highly processed. These starches are strikingly similar to those in corn and rice used to make high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose syrup.

Nutritional Content

Unlike jaggery and molasses, the nutritional content of agave is negligible. It also lacks the fiber of natural sweeteners such as raisins, dates, and bananas. Unlike honey, agave syrup is cold and Kapha provoking. Honey, the only 'heating' sweetener, remains Ayurveda's sweetener of choice for Kapha dosha.

Want to buy a duck?

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. Although promoted by health stores, modern sweeteners like agave syrup may simply sweep under the rug a sugar addiction of epidemic proportions: we consume over 150 times the amount of sugar than our ancestors only a hundred years ago.

WHY SHOULD YOU EAT AYURVEDICALLY?

Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with at any given time. Foods that supplement your specific body type’s needs and digest easily create your menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you experience optimal health.

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Is Agave Nectar Good for Me?

Find out by taking this free, easy quiz. You'll learn your body type, and whether Agave Nectar is a good fit for you. Time to complete: approximately 1 minute.

MEDICINAL QUALITIES

INCREASES Increases These Qualities (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main characteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	COLD ABOUT COLD GUNA Cold refers to anything that reduces body temperature, metabolism, and blood flow. LEARN MORE ABOUT COLD TOXIC ABOUT TOXIC GUNA A substance that causes toxicity in the body, or that harms the body. LEARN MORE ABOUT TOXIC HEAVY ABOUT HEAVY GUNA Heavy is identified by sedation, sluggishness, or increased weight. LEARN MORE ABOUT HEAVY GOOEY ABOUT GOOEY GUNA Gooey is identified by anything gelatinous (such as oatmeal), or by mucus congestion. LEARN MORE ABOUT GOOEY
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	SWEET ABOUT SWEET GUNA Sweet refers to anything builds tissue, including macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. LEARN MORE ABOUT SWEET
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types People tend to get sick, over and over again, due to similar causes and habitual imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. Catabolic people tend to be easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic people tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic people are heavy, stable and grounded, but if they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	TYPE: Sweeteners ELEMENT: Earth EARTH Resembles earth (prithvi) in quality - heavy, dense, solid, stable, hard. LEARN MORE ABOUT EARTH , Water WATER Resembles water (ap) in quality - fluid, sticky, soft, heavy, stable, cool. LEARN MORE ABOUT WATER NOURISHES: Plasma PLASMA Plasma (Rasa Dhatu) includes plasma, white blood cells, and lymph. LEARN MORE ABOUT PLASMA

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Experiences are Personal

Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

Energy Vitality Strength:

Nutritive

NUTRITIVE

An herb that is strengthening and nourishing.

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