Agave Nectar/Syrup

In an attempt to learn more about what I am putting in my body I decided to learn more about what the ingredients listed on labels actually are. As such I have decided to start by looking at all the different names for sugar and have decided to start with Agave Nectar or interchangeably, Agave Syrup.

Agave Nectar is is extracted from various species of the agave plant, which grows mainly in Mexico and South Africa.. The most common use of the Agave plant is fermenting the sugars in it to make tequila.

The nectar is made by extracting the sugary circulating fluid in the plant. When this is processed into a syrup,  the fructans are broken down into fructose by exposing the sugary fluid to heat and/or enzymes.

Agave nectar is high in fructose, which is thought to be one of the most damaging forms of sugar. The sweetener that is sold as Agave nectar is not truly “nectar”, more like a refined, processed sweetener made from Agave nectar.