A closer look at sugar and sweeteners

There has been a lot of information circulating around the Internet recently about the dangers of agave nectar.  It prompted me to take a little closer look.  And I'm glad I did.  What I've learned will be part of an ongoing series about the benefits and disadvantages of different types of sugar.  It's a complex issue, so to make it more understandable, I thought I'd break it into installments.  If you have comments about any of this, please feel free to post.  I do moderate comments and won't be putting any up until the series is finished, in case you get ahead of me.  I will take your comments into consideration as I proceed with this topic.  Thanks for understanding.

According to a 2010 report in the European Journal of Food Safety, a comprehensive review of studies evaluating the effects of various carbohydrates and sugars on metabolism, simple sugars begin to have negative effects on health when they exceed 20% of total calories.  That is simple sugars of all kinds--sucrose, fructose, and galactose.  Here is how that translates into diets of varying calorie levels, so you can put this information into perspective.

Calorie level                        Healthful limit for sugar intake, calories       Healthful limit for sugar intake, grams
1500                                                             300                                                           75
1600                                                             320                                                           80
1700                                                             340                                                           85
1800                                                             360                                                           90
1900                                                             380                                                           95
2000                                                             400                                                         100
2100                                                             420                                                         105
2200                                                             440                                                         110
2300                                                             460                                                         115

With fructose, the threshold is 7.5% of total calories; more than that, and negative health effects, such as elevated triglycerides, begin to appear.  In other words, fructose should be used judiciously, even though it has a lower glycemic index.

Calorie level              Healthful limit for fructose intake, calories         Healthful limit for fructose intake, grams
1500                                                    112                                                                 28
1600                                                    120                                                                 30
1700                                                    128                                                                 32
1800                                                    136                                                                 34
1900                                                    144                                                                 36
2000                                                    152                                                                 38
2100                                                    160                                                                 40
2200                                                    168                                                                 42
2300                                                    176                                                                 44

A can of soda would contain the following, based on the type of sweetener it contained.  It mathematically fits into the above guidelines, but in a way that makes it hard to consume fruits, which also contain fructose, and stay within the calculated limits.
                                                     Sugar calories      Sugar grams    Fructose calories       Fructose grams
Cane sugar                                          150                        38                   75                             19
Beet sugar                                           150                        38                   75                             19
High fructose corn syrup                      140                        35                   77                             19
Agave nectar*                                     102                        25                   87                             22

*Agave nectar was a little bit harder to figure out.  I did manage to find a Denver-based company called Oogave that makes sodas using agave nectar. Their Esteban's Root Beer is what I used for the above analysis.

My first find in a Google search brought me to Full Throttle, an energy drink manufactured by Coca Cola.  Unbelievably, the "blue agave" flavor of this product contains no agave nectar at all, is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, and contains 220 calories in a can!  They are definitely hoping the consumer would jump to conclusions about this product. 

Are you juicing at home? 

Here's how the same volume of a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 mix of beet, carrot, and spinach juice compares.
                                              Sugar calories              Sugar grams      Fructose calories        Fructose grams
                                                    120                                24                          31                         7.8
Calories are not that much different, and total sugar, but the sugar type does.  If you were to add fruit, that value would go up.

To give you an idea of what happens when you switch from sugar to agave nectar in the same recipe, I analyzed the same amount of watermelon Arnold Palmer recipe from last week's post.  I adjusted the amount of agave nectar based on the fact that agave nectar is 72% sweeter than sugar.

                                              Sugar calories            Sugar grams              Fructose calories    Fructose grams
Made with sugar                            20                                 5                               9                          2.3
Made with agave                           18                                 4.5                           10                         2.5
Takeaway messages:
1.  Any sweetened beverage, "healthy", or homemade, soda or juice, regardless of how it is sweetened, is a significant source of sugar and fructose.  It is a dietary choice that should be made with respect, and sparingly.
2.  Soda made in Mexico, even though it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it, is still problematic in large quantities.
3.  The advantage to agave nectar is that it can help you to cut your total sugar intake, and reduce your glycemic load, but you still need to be aware of the quantity you consume.
European Food Safety Authority.  Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for carbohydrates and dietary fibre.  EFAS Journal 2010; 8(3): 1462.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/

http://www.livestrong.com/