Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Aliza Vanderlip <songbird97520@yahoo.com>]

My understanding is that raw agave nectar is 60+ % fructose - hense the warning about its use for folks who are limiting their fructose.  I had never heard that it was higher then that.  Personally I would prefer to get my fructose from fruits and veggies then to get it from agave.....

Blessings,

Aliza


“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman

--- On Thu, 1/6/11, John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net> wrote:

From: John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net>
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Is Neotame a Neurotoxin Like Aspartame?
To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Thursday, January 6, 2011, 1:53 PM

snip
[ The technical term for the
conversion of complex sugars into their simple sugar components is
hydrolysis. Inulin is a fructan which is hydrolyzed into the simple
sugars composing agave nectar, fructose and glucose. Honey is composed
of the same simple sugars.] snip

A very long text Paul but with very little hard facts such has how much fructose is actually in this specially very carefully produced agave syrup. It is there for those who know a bit of biochemistry but it is dishonest for the general public.

I read it and came to the conclusion that Dr. Mercola is still more than justified to warn against it.
Inulin is a polymer of fructose with usually one single glucose molecule at the end of a sometimes long chain. Split that chain enzymatically as is done to produce agave nectar and you end up with a minimum of 75 % fructose and probably more like 99.99% fructose. Not good. If you don't believe me better Google "inulin".
Without enzymatic splitting inulin is virtually indigestible for us humans. It is thought to benefit the good gut flora and to increase calcium absorbtion from food. It is however only very moderately sweet. It is rarely present in real nectar that honey bees use to make honey, the European lime tree (Tilia) being an exception. I know that bees can starve if they harvest nothing but lime nectar so they obviously don't have the enzymes to split these polysacharides and thus honey is not at all like HFCS or Higher FAS.
And by the way, what would you bet if these special vegan enzymes used are not the result of GMO as is the case in vegetarian cheese.
john




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