The benefits and harms of agave: composition, nutritional value, calorie content

Agave is very common in cooking, popular alcoholic drinks “mezcal” and “tequila”, confectionery and syrup are made from it, but it also plays an important role in medicine. Despite the fact that today the benefits and harms of agave have not yet been fully studied, in folk medicine it is very widely used in the treatment of many diseases, and is quite effective.

And all because of the large amount of nutrients that it contains. However, it is worth considering that in some cases, agave can also negatively affect health.

The benefits of agave

• Agave is much sweeter than sugar, while they have almost the same calorie content – about 300 kcal… Therefore, this product is used as a natural sweetener, thanks to which you can completely remove sugar from your diet, which will allow you to maintain healthy teeth, tidy up your figure, and also reduce the risks of diabetes.
• Effective when applied externally… The juice of the plant is recommended for adolescents who have a lot of acne on their face during the period of active development. It also relieves boils, acne and boils. Agave roots help with sexually transmitted diseases, and its leaves are used to speed up the healing process of wounds and draw out pus from them. In addition, agave reduces pain from sprains and bruises, sciatica, furunculosis and rheumatism.
• Has a calming effect… This makes agave an effective medicine for those suffering from various disorders of the nervous system.
• Normalizes the digestive system… Due to its ability to enhance the contraction of the walls of the large intestine, agave relieves constipation. Also, the plant helps to remove excess water and toxic substances from the body, improve metabolism and work of the gallbladder, therefore it is recommended to be taken by overweight people, as well as those who suffer from gout, in which uric acid salts are deposited in the joints. Infusions of agave leaves eliminate bloating, heartburn and belching. They are also used for stomach or liver problems.
• Reduces fever, relieves pain, has anti-inflammatory and expectorant effects… In this regard, agave is very effective in viral respiratory diseases. For the treatment of respiratory diseases, it is best to take the fresh leaves of the plant in combination with honey, for example, for bronchitis or even tuberculosis.

Agave harm

• Has contraceptive properties… Due to the large amount of dynordrin and anordrin, which are contained in agave, the activity of oocytes decreases and the probability of conceiving a child in this case practically approaches zero.
• Large amount of fructose – 85%… Each cell of the human body is capable of assimilating glucose, but the assimilation of fructose is almost completely transferred to the liver and, overloading it, fructose turns into fat, which can further lead to fatty liver disease. Fructose, which is rich in agave, does not raise blood sugar levels, but if you take too much of it, you can develop resistance to insulin in the body, and this is the risk of subsequent manifestations of diabetes mellitus grade 2.
• Excretion of bile in the breakdown of glucosides in the intestine… Therefore, it is forbidden to take agave to patients who have problems with the functioning of the gallbladder and liver.

If you are going to regularly add this product to your diet, you must remember that the benefits and harms of agave mainly depend on the amount of its use – this is very important, because if you overdo it with the plant, you can soundly harm your health.

Nutritional value and chemical composition of agave

Video “Agave as a sweetener”