Sept. 12, 2014

By Medical Discovery News

Next time you have a bitter pill to swallow, think about reaching for a spoonful of agavin instead of sugar to help the medicine go down. You might not know what agavin is yet, but you’ve probably noticed that a number of alternative natural sweeteners like Stevia have been added to grocery store shelves next to traditional sugar. These products sweeten foods but often do not add calories or raise blood sugar levels. Recent research suggests that a sweetener made from agave, the same plant used to make tequila, may lower blood sugar levels and help people maintain a healthy weight.

Agavin is a natural form of sugar, fructose, called fructan. With fructan, individual sugar molecules are linked together in long chains. The human body cannot use this form of fructose, so it is a nondigestible dietary fiber that does not contribute to blood sugar levels. But it can still add sweetness to foods and drinks. Alternatively, agave syrup or nectar, while made from the same plant, contains fructan that has been broken down into individual fructose molecules so it does affect caloric intake and blood sugar levels.

Studies of mice prone to diet-induced obesity and type 2 diabetes found that when they consumed agavin, they ate less and had lower blood glucose levels, increased insulin, and more glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 is a hormone that inhibits gastrointestinal motility, which causes people to eat less because they feel fuller. It also stimulates the production of insulin. GLP-1 appears to be a regulator of appetite and food intake, and so it is being evaluated as a therapy for type 2 diabetes.

Further testing showed that when agavin was added to the water supply of mice eating a normal diet, they ate less, lost weight, and had lower blood glucose levels compared with mice that consumed other sugars such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, agave syrup, and the artificial sweetener aspartame. While these results are encouraging, the studies need to be replicated and then done using humans for agavin’s effectiveness to be proven. The possible long-term consequences of its use must also be examined. So far, the only known down sides are that agavin is not yet widely available and that it is not as sweet as sucrose or artificial sweeteners.

Agavin would join other natural sweeteners that do not add calories or affect blood sugar such as stevia, which is currently found in a variety of products. The stevia plant is native to Paraguay, where its leaves have been used as a sweetener for over a century. Stevia has been the subject of biological and toxicological studies for more than 50 years and its safety is well-established. It stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin, a benefit to diabetics, and does not alter the naturally-occurring, beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract.

Thanks to agavin and other natural sweeteners, people with diabetes (or anyone watching their caloric and sugar intake) now have more choices than ever for sweeteners and products made with them, so they can eat or drink without raising their blood sugar levels. Agavin: it’s not just for tequila anymore.

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