ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — An overabundance of sugar has been known to cause excess weight gain and acne, and increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. But when looking for a sugar replacement, you may be overwhelmed by all the options. Agave nectar.
It’s hard to cut out sugar entirely, but replacing your table sugar with honey or agave nectar can make a big difference.
“I would say both are preferable to white and brown sugar because their glycemic index is a little bit lower, which means that it’s not gonna raise the blood sugar as high as fast as the white and the brown sugar,” said Megan Ware, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist at Nutrition Awareness.
Honey is made by bees and contains around an equal amount of glucose and fructose, and:
“Honey has the additional benefit of having some trace minerals, some trace vitamins, like B vitamins in them. It has some antioxidant powers as well,” Ware told Ivanhoe.
Agave nectar is a syrup made by the blue agave plant, but other than sweetening, it doesn’t have other nutritional benefits.
“Also, agave is pretty high in fructose, which has been shown to decrease liver health over time,” said Ware.
Agave nectar contains 84% fructose, which is about 30% more than table sugar and high fructose corn syrup. However, agave nectar is completely vegan, while honey is mostly considered not to be. So, which is better?
“The honey I would choose over the agave nectar because the agave, you’re not really getting any kind of nutrition benefit from it,” explained Ware.
So, honey is the healthier option.
Despite popular belief, the Washington Post says local honey won’t help with seasonal allergies since those are triggered by wind-pollinated plants, and honey comes from insect-pollinated plants. And Ware wants to stress that she always will recommend agave nectar for people trying to avoid animal products.
Contributors to this news report include: Marcy Wilder, Associate Producer; Bob Walko, Videographer & Editor.
Sources:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/too-much-sugar#heart-disease
https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/agave-nectar-vs-honey
https://theminimalistvegan.com/is-honey-vegan/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/04/02/seasonal-allergies-treatment-pollen/
https://community.aafa.org/blog/aafa-explains-can-honey-help-my-seasonal-allergies
* For More Information, Contact: Megan Ware, RDN, LD
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Nutrition Awareness
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