For instance, agave syrup is often recommended to diabetics and women diagnosed with gestational diabetes because it has a “lower glycemic index” than table sugar. This is true—it does spike our glucose levels less. But the reason for this is that it contains more fructose and less glucose than regular table sugar. (Agave is about 80 percent fructose, compared to table sugar, which is 50 percent fructose.) And although this means the glucose spike it causes is smaller, the fructose spike is bigger. Now, get this: recall from part 1 that fructose is worse for us than glucose—it overwhelms our
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