It’s almost the end of the week Thursday so we should check what are the health benefits of agave.
Agave is a plant with succulent leaves that live mostly in the hot regions of the Americas. A common species of this plant is more commonly called the century plant.
You may be more familiar if we talk about the sap from its young flower stalk. It’s popularly called as agave nectar or agave syrup.
Here is my list of the health benefits of agave or agave nectar.
1. Agave Is Good For Your Digestive System
Agave is rich in fiber which makes it a good food option to improve your digestive system’s health.
Please don’t include the agave nectar when it comes to good fiber content.
This plant is even considered a prebiotic. This means that it can promote the growth of healthy bacteria.
A good digestive system will help you better absorb the nutrients from the food you eat.
It can also improve the ease of excretion undigested or food waste out of your body.
2. Is Rich In Iron
Agave is known to be rich in iron.
This is especially in the cases when you consume dried agave.
Unfortunately, there are some texts that will tell you that agave nectar is excluded from this.
3. Agave Can Help Manage Cholesterol Levels
It’s been found that agave can be helpful in lowering your blood cholesterol levels.
The plant contains saponins which seem to be able to bind with cholesterol and affect your cholesterol levels in a positive manner.
You should check out my article about the health benefits of atis if you’re looking for more foods that you can consume that can help with managing cholesterol levels.
4. May Help With Weight Loss
In particular, agave nectar has been seen to have a lower glycemic index compared to your regular sugar.
In a study conducted with rats, agave nectar showed a positive influence on the rats’ weight loss and glucose control.
Agave nectar can be a good replacement for your sugar because you can use less of it to get the same sweetness.
5. Agave May Help With Diabetes Management
If you’re a diabetic and you’re craving for some sweetness in your food, you may want to try agave.
As mentioned earlier, agave has a lower glycemic index compared to your regular refined sugar which makes it a better option as a sweetener for people with diabetes.
6. Has Antibacterial Properties
Agave has been used since the early years as a good remedy for some health disorders that may have been caused by bacteria.
The agave nectar can be applied topically to your skin to fight pyogenic bacteria. This is bacteria that can cause pus formation.
You can increase its potency by adding salt to the agave nectar.
There are also claims that agave nectar is helpful in fighting intestinal bacteria.
Conclusion
These are some of the health benefits of agave. There are a few more out there but I didn’t include them because there were little to no details about it.
I think agave is more familiar to me as a sweetener that a plant or the agave nectar. What about you?
As for my choice for the best health benefit of agave, I’ll have to go for its ability to improve or keep the digestive system healthy.
I believe that a good digestive system goes a long way in keeping the overall health of your body.
What health benefit of agape do you think best helps you with?
If you know someone who can benefit from this article, please share this. Thank you!
As I’ve always reminded you, please make sure to check first with your doctor or medical professional first if you’re thinking of consuming agape for its health benefits.
You should always take caution with uncommon foods or even common foods as we don’t know for sure our current health status.
Stay safe everyone!