Agave: Is it Safe to Offer Babies Agave in Place of Added Sugar?
- What agave is and why it's not technically an added sugar, but also something your baby definitely doesn't need
- Why agave syrup appeals to adult populations - but for health reasons that don't exactly pertain to infants
- How agave does not help babies with coughs to alleviate pain associated with pediatric coughing
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE
Is it safe to offer babies agave? Is it really a “natural” sugar and is it less harmful for babies than other added sugars? In this episodes we’re looking at agave and whether it is a food to include in the infant weaning diet, potential health benefits and drawbacks for agave offered to infants.
SUMMARY OF EPISODE
In this episode we’re talking about:
What agave is and why it’s not technically an added sugar, but also something your baby definitely doesn’t need
Why agave syrup appeals to adult populations - but for health reasons that don’t exactly pertain to infants
How agave does not help babies with coughs to alleviate pain associated with pediatric coughing
RESEARCH LINKS from episode
Paul, Ian M et al. “Placebo effect in the treatment of acute cough in infants and toddlers: a randomized clinical trial.” JAMA pediatrics vol. 168,12 (2014): 1107-13. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.1609
Cohen, Herman A. “Demonstration of placebo effect for nonspecific cough medicine.” The Journal of pediatrics vol. 166,5 (2015): 1321. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.02.060
UCSF Sugar Science site: https://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/
López-Velázquez, Gabriel et al. “Effects of Fructans from Mexican Agave in Newborns Fed with Infant Formula: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Nutrients vol. 7,11 8939-51. 29 Oct. 2015, doi:10.3390/nu7115442
Hooshmand, Shirin et al. “Effects of agave nectar versus sucrose on weight gain, adiposity, blood glucose, insulin, and lipid responses in mice.” Journal of medicinal food vol. 17,9 (2014): 1017-21. doi:10.1089/jmf.2013.0162
García Contreras, Andrea A et al. “Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and Agave Inulin in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Chronic Constipation: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial.” Nutrients vol. 12,10 2971. 28 Sep. 2020, doi:10.3390/nu12102971
Saraiva, Ariana et al. “Agave Syrup: Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile, Applications in the Food Industry and Health Impacts.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 19,12 7022. 8 Jun. 2022, doi:10.3390/ijerph19127022
EPISODES mentioned in this episode
Episode 68 - Sugar and Why Your Baby Should Avoid it with Robert Lustig, MD, MSL
Episode 99 - Are Organic Foods Better for My Baby?
TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE
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