Vegetarian Star

Serena Palumbo

Serena Palumbo is a contestant on this seasons’ “The Next Food Network Star,” which premieres on June 7. Palumbo discovered a vegan friendly alternative to sugar and honey through a friend, and lists it as one of her most prized kitchen ingredients.

“I always have some agave nectar handy–my friend Matthew Kenney, a great chef who prepares some delicious vegan food, introduced me to it years ago during a cooking class. I started using it as a sweetener and never went back,” she told the Huffington Post.

Agave nectar is touted as more healthful than sugar because of its low glycemic index, and it makes vegans happy when they don’t want to use honey in tea or other items, but some should be cautious about making it their only sweet replacement.

Agave nectar is high in fructose, a simple sugar found in fruit, which some studies have indicated in less healthy than consuming equal amounts of glucose. A study from the Journal of Clinical Investigation found people who consumed fructose gained more visceral fat, were more insulin-resistant and had a greater risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

“It’s better to satisfy your sweet tooth with whole fruit than with any kind of concentrated sugar,” writes a nutritionist at WebMD. “Not only is it unprocessed, and fiber- and nutrient-rich, it has an even lower glycemic index than agave.”

And when you do cook with sugar, grab a natural variety like Sugar In The Raw, which is suitable for vegans because it isn’t processed with bone char from animals to get that crystal white color.

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