In recent years, agave nectar has become a very popular substitute for table sugar. Fearing that sugar could cause things like obesity, tooth decay and high blood sugar levels, you may have relied on agave nectar to help you sweeten a cup of coffee or a pitcher of iced tea. While there are some studies that suggest that agave nectar might not be the best choice for you, there are some nutritional benefits to using it over sugar. If you can't seem to shake your sweet tooth, try agave nectar and enjoy these nutritional benefits:

While it's meant be a substitute for sugar, the truth is that agave nectar actually tastes sweeter than sugar. This can be a real benefit for you. Here's why: Agave nectar is roughly 1.5 times sweeter than sugar. However, it contains the same amount of calories as sugar. Therefore, you can use agave nectar in your coffee and get the same results as sugar, but you don't have to use as much to do it. By using less agave nectar, you can help cut calories out of your diet and possibly lose weight.

When it comes to sugars and sugar substitutes, many of them will eventually lead to high blood sugar levels, which can result in diabetes. Diabetes is a disease where your body can't regulate its sugar levels, and you're required to take an injection every day to help keep your levels right. However, the glycemic profile of agave nectar is relatively favorable. That's because agave nectar contains a type of fructose known to help sweeten your food and drink without causing a sugar rush. By doing this, agave nectar helps to make things taste sweeter without disrupting your blood sugar levels as much.

Many no-calorie artificial sweeteners actually cause you to feel like you're still hungry after you eat. For instance, if you drink a diet soda that contains no-calorie sweeteners, your body doesn't respond the same way that it would if you drank something with an artificial sweetener that contains calories. It would not heat up properly in response to the calories and be prepared to burn them off. As a result, you may be forced to overeat to feel full. However, with agave nectar, you are getting a low dosage of calories so that you can sweeten your foods and drinks and feel full once you eat them.

Though there are some drawbacks to using agave nectar, there are plenty of benefits to using it, too. Because it is a relatively new sweetener, make sure you stay tuned to find out what studies show about agave nectar and its effects in the future. For now, use it in moderation to get the benefits listed above.