Are these sweeteners okay to use? I love oatmeal, but it's so bland even with the fruit. I like to add a little bit of agave nectar. Does anyone know if this is okay? Thanks for any feedback!

Stevia is fine. You'd want to count the carbs agave, and consider them unfavorable carbs.

I think that agave nectar is suppose to not have the same effect on blood sugar as regular sugar does. So are you still sure it's unfavorable?

I think the taste is far superior to stevia and enjoy it so much more.

While agave itself is a low GL carb, and described by Barry Sears as a good addition to the Zone (refer to his comments about agave in the archives of drsears.com), IMO, yes, consumed in the form of nectar, it would be unfavorable. I'd consider agave nectar to be comparable to the juice of a favorable fruit or veggie, favorable in it's original form, unfavorable in it's processed form. Once you process the original food, breaking it down to isolate the insulin stimulating liquid, that resulting product, be it nectar or juice, is considered unfavorable carb for Zone purposes(eg. apples, vs apple juice). In Zone books, you can read more about how processing a favorable carb renders it unfavorable. Oats are another excellent example. Steel cut oats are favorable, but rolled oats and oat flour (more processed) are unfavorable.

Fructose, which Barry describes as one of his preferred sweeteners, and which is much less stimulating to insulin than sugar, is also still considered to be an unfavorable carb.

thanks Mona and Sue...

that's very interesting about the nectar. it says on the bottle it is a low glycemic index. but the processing turning it unfavourable makes sense