Personally I prefer honey and maple syrup, because of the taste. Agave has a strange after taste to me, and it overly sweet sometimes. That's just me though! I don't use honey or maple syrup very often, but I love maple syrup in my coffee (with cinnamon and nutmeg) and if I ever make a "treat" I use one these two things.

I stay away for both, as I am very sugar sensitive. However, if I had to choose go with local raw honey. Agave is very processed and not much better than corn syrup from my understand. I believe if I'm remembering right it spikes your insulin response more than raw sugar does. (Remember spiked insulin = craving/false hunger= body fat.)

I trust Paleo Mom;
"No, I don’t like agave nectar because it is high in fructose (what’s the point in avoiding high fructose corn syrup if we’re just going to eat agave?). It might be important to mention that some honey can be high in fructose too. If you have a FODMAP sensitivity and honey is a problem, there’s a huge variability in the fructose content from batch to batch and brand to brand, so simply trying another brand may be better tolerated. Honey also has the highest quantity of monosaccharaides, so often those with SIBO can tolerate honey but no other sugars."

Also check out her whole blog post on sweeteners vs sugars: http://www.thepaleomom.com/2011/11/sugar-vs-sweeteners.html

- Basic rule around this house is: no sweeteners unless they are surrounded by a plant. So, berries yes - agave, no.

- Keep in mind that agave may be low-glycemic index in terms of other sweeteners, but it is not low-GI compared to other types of food. The insulin response may be stretched out a bit (supposedly making it 'better') , but you still have it.

- Artificial sweeteners may not have any calories, but they still elicit an insulin response. One of the reasons whiy you can swill gallons of diet soda, and still crave the sweet stuff - and have health issues in the process.

Bottom line is: we're designed to eat sugars found in a handful of berries or an apple or two. Using refined sweeteners is simply more than we were meant to use. Honey? From a hunter/gatherer perspective, it's prized as a treat - but that's also true for a lot of other animals, who are willing to fight you for it. It's far better for your health to re-teach your taste buds to enjoy the slight touch of sweetness in good foods, rather than blasting over them with refined sweeteners.