Fructose Intolerance and Diet

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Hi Geta, and other following this thread, A few more informational things to share:There are two forms of fructose intolerance, and it's important to distinguish which we're talking about here:1. Hereditary Fructose Intolerance: Identified in childhood and is a life-threatening condition. Caused by a deficiency of liver enzymes that metabolize fructose. This is not the condition I'm referring to in this email thread.2. Fructose Malabsorption: An intestinal/digestive deficiency resulting in too high levels of fructose in the intestines. This is not as serious as the Hereditary condition, though it does require dietary modification to achieve intestintal health, similar to Lactose Intolerance.Diagnosing

Fructose Malabsorption seems to be done mostly via a Breath Test/Challenge, where the patient drinks a high-fructose-containing solution and then breath samples are measured for evidence of malabsorption (increasing Hydrogen or CO2 levels.) Patients can 'acquire' this syndrome at any point in time, from what I understand, just like Lactose Intolerance.Treating Fructose Malabsorption involves making gradual changes to the diet by removing foods/drinks that have very high fructose content. On SCD, we've done a lot of this already (all processed foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup - candy, cookies, cakes, breads, etc.) To adjust the SCD to reduce fructose is an incremental process, in my opinion. Similar to Lactose Intolerance, folks have different degrees of sensitivity to fructose. Some can handle portions of fruit spread throughout the day, some cannot. Again, I'm no expert on this, just a patient who has been "warned" by her GI Doc that

this is perhaps my issue (I still have bloating, gas, rumbling, diarrhea on SCD.) Nothing that I say here should be taken to mean that I advocate going OFF of SCD. All of the changes I outline below are being made IN ADDITION to SCD (just so there's no misunderstanding. :-) )The diet pages that I sent out yesterday contain information that I'm just "getting up to speed" on myself, so it's a "learn as I go" process. Regarding meal planning, I am not able to make recommendations yet because I am just starting out myself. I will share what I plan to do in my diet, though, if that's helpful. As I mentioned, I'm following SCD already. Here are the fructose modifications that I will make:1. No Honey: Honey contains a high proportion of fructose as part of its sugar structure (I use saccharine, but I do not feel comfortable recommending this to others cuz it's a chemical.)2. Remove Apple, Pear, Grape, Cherry, Peach, Plum, Dates,

Raisins, other Dried Fruit. Substitute Blueberry, Strawberry, Cranberry, Very Ripe Banana, Pineapple.3. Limit Carrot, Tomato, Squash (these foods may cause problems for more sensitive individuals)4. Limit Cauliflower, Broccoli, Lentils and other Beans, Cucumber, Celery (these foods are low in fructose, but difficult to digest)5. Use Spinach, Collard Greens, Garlic, Onion, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Green, Red, Yellow Peppers6. Cook all fruits and veggies. No raw foods until some progress is seen (this is common SCD knowledge)7. Use Meat, Fish, Eggs, Fats as per SCD8. Use Dairy Products as per SCD9. Use Nuts as per SCD (I actually don't use nuts because I have an allergy.)10. Use Probiotics as per SCD11. Reassess progress after a month or so.I hope this helps somewhat. I will definitely post any recipes I discover or progress I make, or anything else that I learn which is interesting.I am scheduled to have a

Fructose Challenge breath test next month, but I suspect that I'll learn before then if I have a sensitivity, as I plan to change my diet as written above.Best to all, and Health! :-)Nina in MA----- Original Message ----

Hi Nina,

What you presented here makes a lot of sense to me, the webpage for Low Fructose Diet is a great resource, THANKS! ... I'll try the same ... and that brings me to my next questions:

- any suggestions for a week long menu without fructose?

- any suggestions for a replacement for honey in baked goods?

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