Fruit juice sweeteners: Derived from grapes, apples
or pears, heated to reduce water, leaving a sweeter
more concentrated juice. Not tolerated.
Grape syrup: Pure fructose. Not tolerated.
Glucose: Simple sugar. Tolerated.
Glucose polymers: Chains of glucose. Tolerated.
Gur: Consists of 35% sucrose, and 15% mixture of
glucose plus fructose, made from palm dates or sugar
cane juice. Used in Thai cooking. Not tolerated.
Honey: Natural syrup containing about 35% glu-
cose, 40% fructose, 25 % water. Not tolerated.
Maple syrup: From maple trees, mostly sucrose. Not
tolerated.
Molasses: By-product of sugar cane with 24% water.
Fructose level varies. Not tolerated.
Neotame: Sugar substitute. Tolerated.
Polydextrose: Food additive synthesized from dex-
trose, plus about 10% sorbitol and 1% citric acid. It
is commonly used as a replacement for sugar, starch,
and fat in commercial cakes, candies, dessert mixes,
gelatins, frozen desserts, puddings, and salad dress-
ings. Not tolerated.
Saccharin: FDA-approved sugar substitute. No lon-
ger commonly used. Known as Sweet N’ Low, Sugar
Twin, Sucryl, Featherweight. More than 6 servings
per day may increase bladder cancer risk and it is no
longer approved for use in Canada. Tolerated.
Sorbitol: Sugar alcohol common in fruits, particu-
larly skin of ripe berries, cherries and plums. Not
tolerated.
Stevia: Natural sweetener from a South American
plant. Not tolerated.
Turbinado: Another name for raw sugar. Not
tolerated.
Wasanbon: Grown on an island in the area of Japan
from a special variety of sugar cane. Not tolerated.
Foods not allowed in a fructose and sucrose-free
diet include:
Meats: Cold cuts, hot dogs, sausages, any meat prod-
ucts that contain sugar.
Cereals: Any cereal sweetened with sugar, fructose,
or sorbitol.
Sweeteners: Sugar, sucrose, fructose, sorbitol, brown
sugar, molasses, honey.
Fruits: All fruits, fruit juices, fruit extracts, dehy-
drated fruits, and products that contain fruit or are
sweetened with fruit juice or concentrate.KEY TERMS
Acidosis—Excessive acidity of body fluids due to
accumulation of acids.
Carbohydrate—Any of a group of substances that
includes sugars, starches, celluloses, and gums and
serves as a major calorie source in food.
Digestion—The process by which food is chemically
converted into nutrients that can be absorbed and
used by the body.
Disaccharide—Any of a class of sugars, including
lactose and sucrose, that are composed of two
monosaccharides.
Enzyme—A protein that accelerates the rate of spe-
cific chemical reactions.
FDA—The Food and Drug Administration is the United
States Department of Health and Human Services agency
responsible for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of all
drugs, biologics, vaccines, and medical devices.
Fructose—Sugar found in fruits.
Galactose—A sugar contained in milk. Galactose
makes up half of the sugar called lactose that is
found in milk.Glucose—A monosaccharide sugar occurring
widely in most plant and animal tissue. In humans,
it is the main source of energy for the body.
Glycogen—The storage form of glucose found in the
liver and muscles.
Hypoglycemia—A deficiency of sugar in the blood
caused by too much insulin or too little glucose.
Malabsorption—Poor absorption of nutrients by
the small intestine, difficulty in the digestion of
nutrients.
Monosaccharide—Any of several carbohydrates,
such as glucose, fructose, galactose, that cannot be
broken down to simpler sugars.
Nutrient—A source of nourishment, especially a
nourishing ingredient in a food.
Sorbitol—Sugar alcohol food additive used as a
sweetener in commercially prepared low sugar
foods and gum.
Starch—A naturally abundant nutrient carbohydrate
found in seeds, fruits, tubers, and roots.Fructose intolerance