Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

Fats: Mayonnaise, mustards and dressings with sugar.

Milk: Milk and dairy products with added sugar.

Nuts: Candy-covered nuts or nuts prepared with

sugar, fructose or sorbitol.

Breads: Any type of sweet bread, or any that may

contain sugar, fructose or sorbitol.

Potatoes: Sweet potatoes.

Fish: Processed fish with sugar.

Desserts: Any dessert that contains sugar, fructose or

sorbitol.

Vegetables: Carrot, tomato, corn, canned vegetables

with sugar.

Other foods: Catsup, sauces that contain sugar, chile

piquin with lemon, all regular soft drinks and sodas,

jams, jellies, marmalades, maple syrup, canned or

bottled fruits, corn syrup.

All types of fruits must be eliminated from fruc-

tose and sucrose-free diet. Examples of foods that are

allowed include:

Meats: Red meat, pork, chicken and turkey.

Cereals: Any that do not contain sugar, fructose or

sorbitol.

Sweeteners: Aspartame, dextrine, no-calorie sweeteners.

Fats: Butter, margarine, oil, salad dressings without

sugar.

Eggs: Any type.

Milk: Any type.

Nuts: Any type that has no sugar.

Breads: Any type that does not contain sugar, fruc-

tose or sorbitol as ingredient.

Potatoes: White potatoes.

Pasta and soups: Macaroni, spaghetti, rice, soup

pasta.

Fish: Any fresh fish.

Desserts: Natural yogurt, cakes and ice-cream made

without sugar.

Cheese: Any type.

Vegetables: Asparagus, cauliflower, peppers, lettuce,

spinach, celery, root vegetables except carrots.

Other foods: Coffee, tea, diet soft drinks that contain

artificial sweeteners, cocoa, salt, pepper and other

spices.

Additional guidelines for a fructose-free diet

include:

Fructose, sucrose and sorbitol are used in many

manufactured foods to such an extent that very few

processed foods are allowed in the diet. Sugar is used

in many other less obvious products such as canned

food, bottled sauces

Flavorings is another possible trace source of these

sugars as they are sometimes used to carry flavoring

compounds into foods.

Only vegetables that contain predominantly starch

are allowed in the diet. Cooked vegetables have a

lower fructose content and should be selected rather

than raw vegetables as the cooking process results in

a loss of free sugars.

New potatoes have a higher fructose content than

old potatoes.

Wholemeal flour contains more fructose than white

flour because both germ and bran contain sucrose.

Other wholegrain foods (brown rice and wholemeal

pasta) also contain more sucrose than the refined

products.

Sorbitol is very often used as an artificial sweetener,

especially in diabetic foods and drinks which should

accordingly be avoided. Isomalt and lycasin, alter-

native sweeteners that are predominantly used in

confectionary, also contain sorbitol. Glucose can be

used as an alternative sweetener and as a source of

energy.

Sucrose and sorbitol are also often used in medica-

tions as bulking agents or to improve the taste.

Function

The symptoms of both types of fructose intolerance

are gastrointestinal distress, flatulence, bloating, diar-

rhea, fatigue, vomiting, lowironand other nutrient

deficiency. For dietary fructose intolerance, there is

clinical evidence also associating it with mood distur-

bances and depression. The function of a fructose-free

diet is to eliminate dietary sugar intake so as to alleviate

these symptoms.

Benefits

Absolute elimination of fructose and glucose from

the diet produces good outcomes in most people with

fructose intolerance. For the rapidly diagnosed and

treated infant, the outcome for a normal state of

health is excellent. In the absence of substantial liver

damage, life expectancy is normal.

Precautions

Eating out is one of the most challenging parts of

maintaining a fructose-free diet. This is because res-

taurant employees have little time to check food con-

tents from the labels of the ingredients used by the

kitchen to prepare menus. Some guidelines in dealing

with restaurant staff include:

Fructose intolerance