Notes

Foods Without Fructose

If the food you're eating tastes sweet, chances are good that it contains some type of sugar such as fructose. This simple sugar is present in a wide variety of foods, some healthy and some unhealthy. Fruit, honey, syrups and confections are among the most common sources of fructose. If you have a fructose intolerance, restrict your intake of the sugar to avoid symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea and heartburn.

Meat and Protein Foods
Fresh meat and protein foods are naturally free of fructose. A serving of fresh beef, pork, chicken or turkey, for example, are fructose-free foods to include in your diet. Fresh seafood, such as salmon, trout, crab legs or shrimp, are also free of fructose. The key is to eat the meat and seafood without the addition of sauces that contain fructose. Fresh herbs and spices are one way to season the meat without adding fructose. Skip condiments, such as barbecue sauce, ketchup and steak sauce, because most of these contain fructose. Beans, eggs, nuts, seeds and tofu are additional protein foods that don't contain fructose.



Dairy Products
Many dairy foods don't contain fructose, but reading labels is essential because some dairy products contain added sugar, much of it in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. Fresh milk and cheese don't contain fructose. Plain yogurt can be fructose-free, as well, but read the ingredient label to be sure. Sweetened milks, such as chocolate, strawberry or vanilla, contain fructose, according to the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Flavored yogurts, milkshakes and malts are additional dairy foods to avoid.

Certain Vegetables
Asparagus, leeks, onions, tomatoes and artichokes are examples of vegetables to avoid if you have a fructose intolerance, but most other vegetables can a have place in your fructose-free diet. Most vegetables that contain small amounts of fructose are well-balanced with glucose, which means that they aren't as likely to cause a problem, according to the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Carrots, green beans and leafy greens, such as spinach and kale, are examples of vegetables to include in your diet.

Fruits and Fructose
Though fruits contain fructose, you can safely eat a few varieties of fruit even if you're intolerant of the sugar, according to Wayne G. Shreffler, author of "Understanding Your Food Allergies and Intolerances." Berries, pineapple, kiwis, citrus fruit, melon and papaya are examples of fruits lower in fructose and more easily tolerated by people with a fructose intolerance.

Miscellaneous Fructose-Free Foods
Foods with dextrose, glucose, raw sugar, sucrose and sugar substitutes, such as aspartame, are safe on a fructose-free diet, according to the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Avoid foods that contain sorbitol, which is an artificial sweetener, as your body converts it to fructose during the digestive process, according to Shreffler. Brown rice, gluten-free cereals and breads, rice noodles and rye bread are usually safe on a fructose-free diet, too.



Fructose Free Vegetables



When you walk through your local grocery, you may note that there are a couple of aisles dedicated to fruits and vegetables at the outside border of the store and a great many aisles dedicated to food in bags, boxes, bottles and cans that fill the middle aisles. Some people spend more time and money at the edge of the store, and some spend more in the middle. For those with fructose intolerance, danger, or at least discomfort, lurks throughout the store.

Fructose Intolerance
Fructose intolerance, sometimes referred to as hereditary fructose intolerance, is an inherited condition marked by the inability to digest fructose, which is the sugar in fruit. Those with this condition must be careful about what they eat, as fructose or fructose-like sweeteners are added to thousands of processed foods in the form of fructose, crystalline fructose, honey or sorbitol, according to the University of Virginia. While the usual dietary remedy for many conditions is “eat vegetables,” for those with fructose intolerance even vegetables pose risk, because vegetables, too, contain fructose, and some vegetables contain sufficient fructose to create problems for the intolerant.



Cause
People with fructose intolerance either lack or are deficient in the enzyme fructose-1-phosphate aldolase, which normally breaks down fructose into bio-usable glucose. Consequently, fructose-1-phospate accumulates in their liver, kidneys and small intestine. Problems can occur quickly after consuming fructose, but problems also develop as fructose-1-phosphate accumulates in the body. The fructose intolerant person must monitor her consumption of fructose from all food sources, including vegetables, to ensure that she does not overload.

Symptoms
Symptoms can include bloating, diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, severe abdominal pain due to gas, excessive urination, sweating, extreme thirst and confusion due to low blood sugar. Accumulative effects can be worsened by eating or drinking anything that contains high amounts of fructose. Left untreated, fructose intolerance can lead to loss of nutrition, such as calcium and iron, coma or death.

Vegetable Serving Size
For those with intolerance, the amount of vegetables consumed in one sitting should be limited, depending on the severity of the intolerance. Generally, the serving size for vegetables is ¼ to ½ cup, with one cup allowed for leafy green vegetables. The recommended daily levels of low fructose vegetables range from one and a half to two cups per day, according to the University of Virginia Health System.

Recommended Vegetables
Low-fructose vegetables that can be eaten up to four times daily contain 0 to .2 g of fructose. Recommended daily vegetables, according to University of Iowa Healthcare, include broad beans, celery, chives, dandelion greens, endive, escarole, mushrooms, mustard greens, immature pea pods, potatoes, shallots, spinach, Swiss chard and turnip greens.

Medium-low fructose vegetables contain .3 to .6 g of fructose. Fructose intolerant individuals can eat up to two servings per week of these vegetables, including asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, raw, white cabbage, cauliflower, raw cucumber, raw green peppers, cooked leeks, iceberg lettuce, raw radishes, summer squash, watercress and zucchini.