Anybody here fructose free?

I'm doomed then! :laugh:
Breakfast is usually some berries with natural or greek yogurt. In my lunch bag I put in a banana, clementine and an apple each day for my snacks. I also eat some dried fruit at some point in the day.

I agree with CoachReddy - Fruit is generally good for you and it is the added and artificial sweeteners you need to avoid. But having said that, my Mum is 'borderline diabetic' and has been told to eat fruit in moderation as the fructose is still a sugar and so you need to know how much you are consuming.

I agree with the Coach as well. Added sugars are the biggest problem and most of our consumption of fructose comes from eating sugar (sucrose is 50% fructose). The average person eats 500 calories of sugar every day and only 40% of that comes directly from eating frankly sugary foods. The rest is hidden in processed food. I got a shrimp/scallop salad at a chain restaurant the other day (I thought it would be a relatively "safe" choice). I decided to look up the nutrient content on their website when I got home. There were 13 grams of sugar and 1,800 mg. of sodium!! (I try to stay around 1,500 mg. of sodium for the ENTIRE DAY) An average intake of fruit (1 to 2 servings a day) is no particular problem. Even high fructose dried fruit is normally only eaten in small amounts (ex. a few raisins thrown into a bowl of oatmeal). But the "problem" of fructose is a bit more complex than the popular literature presents.

What complicates the picture is that glucose enhances the uptake of fructose. Sucrose, being 50% fructose and 50% glucose is ideal for the maximum absorption of fructose. As well, it has been noted (in peer-reviewed studies) that many obese individuals are quite efficient in converting high serum blood glucose into fructose. In other studies, high fructose consumption has been implicated in the epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), obesity, Type II diabetes, hypertension and renal disorders.

But rather than a "poison" it is probably better to regard fructose as a normal part of the fruits (and other plant-based foods) that we must eat for good health. Children and young adults (because they tend to run lower average levels of blood glucose because of their higher levels of activity) do not absorb as much fructose as older people (or the obese) do. In addition, the enterocytes that line the small intestine of children have a much smaller capacity to absorb fructose. So it is safe for them to eat quite a bit more fruit than an adult would normally eat. (However, if a child appeared to be adding excessive body fat, it would probably be wise to eliminate fruit juice as their bodies are likely more fructose sensitive than those of other children.) If you watch children who have had little to no added sugars in their diet, what you will find is that they might eat several apples on one day (and thus be eating a fair bit of fructose) but on the next day, they will eat a lot of cheese (no fructose). What also complicates the picture is that there are various phytochemicals in fruit that inhibit the GLUT-2 transporter (for which fructose competes with galactose and glucose for its uptake). There is now a lot of peer-reviewed substantial research on the dangers of excessive intake of fructose--especially in the presence of sedentary habits. But again, because those large amounts of fructose are typically from eating lots of sugar, it is probably best to simply restrict the eating of added sugar (sucrose) and processed food containing added sugar. (Ever notice how the fruit rots away in the refrigerator when there are lots of pastries around at the holidays?)

Am I fructose free? No, but I am free of added sugar.

"...I happily eat greek yoghurt & drink milk which contains "sugar" in the form of lactose & will use different forms of sugar if pressed to make something for the family for a treat - for example baking with dextrose - but I find removing fructose in it's many forms has gotten rid of my desire for sweet things anyway, although I remember tasting a banana sliced with plain cream after about 2 months & it was AMAZING, like the most decadent of rich desserts..."

Actually, the greener the banana (and I like them barely "ripe") the more starch and the less sucrose, fructose and glucose (and a ripe one contains pretty much equal parts of all three--but it is still only 15 grams of sugar in a ripe one). But bananas are also a nutritional bonanza, supplying B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and 3 grams of fiber. I wouldn't eat bananas if I tended to run high blood sugars, but for most people, a banana a day is quite harmless, in terms of its sugar content (and maybe be pretty beneficial, in terms of its mineral content). I do not eat many bananas, but I do like the occasional one with cream. (By the way, the fat in the cream slow the transmission of the sugars and the galactose and glucose in the cream (the stomach breaks the lactose into glucose and galactose) compete with the fructose for absorption. The fiber in the banana also plays a role in slowing the transmission. However, diabetics understand that they must limit their fruit intake.

"As to '..do people eat more than 2 pieces of fruit a day?' - Hell. Yes. Especially kids from healthy households; they could eat it all day, and although the fructose from fruit comes with the added bonus of fiber, vitamins & nutrients, your body can't tell the difference between fructose from a candy bar & fructose from a pear..."

Well, it is slightly more complicated. The packaging of the fructose is important too. Pure fructose, (as would be in the sugar in a hard candy) or high fructose corn syrup (as would be in a can of soda pop) would not have the "housing" of that found in the pear. While the fructose would be exactly the same, the body will process the fructose a bit slower (because of the fructose being contained in the cells of the pear) and the nutrients that are "used up" in the processing of fructose are resupplied by the pear. So, metabolically, you take more of a "hit" from eating the candy than you do from eating the pear. Those who are investigating the role of fructose in obesity, believe that fructose in small amounts from fruit, do not overwhelm the body's ability to handle it. They believe that many of the problems come from the huge slug of pure fructose one gets in the downing of a couple of sodas, for example. The amount of fructose one gets in a 12-oz. can of "orange" soda is equivalent to that of ten oranges (and a lot of the fructose is inside the cells of the orange, which takes time to be released). And no one sits down to a meal of ten oranges anyway. But they might guzzle even more than one orange soda at a time. Therein lies the problem.


" ' Excerpt from Mark's Daily Apple;

Sugar stimulates a physiological stressor-reaction cascade that provokes adrenaline and cortisol release and thickens the blood...' "

It also contributes heavily to formation of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGE's) which, as the acronym suggests, are metabolic by-products that do damage to the body's cells. This is the "oxidative stress" that is referred to below.


" '...Sugar decreases your body’s production of leptin, a hormone critical for appetite regulation...' "

While I understand what he is trying to get at, that statement doesn't totally reflect what is actually going on in the body of an obese person. Because leptin is produced in the fat cells, obese people produce a LOT of it. The problem is that, over time, their bodies become resistant to leptin. In fact, leptin resistance precedes and predicts insulin-resistance if nothing is done to curb the progress of what is essentially a disease state. Women are even more vulnerable to leptin-resistance because they produce 2 to 3 times more leptin AT THE SAME BODY FAT LEVEL as do men.

" '...Sugar appears to fuel cancer cells...' " Yep, but so does high blood glucose from any source.


" '...Sugar disrupts the effective transfer of amino acids to muscle tissue...' "

Now this one is a bit more complicated. Because sugar consumption raises blood sugar precipitously, it would trigger a consequent rise in insulin which is actually critical for building muscle. (Some body builders actually inject themselves with insulin to try to increase their muscle mass---undoubtedly a very dangerous practice. But then, they also take anabolic steroids--another very dangerous practice.) In any case, those seeking to build muscle would likely be better served by eating the majority of their carbohydrates from (in order) starchy vegetables, grain, fruit and only after those have been exhausted as sources for energy, from sugar.

" "...Sugar intake over time spurs insulin resistance, subsequent Type II diabetes and the entire host of related health issues like nerve damage and cardiovascular disease...' "

I have no particular objection to this statement but some people could eat sugar and not develop the deadly cascade, and others would become ill. A lot of it has to do with youth and activity level being beneficial to offsetting some of the deleterious effects.

"...I happily eat greek yoghurt & drink milk which contains "sugar" in the form of lactose & will use different forms of sugar if pressed to make something for the family for a treat - for example baking with dextrose - but I find removing fructose in it's many forms has gotten rid of my desire for sweet things anyway, although I remember tasting a banana sliced with plain cream after about 2 months & it was AMAZING, like the most decadent of rich desserts..."

Actually, the greener the banana (and I like them barely "ripe") the more starch and the less sucrose, fructose and glucose (and a ripe one contains pretty much equal parts of all three--but it is still only 15 grams of sugar in a ripe one). But bananas are also a nutritional bonanza, supplying B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and 3 grams of fiber. I wouldn't eat bananas if I tended to run high blood sugars, but for most people, a banana a day is quite harmless, in terms of its sugar content (and maybe be pretty beneficial, in terms of its mineral content). I do not eat many bananas, but I do like the occasional one with cream. (By the way, the fat in the cream slow the transmission of the sugars and the galactose and glucose in the cream (the stomach breaks the lactose into glucose and galactose) compete with the fructose for absorption. The fiber in the banana also plays a role in slowing the transmission. However, diabetics understand that they must limit their fruit intake.

"As to '..do people eat more than 2 pieces of fruit a day?' - Hell. Yes. Especially kids from healthy households; they could eat it all day, and although the fructose from fruit comes with the added bonus of fiber, vitamins & nutrients, your body can't tell the difference between fructose from a candy bar & fructose from a pear..."

Well, it is slightly more complicated. The packaging of the fructose is important too. Pure fructose, (as would be in the sugar in a hard candy) or high fructose corn syrup (as would be in a can of soda pop) would not have the "housing" of that found in the pear. While the fructose would be exactly the same, the body will process the fructose a bit slower (because of the fructose being contained in the cells of the pear) and the nutrients that are "used up" in the processing of fructose are resupplied by the pear. So, metabolically, you take more of a "hit" from eating the candy than you do from eating the pear. Those who are investigating the role of fructose in obesity, believe that fructose in small amounts from fruit, do not overwhelm the body's ability to handle it. They believe that many of the problems come from the huge slug of pure fructose one gets in the downing of a couple of sodas, for example. The amount of fructose one gets in a 12-oz. can of "orange" soda is equivalent to that of ten oranges (and a lot of the fructose is inside the cells of the orange, which takes time to be released). And no one sits down to a meal of ten oranges anyway. But they might guzzle even more than one orange soda at a time. Therein lies the problem.


" ' Excerpt from Mark's Daily Apple;

Sugar stimulates a physiological stressor-reaction cascade that provokes adrenaline and cortisol release and thickens the blood...' "

It also contributes heavily to formation of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGE's) which, as the acronym suggests, are metabolic by-products that do damage to the body's cells. This is the "oxidative stress" that is referred to below.


" '...Sugar decreases your body’s production of leptin, a hormone critical for appetite regulation...' "

While I understand what he is trying to get at, that statement doesn't totally reflect what is actually going on in the body of an obese person. Because leptin is produced in the fat cells, obese people produce a LOT of it. The problem is that, over time, their bodies become resistant to leptin. In fact, leptin resistance precedes and predicts insulin-resistance if nothing is done to curb the progress of what is essentially a disease state. Women are even more vulnerable to leptin-resistance because they produce 2 to 3 times more leptin AT THE SAME BODY FAT LEVEL as do men.

" '...Sugar appears to fuel cancer cells...' " Yep, but so does high blood glucose from any source.


" '...Sugar disrupts the effective transfer of amino acids to muscle tissue...' "

Now this one is a bit more complicated. Because sugar consumption raises blood sugar precipitously, it would trigger a consequent rise in insulin which is actually critical for building muscle. (Some body builders actually inject themselves with insulin to try to increase their muscle mass---undoubtedly a very dangerous practice. But then, they also take anabolic steroids--another very dangerous practice.) In any case, those seeking to build muscle would likely be better served by eating the majority of their carbohydrates from (in order) starchy vegetables, grain, fruit and only after those have been exhausted as sources for energy, from sugar.

" "...Sugar intake over time spurs insulin resistance, subsequent Type II diabetes and the entire host of related health issues like nerve damage and cardiovascular disease...' "

I have no particular objection to this statement but some people could eat sugar and not develop the deadly cascade, and others would become ill. A lot of it has to do with youth and activity level being beneficial to offsetting some of the deleterious effects.

I know I'm new here, & this may be too soon... but I think I love you.

I think though that I may have been misunderstood due to my use of "fructose free" which I did try to explain. Basically, I DID quit fruit & anything containing processed sugars completely for about a month when I was following the plan set out to remove the sugar addiction in David Gillespie's book "The sweet poison quit plan" & slowly re-introduced fruit only after this period so that it's consumption didn't mean I was adding fructose on top of fructose so to speak & feeding the addiction - and I really do see it as an addiction, withdrawing from sugar (& I wasn't eating a lot of obviously sugary things before, but I wasn't taking note of hidden sugars) was/is/can be a thoroughly unpleasant experience & "just a little bit", due to it's effect on appetite regulation & blood sugar levels, can easily lead to a whole lot.

I can really only speak for myself when I talk about this as I really dislike preachy approaches to nutrition & what we should & shouldn't eat, some people can't eat dairy because they are sensitive to it, others abstain from grains & I have given up added, hidden & excess fructose & feel much, much better for it. I'm not saying everyone should do it; although, if anyone is at all curious I would encourage you to try it, and I am certainly not saying one can't or shouldn't eat fresh fruit.

Also; slightly green bananas are THE BEST.

I agree with you that, it is important to do a fast from fructose for a couple of weeks when getting off sugar. Sugar consumption elevates the fructokinase enzyme which then seems to drive a physical craving for sugar. When you fast from fructose, the enzyme returns to normal values and the sugar cravings disappear. Now, if I even try to eat something very sweet, such as a piece of cake, I find it unpleasantly sweet, and quit after a bite.