Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Hmmm, conflicting info

I know that web site well. I use it alot.

If you read my posting on fructose you will notice I tend to use the term excess fructose and by excess I mean excess in comparison to glucose. For example, consider 100 grams of banana. The USDA database gives the average amount of fructose to be 4.85 grams and the average amount of glucose to be 4.98. Fructose and glucose occur in bananas in almost equal amounts.

In fact, brown and white sugar are composed of sucrose which has exactly one molecule of fructose for each molecule of glucose. These sugars don't affect individuals with fructose malabsorption because these two sugars occur in equal amounts. Strange as it may seem your body handle foods with equal amounts of glucose and fructose differently than it handles the excess fructose alone.

Now consider, 100 grams of apple. The amount of fructose is 5.90 grams and the amount of glucose is 2.43 grams. 100 grams of apples can cause people with fructose malasborption problems because it contains 3.5 grams of excess fructose.

Peaches and plums are low in excess fructose but they are high in a sugar called sorbitol. This sugar also causes problems for individuals with fructose malabsorption problems.

A detailed explanation is given in this review article. Table 1 in this article give typical amounts of glucose, fructose and sorbitol in a variety of fruits.

I hope this helps

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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS

The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS

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