Hi Mike. It is important that you speak to your doctor and undergo the necessary tests to conclusively diagnose fructose malabsorption. Various other gastrointestinal conditions may at times seem like fructose malabsorption and with diagnostic investigations will verify whether it is present or not.

my son gets the worst acne when he has had too much fructose in his diet,

Dkaj, thank you for your input. Your comments have been noted and sent to our editorial team regarding the issue of constipation. We have however removed content that can be deemed as promotional as it it against our policy to allow such information on comments. Digestive symptoms can vary significantly among patients – this applies to any condition, not only fructose malabsorption. I am sure that you are also aware of the debate as to whether fructose malabsorption is a part of IBS and the low FODMAPs diet theory of IBS. So indeed constipation is a factor to consider here.

Jorgiemom,

individuals with mild fructose malabsorption would be likely to eat much more strawberries than those with severe fructose malabsorption. Two people have rated strawberries on that site and you can’t tell, if one rated it with zero and another with five stars. Fructose malabsorption is not like food allergies, where you can exactly determine the problematic foods. Some individuals with FM cannot tolerate fructans (in wheat and onions), some can tolerate a small amount, and some can eat them without problems. Polyols (sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, mannitol…) may cause a lot problems to someone but less to another one. Strawberries and other berries contain some xylitol, and are often well tolerated by some people with FM, but not by all.

I recommend you to read other articles about FM to understand how it works:
https://www.healthhype.com/fructose-malabsorption-cause-symptoms-and-diagnosis.html
https://www.healthhype.com/low-fructose-diet-in-fructose-malabsorption.html
https://www.healthhype.com/foods-high-in-fructose-sorbitol-fructans-and-fodmaps.html

This article describes a genetic variant: a hereditary fructose intolerance: https://www.healthhype.com/rare-genetic-disorders-hereditary-fructose-intolerance.html

Here’s an article about low-FODMAP diet:
https://www.healthhype.com/fodmap-diet-foods-to-avoid-in-ibs-bowel-disorders-with-bloating-and-gas.html

I’m taking your advice and doing a low fructose diet for 3 days. I started with a fast to see what the effects are for these foods. Starting with the easy to digest ones first and going from there. I do have a question, I love your foods list and refer to it regularly but have you seen the website http://www.thefartingpear.com ? You can type in certain foods and I think people can go in there and rate it. It may be something benficial for you to put some input b/c they have things like strawberries on the OK list, they don’t talk about it having sorbitol, etc. I don’t know just a thought and if you have gone to that particular website, what are your thoughts?

~,

the following tests for food intolerances exist:
– breath test for fructaose malabsorption
– fructose tolerance test for hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI)
– breath test for lactose intolerance
– breath test for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
– blood test or biopsy made during upper endoscopy for celiac disease (gluten intolerance)
– skin tests for food allergies

Diagnosis of IBS is made when food intolerances or other disorders are excluded.

In any of above disorders, except allergies to particular foods, white potatoes, white rice, corn, buckwheat, lettuce, glucose (sold as dextrose), hard cheese would be likely well tolerated.

If you have developed small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, this should be treated first, otherwise no diet will help you. Intestinal parasites (diagnosis is with a stool test) and Crohn’s disease (diagnosis is with a colonoscopy) may also cause digestive problems.

Thanks for replying.