Fructose Free

I was ready to stop blogging after being diagnosed with a lactose and fructose intolerance, also known as fructose malabsorption, several months ago. The lactose isn't so bad, I wasn't eating much, if any, and there is a pill that will provide the enzyme. The fructose diagnosis was devastating. Most of the vegan foods I was eating contained fructose. My favorite foods - apples, pears. peaches, watermelon, actually most fruits, asparagus which I LOVE, onions,honey, agave were all on the no list.

A trip to LA to visit my very supportive daughter helped me to see that there were lots of things I could eat, and it could be an adventure finding foods, especially restaurant foods that were acceptable!

I had been super healthy with food for a long time, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole foods, and buying organic when available. I began having symptoms several years ago that seemed to be connected to food but I couldn't make the connection. I had digestive symptoms sometimes immediately after eating, sometimes not, everything from severe pain, gas, and the classic fructose malabsorption "bathroom urgency". I also had frequent headaches, fatigue and a discomfort in my eyes which caused me to use eyedrops regularly. I never felt as if I looked well. Thus started the journey from vegetarian to macrobiotic to vegan to raw vegan. All of my dietary changes seemed to work in the beginning but the symptoms always came back. I was diagnosed with irritable bowel and the regimen of adding fiber and imodium seemed to work at first, like everything else, but the symptoms returned. I became afraid to eat. Finally I had the lactose and fructose breath tests which were very high positive. The first week of low fructose was brutal, I felt weak, tired and sick. But the symptoms were gone, and have not returned unless I eat something I shouldn't. And that's the hard part.

Why did this develop over time? There are theories out there about our bodies being unable to handle the SAD diet of processed foods and modern sweeteners over time, there is a theory that our bodies lose enzymes over time, and then it is proven that sometimes after an episode of gastroenteritis, we get stripped of proper enzymes. The latter is what my dr thinks is my case. It doesnt really matter, though it does give me hope that this diet may just be temporary.

So basically there are some foods that are high in fructose that I just cannot have. Then there is another group of foods containing fructans that I may be sensitive to(I am), and they include wheat. There is another group called polyols, which contain sorbitol and many other -ols, and yes, I am sensitive to this group as well, meaning NO sugar free gum.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there, some hospitals list foods on the ok list that others list as nos. It's pretty much trial and error. Monash University in Australia is continuing to do research, and publishes a brochure that is pretty good. There is also a yahoo group out of Australia that has great resources, including Sue Shepherd's diet, which has a large following in Australia.