Fructose Malabsorption

[Tbone107]

I was diagnosed with fructose malabsorption in my youth. I fought through and did the best I could through middle/high school and then got really into training/works out in college and adopted more of a low carb low sugar diet.

I experienced the negative health effects from that and tried to revert to a peat style of eating but using fruit, and honey have led me back to dealing with the same problems of bad digestion, gas, and diarrhea.

I was wondering if anybody had good reccomendations of suitable sugar substitutes that I could try to replace the honey and some of the fruit.(a couple oranges and some berries seem to be fine per day).

 

[Tbone107]

Anybody?

 

[Cirion]

@tca300 I believe uses milk for his main sugar source because he deals with a similar problem. Lactose is metabolized differently than fructose or glucose. He can probably tell you more.

You may have to compromise a little bit and have some higher glucose options too, if you can handle them. Glucose alone isn't ideal compared to sucrose, but is still better than avoiding carbs altogether IMO.

Can you handle fruits with higher glucose content, such as grapes? Or does fructose in any amount cause you problems? I have mild sensitivity to fructose myself, and can't handle really high fructose fruits such as apples or pears very well (these are around a 2:1 fructose to glucose ratio).

You note oranges - I believe those are fairly high in glucose which may explain why you can handle them.

 

[PowertothePeatple]

I was diagnosed with fructose malabsorption in my youth. I fought through and did the best I could through middle/high school and then got really into training/works out in college and adopted more of a low carb low sugar diet.

I experienced the negative health effects from that and tried to revert to a peat style of eating but using fruit, and honey have led me back to dealing with the same problems of bad digestion, gas, and diarrhea.

I was wondering if anybody had good reccomendations of suitable sugar substitutes that I could try to replace the honey and some of the fruit.(a couple oranges and some berries seem to be fine per day).

It may not be what you want to hear but I would suggest trying pure white cane sugar. I think that Fructose Intolerance is just like lactose intolerance; the more you avoid the worse it gets. So I think you increase tolerance by slowly adding in the most benign(non-allergenic) form which in my opinion would be white sugar. I would try about 10 grams of white sugar(a little less than a tablespoon). See how you do and then slowly increase the amount over time. And once you are doing ok with some plain white sugar you can try adding in some fruit(cooked) or honey. Otherwise probably starches are better till you can tolerate some sugar.

I was diagnosed with FM and at first I could only handle around 10 grams but now I do as much as I want. But I think fruit and honey are going to be hard for you at first. You have to test for yourself but I would guess you will do just fine if you go slow and start with refined sugar.

 

[somuch4food]

I'm relying mostly on starches for carbs. Not the best Peat wise, but I feel good eating them. Sugar seems to depress me instead of being energizing.

 

[Tbone107]

Thank you both.. I can handle small amounts of fruit and was doing fine with berries and milk before I tried peat. Like I said I’ve been dealing with this problem for a while and trying to eat peaty full force from the get go probably wasn’t the best idea.

Would coconut palm sugar or coconut nectar be preferable to plain white sugar?

I have looked and seen that it may be preferable from a fructose standpoint but can’t find the exact ratio of sucrose:glucose:fructose.

I can do sourdough bread, white potato and white rice well as well as milk. I really just want to find something to sweeten the milk with and then add small amounts of oranges and berries throughout the day.

I think mine is bad enough where I’m hesitant to believe that I can rid myself of the problem. Not that I don’t believe you that you did, I just know how bad my problem is and how badly it spiked when I started eating more.

 

[andrewdcjr]

As suggested by someone previously on the tca thread, I would try barley malt, which is maltose which breaks down into 2 glucose molecules, rice syrup may be the same. Worth a shot. I think if you feel fine without the sugar, especially because you have a diagnosed issue, it may best to just stick with glucose for your carb sources.

 

[Cirion]

I have limited knowledge/experience with FM, but I think if you can handle fructose in any quantities, I would be willing to wager a bet that you can eventually remove or at least mitigate its effects drastically over time.

Only a select few people can not handle fructose in any quantities no matter what, which is why I referenced @tca300 (hopefully he will chime in) because he has a rare gene defect that physically makes it impossible for him to metabolize fructose.

That said, the advice to ease into it is probably wise and I personally feel that fructose should always be balanced roughly 1:1 with glucose (my personal opinion, though) even if you're otherwise healthy.

 

[Tbone107]

I have limited knowledge/experience with FM, but I think if you can handle fructose in any quantities, I would be willing to wager a bet that you can eventually remove or at least mitigate its effects drastically over time.

Only a select few people can not handle FM in any quantities no matter what, which is why I referenced @tca300 (hopefully he will chime in) because he has a rare gene defect that physically makes it impossible for him to metabolize fructose.

That said, the advice to ease into it is probably wise and I personally feel that fructose should always be balanced roughly 1:1 with glucose (my personal opinion, though) even if you're otherwise healthy.

It may not be what you want to hear but I would suggest trying pure white cane sugar. I think that Fructose Intolerance is just like lactose intolerance; the more you avoid the worse it gets. So I think you increase tolerance by slowly adding in the most benign(non-allergenic) form which in my opinion would be white sugar. I would try about 10 grams of white sugar(a little less than a tablespoon). See how you do and then slowly increase the amount over time. And once you are doing ok with some plain white sugar you can try adding in some fruit(cooked) or honey. Otherwise probably starches are better till you can tolerate some sugar.

I was diagnosed with FM and at first I could only handle around 10 grams but now I do as much as I want. But I think fruit and honey are going to be hard for you at first. You have to test for yourself but I would guess you will do just fine if you go slow and start with refined sugar.

Appreciate the help. I will start lower and continue with the sourdough and potatos.
I have a pretty good idea on how much I can handle

Do either of you have thoughts on coconut palm sugar over white or barley or rice syrup? Would the risk of using those high glucose syrups just be insulin resistance?

 

[Cirion]

Just in case it's not already known, make sure PUFA is very low because sugar and PUFA do not mix. I actually had to re-learn this the hard way recently myself and doubling down on PUFA restriction.

Glucose doesn't cause insulin resistance (in the absence of PUFA at least) but it could expose a pre-existing insulin resistance problem and cause blood sugar swings if you already have IR. That's probably why RP tends to promote fructose in the case of diabetes, because of severe IR makes eating glucose problematic in some cases even in the absence of PUFA at least until IR is reversed.

 

[Luk3]

I have similar issues. Trying to eat more fruit, but I think I’m overdoing it. I currently use dextrose, which is all glucose, for extra carbs. I have used rice syrup, too. Rice syrup is no good as a sweetener, though—it’s not sweet enough.

 

[Tbone107]

I have similar issues. Trying to eat more fruit, but I think I’m overdoing it. I currently use dextrose, which is all glucose, for extra carbs. I have used rice syrup, too. Rice syrup is no good as a sweeener, though—it’s not sweet enough.

Ya I don’t like the taste and for some reason have an aversion to the idea of pure glucose, maybe I’m overreacting but hope coconut palm sugar could be a compromise

 

[Tbone107]

Would I need to worry about investing too much glucose without much fructose for any reason?

 

[Cirion]

I wouldn't stress it too badly as long as PUFA are low.

I know someone who did a pure glucose diet (zero fructose) and cured many of his problems including insulin resistance doing so, so it can definitely be done.

 

[Tbone107]

I wouldn't stress it too badly as long as PUFA are low.

I know someone who did a pure glucose diet (zero fructose) and cured many of his problems including insulin resistance doing so, so it can definitely be done.

Thanks Cirion, my PUFA level is already low.. I eat 4 raw eggs every morning but outside of that the only foods that make up fat intake are dairy, grass fed beef and coconut oil.

So fat gain wouldn’t be a concern with a higher glucose ratio?

 

[Cirion]

The eggs might hurt a little bit, but if they are grass fed probably not too bad.

I should perhaps note that the guy I know also went insanely low dietary fat (not just low PUFA). I'm not sure that really matters, but just putting that out there. Saturated fats shouldn't hinder the process in theory. But because he went basically zero dietary fat, his PUFA's would have been essentially zero as well, which no doubt helped in his healing process, likely resulted in rapid PUFA depletion.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

Ya I don’t like the taste and for some reason have an aversion to the idea of pure glucose, maybe I’m overreacting but hope coconut palm sugar could be a compromise

That's interesting. I too don't find dextrose very appetizing, I much prefer sucrose. Never tried pure fructose to see I find it tastier than sucrose.

So fat gain wouldn’t be a concern with a higher glucose ratio?

Well, glucose requires insulin to be metabolized, and if you ingest a lot of fat in conjunction with a lot of glucose, the free fatty acids will activate the Randle Cycle and, either you will burn the glucose and store the fat or you will burn the fat and the glucose will remain in the blood( causing hyperglycemia for a while). Fructose is metabolized through a diferente pathway which fatty acids can't inhibit. It also doesn't stimulate insulin, so the amount of fat in the blood will be higher in a high fructose diet( insulin keeps the fat in the fat stores). I would keep fat very low or, at least, eat glucose and fat in diferente meals away from each other. I agree with Cirion that eggs can be problematic, since 4 eggs is about 2,4 grams of PUFA, atop of any other PUFA you'll ingest in a day.

Would I need to worry about investing too much glucose without much fructose for any reason?

I remember Reading an article of Ray Peat where he said diabetics have lower levels of fructose in the blood. But that may be because diabetics can't burn glucose very well and ,so, they burn the fructose in the blood( since it's easier to burn fructose than glucose). But I don't know if that means low fructose levels in the blood cause diabetes( my guess is that it doesn't if you can burn glucose well).

Appreciate the help. I will start lower and continue with the sourdough and potatos.
I have a pretty good idea on how much I can handle

Do either of you have thoughts on coconut palm sugar over white or barley or rice syrup? Would the risk of using those high glucose syrups just be insulin resistance?

Upping the amount slowly can work. The GLUT-5 transportes( which absorb fructose) in the small intestine multiply in number the more fructose you eat.

I think coconut palm sugar may cause some gut irritation( coconuts very commonly cause that). Maybe mixing dextrose with a little table sugar can help sweeten things and avoid the fructose malabsorption at the same time. If barley syrup has gluten, that can cause problems. Rice syrup may have high levels of arsenic, so dextrose is probably the safer bet.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

Also, maybe adding some lactose poder can work. Galactose, just like fructose, replenishes liver glycogen a lot, which is important for a robust metabolism. Also, according to the book Intestinal Toxemia( J.H. Kellogg), the reslience of the liver against endotoxins is dependent largely on the amount of energy taht the liver has in the form of glycogen.

 

[Tbone107]

Also, maybe adding some lactose poder can work. Galactose, just like fructose, replenishes liver glycogen a lot, which is important for a robust metabolism. Also, according to the book Intestinal Toxemia( J.H. Kellogg), the reslience of the liver against endotoxins is dependent largely on the amount of energy taht the liver has in the form of glycogen.

So you would suggest just adding a galactose powder to my milk for a sweetener?

What level of fructose would you start at and what increments would you suggest titrating upwards?

If I handle the coconut sugar ok in regards to other allergens would the fructose ratio technically be slightly lower than pure sucrose?

 

[PowertothePeatple]

Appreciate the help. I will start lower and continue with the sourdough and potatos.
I have a pretty good idea on how much I can handle

Do either of you have thoughts on coconut palm sugar over white or barley or rice syrup? Would the risk of using those high glucose syrups just be insulin resistance?

I really think white sugar is best because it is so pure so you are not going to compound your issues in case you have allergies. Is there a reason you don't want to use just plain sugar? Is it because palm or coconut seems healthier? They are all tropical sugars. I don't think there is any advantage to them if you were to match them up with raw cane sugar. They are just less refined than white sugar but in your case that might not be good because it makes them less digestible. There are more nutrients in palm, coconut and raw cane sugar but if you are eating other nutrient rich foods you don't need what the raw sugars will provide. And we are talking about such a small amount. Sugar cane is a grass so just think of it as eating your greens:)

Also, slow and steady wins the race. I feel people on this site get so ahead of themselves. People will start drinking 5 cups of coffee a day and feel terrible and then they say they can't tolerate coffee! But if that same person started with 1/4 cup and slowly increased it over a year they might be fine. It took me 1-2 years before I could tolerate a full cup of coffee.