How Your Five A Day Can Do More Harm Than Good

An estimated 30-35% percent of the population suffer from a certain type of food intolerance, and those who are suffering from that intolerance aren’t always identified the first time around. The most common culprits we usually think of are lactose, wheat, gluten, artificial colorings and preservatives. However, what would you say if I told you that it was fruit and some types of vegetables and grains?

Fructose malabsorption is where the small intestine fails to absorb fructose properly and hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI) is whereby the body, namely the liver, does not create enough enzymes to break down the fructose.

These ailments are more common than you think and, just like many other food intolerances, is often overlooked without ever being correctly diagnosed.

The symptoms are pretty much the same as most food intolerances you find which range from bloating, stomach pain, confusion, fatigue and depression, and even sore and aching eyes.

Fructose is a sugar found mainly in various fruits and fructan (another form of fructose) is found in some vegetables and grains. When these sugars are not processed by the small intestine correctly sit in the bowel and large intestine for periods of time causing osmosis and producing a large amount of hydrogen and methane gas, which is the gastrointestinal distress many people with this irritation can identify with.

With regards to the depression and fatigue, it can be said that as a result of the absorption limitations by the body, other substances such as amino acids like tryptophan (feel good hormone) are not absorbed efficiently and because of these missing substances your other bodily processes like hormone production and neurotransmitter synthesis are greatly diminished.

Besides paying plenty of dollars to have a food allergy test, the only other way that you could find out if you could be possibly suffering from this type of intolerance is to eliminate the potential culprits and diarize the results.

So what kind of fruits/vegetables/grains are actually high in fructose?

• Fruits: apples, pears, guava, melon and watermelon, quince, papaya, lychees; dried fruits and dried fruit bars; fruit juices, fruit concentrate, fruit sauces and chutneys (including tomato and BBQ sauce).
• Vegetables: onions, including spring onions and shallots, leeks, asparagus, artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, chicory, radicchio, and endives.
• Grains: wheat (bread, pasta, sauces, beer, cakes).
• Others: honey, coconut cream, corn syrup, fortified wine such as sherry or port.