In vegetables and fruits, the fructose is mixed in with fibre, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and beneficial phytonutrients, all of which help moderate the negative metabolic effects. However, if you suffer with any fructose-related health issues, such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, obesity or cancer, you would be wise to limit your total fructose consumption to 15 grams of fructose per day. This includes fructose from ALL sources, including vegetables and whole fruit.

Your uric acid levels are a marker for your susceptibility to fructose damage. The higher the level the greater the susceptibility and the greater care you need to take when eating fruit (See – ‘Non Conventional Treatments & Folk Remedies’). The ideal uric acid level is probably around 4 mg/dl for men and 3.5 mg/dl for women, though up to 5.5 mg/dl appears safe for both.

If you are not insulin resistant, you may increase your total fructose consumption to 25 grams per day on average. If you received your fructose only from vegetables and fruits (where it originates) as most people did a century ago, including the honey on their toasts and with less processed foods, you would consume about 15 to 20 grams per day. Today the average fructose intake is 75 to 80 grams per day which is nearly 500 percent higher a dose and our bodies simply can’t tolerate this level of biochemical abuse. So please, carefully add fruits to your diet based on the table below to keep your total fructose, from all sources, below 15/25 grams per day, depending on your current health status.

You can have a half cup of berries of all types as they have low fructose content and a good Antioxidant to Carbohydrate ratio and also moderate amounts of low sugar, low-fructose fruits, such as honeydew melon, cantaloupe, bananas and oranges, guavas, papaya and pomegranates if they are well spaced throughout the day. Of course, while on the Low-Carb Diet, especially in the initial stages till you reach your desired aim, you should watch the calories and go for fruit only on the Feast day.

Fructose intolerance can also affect our mood. Sugar helps the body absorb many other nutrients into the blood stream. For example, the amino acid Tryptophan tends to latch onto Fructose during digestion, hence when we have more fructose in our gut than can be absorbed by our blood, we lose that sugar and the Tryptophan attached to it. Tryptophan is needed by the body to produce Serotonin – a neurotransmitter that it named the ‘happiness hormone’ as it was discovered that its lack can cause depression. Thus fructose intolerance can lead to depressive disorders.

Too much Fructose in the diet even in the absence of intolerance can also affect our mood. For more than 50 percent of people eating 50 gms of fructose or more (equivalent to 5 pears, or 8 bananas, or about six apples) will overtax their natural transporters (GLUT-5).

Eating more can lead to health problems such as diarrhea, tummy aches, flatulence and over longer periods, depressive disorders.

Serotonin not only puts us in a good mood, it is also responsible for making us feel pleasantly full after a meal. A constant desire for snacking may be a side effect of fructose intolerance, especially if accompanied by other symptoms such as tummy aches. Sugar and Fructose even as Fructose-Glucose syrup (corn syrup) used in salad dressing can suppress the hormone (leptin) that makes us feel full, while homemade vinaigrette or yoghurt dressing will make you feel full for longer. Leptin is a hormone that helps regulate your appetite. When you become leptin resistance, you are programming your body to create and store fat.

It is alright to include rice, wheat, millets, milk and fructose in our diet (though greatly restricted in the Low-Carb Diet till after reaching the desired weight), since they do contain valuable nutrients but today it is time to realize the quantities we consume.

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