Fructose Malabsorption

Posted by CL @lelia, Dec 5, 2018

I'd like to start a discussion on fructose malabsorption, how to control it, what to eat and not eat, etc. . Is anybody interested?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

Yes, Both of Dr Gundry's books, Plant paradox and Longevity Paradox and Fast Tract Digestion, Heartburn or one for IBS.

REPLY
@saucy

I was tested and it was negative. Also went to Mayo nutritionist, they are old school and didn't have a clue about diet for SIBO or Fm. Just gave me handout for FODMAP. Also asked about items on the list that raise my blood sugar (when I get off my diet my A1c goes up). She gave me the Mayo diet which was all carbs!! You have to do all the research yourself like I said before doctors only know how to administer drugs. Your SIBO is probably caused by the intolerances in your diet. Once you get the bad bacteria in you system it wrecks havac. I've been studying nutrition for the last several years in hopes to get my license and help people get through this. I mentioned the books that have helped me and the KETO diet pretty much eliminates all the foods I can't eat. They love to tell us to eat fruits its good for us but it really isn't, it's sugar no matter how you cut it. You can take some supplements and one that has really helped me is Collagen. I put 2 scopes in my coffee in the morning. Also great for your skin and hair!! This is a great sight to share ideas. Possibly after your gall bladder surgery you were given antibiotics in your IV, that can cause all kinds of digestive issues. Just keep searching, you will find all the answers!

Jump to this post

"Also went to Mayo nutritionist, they are old school and didn't have a clue about diet for SIBO or Fm" Yeah, that's an understatement. At least you got a handout for FODMAP! And yep, I was also told to eat 3 meals a day, eat lots of fruit and fiber (makes me miserable). My doc told me he didn't want me on a restrictive diet because their primary goals is for me to gain weight. BUT - the main reason I can't gain weight is because it's uncomfortable to eat, so it's like a vicious cycle.

My symptoms sure fit the SIBO pattern, and I also have very slow small intestine transit (which can occur with SIBO -either contributes to it, or because of it, i.e makes sense b/c it would help bacteria stay up there, and am also having bile reflux up into my stomach which is damaging it. Seems like a big back log to me... and logically seems "unclogging" by eliminating the bacteria could only help.

Well that is great what you are doing, especially having been through it yourself, lord knows we need a knowledgable nutritionist!
Yes, possibly re: the gallbladder surgery, and for sure after a hysterectomy I had later (they thought might help the pain - it didn't). I had IV antibiotics then and I remember the first time I was supposed to get up messing the whole bed with diarrhea. ( And yes, the gallbladder surgery really has ruined me. Wish I never have it. Apparently the bile going up into my stomach is a result of that also. I'd give anything to take that back. They sell that surgery like it's going in for a manicure!

That's so much for all your advice.
I'm so torn because for this problem.. it seems almost a keto diet would help, but then the "bile reflux" folks say low fat. But I'm not sure about that, because I can see that if you have a gallbladder, when the bile is released in response to your eating fat, that is it's job. But without one, the bile just kind of dribbles out constantly. I don't think you get the response to fat. I guess the though is the fat sits in your stomach longer and may put pressure on that sphincter relaxing it and causing the bile to reflux. I don't know. Maybe you can include that problem in your reportoire! Most sources say diet doesn't matter.

Thanks again for all your advice and help. it's the most of got!

REPLY
@elle1233

"Also went to Mayo nutritionist, they are old school and didn't have a clue about diet for SIBO or Fm" Yeah, that's an understatement. At least you got a handout for FODMAP! And yep, I was also told to eat 3 meals a day, eat lots of fruit and fiber (makes me miserable). My doc told me he didn't want me on a restrictive diet because their primary goals is for me to gain weight. BUT - the main reason I can't gain weight is because it's uncomfortable to eat, so it's like a vicious cycle.

My symptoms sure fit the SIBO pattern, and I also have very slow small intestine transit (which can occur with SIBO -either contributes to it, or because of it, i.e makes sense b/c it would help bacteria stay up there, and am also having bile reflux up into my stomach which is damaging it. Seems like a big back log to me... and logically seems "unclogging" by eliminating the bacteria could only help.

Well that is great what you are doing, especially having been through it yourself, lord knows we need a knowledgable nutritionist!
Yes, possibly re: the gallbladder surgery, and for sure after a hysterectomy I had later (they thought might help the pain - it didn't). I had IV antibiotics then and I remember the first time I was supposed to get up messing the whole bed with diarrhea. ( And yes, the gallbladder surgery really has ruined me. Wish I never have it. Apparently the bile going up into my stomach is a result of that also. I'd give anything to take that back. They sell that surgery like it's going in for a manicure!

That's so much for all your advice.
I'm so torn because for this problem.. it seems almost a keto diet would help, but then the "bile reflux" folks say low fat. But I'm not sure about that, because I can see that if you have a gallbladder, when the bile is released in response to your eating fat, that is it's job. But without one, the bile just kind of dribbles out constantly. I don't think you get the response to fat. I guess the though is the fat sits in your stomach longer and may put pressure on that sphincter relaxing it and causing the bile to reflux. I don't know. Maybe you can include that problem in your reportoire! Most sources say diet doesn't matter.

Thanks again for all your advice and help. it's the most of got!

Jump to this post

Diet matters, gut bacteria is responsible for almost all diseases including cancers and autoimmune which include things like MS, diabetes, and many other problems. This is just now getting the attention in the medical community but still doctors haven't been trained on how to deal with this other than meds and surgery. I also regret my surgery which was very expensive. I was tested at Mayo for FM and Lactose intolerances and it was negative. After the surgery I was still unable to get off meds until I read Fast Tract
digestion. I thought fruit was good for me and love fruit especially since that's the only sweet things I had. I had cut out all wheat products and sugars years ago. Once I stopped fruit it only took a day to feel better, it ferments in my upper intestine, can't digest it! Also have you been tested for Celiac? Most people that have it are thin, you said you had problems keeping weight on. That also causes all kinds of trauma in your body. You can try cutting out all carbs for a month. Yes it's tough to do but after a few weeks the cravings get better. Don't need the vegetables for awhile just eat proteins. Can have low fat proteins if fat bothers you just remember when buying meats to make sure they are antibiotic and hormone free or you'll continue to have problems. Heal your stomach. Dr Gundry just came out with a new pre and probiotic. Usually probiotics give me bad gas and don't need help in that department! None of this is easy but once you feel better it will be worth it!

REPLY
@saucy

Diet matters, gut bacteria is responsible for almost all diseases including cancers and autoimmune which include things like MS, diabetes, and many other problems. This is just now getting the attention in the medical community but still doctors haven't been trained on how to deal with this other than meds and surgery. I also regret my surgery which was very expensive. I was tested at Mayo for FM and Lactose intolerances and it was negative. After the surgery I was still unable to get off meds until I read Fast Tract
digestion. I thought fruit was good for me and love fruit especially since that's the only sweet things I had. I had cut out all wheat products and sugars years ago. Once I stopped fruit it only took a day to feel better, it ferments in my upper intestine, can't digest it! Also have you been tested for Celiac? Most people that have it are thin, you said you had problems keeping weight on. That also causes all kinds of trauma in your body. You can try cutting out all carbs for a month. Yes it's tough to do but after a few weeks the cravings get better. Don't need the vegetables for awhile just eat proteins. Can have low fat proteins if fat bothers you just remember when buying meats to make sure they are antibiotic and hormone free or you'll continue to have problems. Heal your stomach. Dr Gundry just came out with a new pre and probiotic. Usually probiotics give me bad gas and don't need help in that department! None of this is easy but once you feel better it will be worth it!

Jump to this post

That was "thanks for your advice" in my last comment, not "that's" 🙂
I get on here late at night and don't think I can type very well!
The gut microbiome certainly is a hot topic now, I think there still is a lot to learn about it.

Well, you are very disciplined to be able to have cut out all wheat and sugar!
I don't think I eat a lot, but I do eat it. I had been been cutting out as much sugar as possible, just for general health reasons, i.e not buying processed foods with it in (it's in just about everything), I buy natural peanut butter without sugar, etc. I figure at least it's a start.

Fat doesn't really bother me - deep fried type things do. But fats in meat, butter, oils, cheese, I have no problem with. Just mentioned I've read articles about bile reflux and they say "low fat diet", but I don't put much stock in anything I read from general source.
I have been tested for Celiac, that is negative. I pretty much avoid eating all day because I feel better. It allows me to work and get things done. So then I eat in the evening.

I read an interesting thing about wheat, sadly a lot of our veggies and fruits. So much glyphosate (i.e Round Up) is used and that is very toxic to us. But, it's also used in the processing of wheat, and gets incorporated into it.So the wheat of today grown here is not like the wheat of long ago, and our guts are not developed for processing that poison. So, this particular researcher was speculating that it's not the gluten in the wheat that is making people sick, but the glyphosate. That's kind of scary.

It does make sense to me to try to heal my stomach - with all my testing, it seems to be the most unhappy place, and the inflammation has been bad enough to cause bleeding (I'm assuming that's where it came from), and now there is more cellular damage. While the docs keep focusing on the bowels, it makes sense to me that if my stomach and small intestine unhappy, it's going to cause problems 'downstream'.

Tonight I was thinking, I often wonder if I am really constipated.. or I've become obsessed about "emptying" because the doctors are so focused on that. I don't think I ever had a bowel movement every day before I had problems. I realized when I have a lot of pain,I've been told so many times it's constipation I take laxative b/c I think I need to "empty" myself out. But my pain is actually higher up, left side to left of umbilicus and up under ribs. I've decided I'm going to try to lighten up re: that. I think stressing about having enough bowel movements is making it more of a problem, LOL. I don't know, just kind of thinking out loud here.

REPLY
@guthealth

This is why working with a nutritionist, at least at first, is so important. I have been on a Low FODMAP diet for two months and I am not eating any of the items you mentioned. No garlic, no onions, no chocolate and very little sugar. That is what happened to me at first. I went to the websites, read the food lists, and started to eat stuff that triggered more diarrhea. The diet starts very restrictive and slowly expands to other foods. It is important to follow a certain method for the diet to work. It is not just a matter of reading a list and start eating Low FODMAP foods. I almost gave up on the diet until I went to see the nutritionist and we adopted a method. Can’t emphasize this enough. It is how foods are first eliminated and then very slowly reintroduced. One can’t just randomly eat all the foods that are listed on the FODMAP diet. The diet must be individualized to your needs and specific problem, I.e., CDiff versus SIBO versus FM. It may be that some people can eventually eat onions again while someone else can never even look at onions again. You may be able to eat very little at first, which is what happened to me. I am very slowly now reintroducing foods. Garlic, onions and chocolate are not even in my horizon at this point. Still, I have not experienced diarrhea in two months and gained 10 of the 20 lbs I lost by following this diet under the supervision of a nutritionist.

Jump to this post

I like the way you explained the process of working with a nutritionist to carefully test which foods are your FODMAP. This has helped me tremendously. I would like to add that I am doing well with drinking Keifer every day. My doctor suggested that I make my own, so I have been watching youtube videos every day and assembling the few items I need to make it.

REPLY

I have also been drinking kefir every day, and I think it's one of the factors that has calmed down my gut. It's packed with probiotics, and can only help with maintaining healthy gut microbiome. I also switched to sheep yogurt mainly because the source is grass-fed, pastured animals that are not in a stockyard/feedlot and so do not have anti-biotics in their system.

REPLY
@elle1233

That was "thanks for your advice" in my last comment, not "that's" 🙂
I get on here late at night and don't think I can type very well!
The gut microbiome certainly is a hot topic now, I think there still is a lot to learn about it.

Well, you are very disciplined to be able to have cut out all wheat and sugar!
I don't think I eat a lot, but I do eat it. I had been been cutting out as much sugar as possible, just for general health reasons, i.e not buying processed foods with it in (it's in just about everything), I buy natural peanut butter without sugar, etc. I figure at least it's a start.

Fat doesn't really bother me - deep fried type things do. But fats in meat, butter, oils, cheese, I have no problem with. Just mentioned I've read articles about bile reflux and they say "low fat diet", but I don't put much stock in anything I read from general source.
I have been tested for Celiac, that is negative. I pretty much avoid eating all day because I feel better. It allows me to work and get things done. So then I eat in the evening.

I read an interesting thing about wheat, sadly a lot of our veggies and fruits. So much glyphosate (i.e Round Up) is used and that is very toxic to us. But, it's also used in the processing of wheat, and gets incorporated into it.So the wheat of today grown here is not like the wheat of long ago, and our guts are not developed for processing that poison. So, this particular researcher was speculating that it's not the gluten in the wheat that is making people sick, but the glyphosate. That's kind of scary.

It does make sense to me to try to heal my stomach - with all my testing, it seems to be the most unhappy place, and the inflammation has been bad enough to cause bleeding (I'm assuming that's where it came from), and now there is more cellular damage. While the docs keep focusing on the bowels, it makes sense to me that if my stomach and small intestine unhappy, it's going to cause problems 'downstream'.

Tonight I was thinking, I often wonder if I am really constipated.. or I've become obsessed about "emptying" because the doctors are so focused on that. I don't think I ever had a bowel movement every day before I had problems. I realized when I have a lot of pain,I've been told so many times it's constipation I take laxative b/c I think I need to "empty" myself out. But my pain is actually higher up, left side to left of umbilicus and up under ribs. I've decided I'm going to try to lighten up re: that. I think stressing about having enough bowel movements is making it more of a problem, LOL. I don't know, just kind of thinking out loud here.

Jump to this post

Wow ,I do the same life style thing. I don't eat all day then have 1 meal at night. I have cut out sucrose and all grain products. After a year of c. dif. my small intestine is damaged. I was finally diagnosed to have sucrase deficiency . All grains with or w/o gluten cause extreme upper abdominal bloating. So I guess I also have isomaltase deficiency . I can tolerate white rice and wild rice mix. I make a drink of glucose powder and water when I exercise. This increases my energy . I have also read about round up in our food supply. Any way I find my problem socially isolating.

REPLY
@suesood

Can someone suggest me a good book on fructose malabsorption?

Jump to this post

I completely agree with the answer posted by Saucy. Dr. Gundry's books really helped me. Cutting out grains, fruit and most veggies changed my life for the better. I'm very selective about veggies, so I can get fiber from them but avoid the ones with glutens and lectins.

REPLY
@virginia44

I have also been drinking kefir every day, and I think it's one of the factors that has calmed down my gut. It's packed with probiotics, and can only help with maintaining healthy gut microbiome. I also switched to sheep yogurt mainly because the source is grass-fed, pastured animals that are not in a stockyard/feedlot and so do not have anti-biotics in their system.

Jump to this post

What kind of kefir do you drink? Dietician told me much of it is high fodmap so I haven’t tried it. Doesn’t much of it have dairy and lactose in it? I am going to try making my own yogurt with lactose free milk in a pressure cooker. I think some milk is now supposed to be free of antibiotics too.

REPLY

I try to get kefir that's from animals that were pasture-raised. The animals raised in feed lots all have antibiotics in their system, and eat grains that were grown in areas where Roundup was used on crops. I'm apparently not sensitive to lactose. I have the high fodmap list in my kitchen, and keep an eye on it, but don't have to follow it 100%. That's a great idea to make your own yogurt...I might get into that later.

Right now I'm learning how to make various things from cassava flour....like pie crusts, cookies, tortillas. It's a challenge, but I want to stick with the root-based flour. I think it's another factor that has really helped me.

I'm wondering if the reason the GI docs don't like to get into individual advice on foods is because we are all SO different. There's just no one solution. It's a slow process to figure out what works and what doesn't.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.