Overview
About Fructose
Fructose is the sugar at the centre of the condition called fructose malabsorption.
Pure crystalline fructose is all free fructose with no glucose to help carry it across the gut wall, so it is the textbook excess-fructose FODMAP. When the small intestine cannot keep up, the rest ferments in the colon and causes bloating, gas, cramping and diarrhoea.
Sensitivities
How Fructose scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- The definitional excess-fructose FODMAP: with no glucose alongside it, absorption fails easily and symptoms follow
- A frequent trigger for bloating, wind, cramping and diarrhoea in anyone with fructose malabsorption, even in small amounts
- Poorly suited to SIBO, where the extra fermentable sugar feeds bacterial overgrowth
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Fructose
What is fructose malabsorption?
Fructose malabsorption is when the small intestine cannot absorb free fructose efficiently. The unabsorbed sugar draws water into the bowel and is fermented by gut bacteria, producing gas, bloating, cramping and diarrhoea. Pure fructose is the clearest trigger because it has no glucose to help absorption.
Why does glucose help me tolerate fructose but pure fructose does not?
Glucose activates a co-transport pathway that pulls fructose across the gut wall with it. When fructose and glucose arrive in equal amounts, as in table sugar, absorption is much better. Pure crystalline fructose has no glucose partner, so more of it stays unabsorbed and ferments.
Is fructose low FODMAP?
On its own, no. Free fructose in excess of glucose is one of the core FODMAPs. A glucose-balanced sweetener like table sugar, or pure glucose itself, is tolerated far better by people with fructose malabsorption.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.