What is the role of fructose intolerance?
- Fructose is the sweetest of the sugars and therefore is commonly used as a sweetener in soft drinks, chocolate, syrups, and jams. Its intake in Western diets has increased tenfold in the past 15 years.
- Fructose is also naturally present in many fruits and vegetables, and in honey. Up to one half of healthy adults have evidence of malabsorption after ingesting 25 g of fructose (10% concentration).
- Fructose intolerance can cause symptoms similar to those found in IBS; however, the prevalence of fructose malabsorption in IBS is similar to that in healthy individuals and is unlikely to be the cause of IBS in most patients.
- A fructose-free diet has been suggested to improve IBS symptoms in patients with fructose malabsorption.
- However, because of methodologic limitations, definitive conclusions cannot be made about the effectiveness of a fructose-free diet in IBS.
