Intolerances
Fructose
Fructose: what it is, how it shows up, and which foods to be careful with.
FODMAPsOne of the four carbohydrate classes FODMAP stands for. FODMAPs →
What is it?
Fructose malabsorption means fructose is not fully absorbed in the small intestine; what is left reaches the colon and ferments, giving bloating, gas and loose stools. Hereditary fructose intolerance is a different and much rarer condition. Malabsorption is dose-dependent — a small amount is often tolerated where a larger one is not — and tolerance improves when glucose is present, because the two sugars are co-transported.
Which fruits carry more fructose than glucose
That ratio matters more here than the total, and Muir (2009) is the source that names foods for it: quantifying FODMAPs in 45 vegetables and 41 fruits, apple, pear, mango, clingstone peach and watermelon all contained fructose in excess of glucose. It is the only finding for which that abstract names any food, and it supports membership of that group rather than a figure for any one of them — and it names the clingstone peach, which is narrower than a database entry covering every peach.
What the measured ranges look like
Ma (2014) separated fructose, glucose, sorbitol and sucrose in peach, apple, watermelon and cherry by HPLC-ELSD and found fructose from 5.79 to 104.01 mg/g against glucose from 9.25 to 99.62. Four fruits, and the point of the paper is the separation rather than a composition table.
Where the per-food figures come from
Sugar values on this axis are read from USDA FoodData Central, a composition database that gives values per VARIETY where a category cannot: Deglet Noor dates at 19.6 g of fructose against 19.9 of glucose, Medjool at 32.0 and 33.7, grapes at 8.13 and 7.20. It publishes no FODMAP, oxalate, salicylate or amine value at all, and its values describe the US food supply rather than any particular brand — so a level here is the variety's, and a brand can sit anywhere around it.
Source: Muir J.G. et al. (2009), for the five fruits with fructose in excess of glucose — the only finding for which its abstract names any food, and it names the clingstone peach; Ma C. et al. (2014), for fructose at 5.79-104.01 mg/g against glucose at 9.25-99.62 in four fruits, a method paper; USDA FoodData Central, for sugars per variety and never per brand
Foods to avoid· 15
Eat in moderation· 18
Low content· 56
838 more foods have been tested and pose no risk for this intolerance. Browse all foods →
By category
The full list for one kind of food at a time, each entry showing the source it rests on.
Frequently asked questions
Which foods should you avoid with fructose?
Foods high in fructose include agave syrup, apple, Apple juice concentrate, Apple puree, cola, fig, Fructose, guava, and 7 more.
Which foods are moderate in fructose?
Foods with moderate fructose include artichoke, Artichoke heart, blackcurrant, cola without sugar, dried peach, Granola.
Which foods are low in fructose?
Foods low in fructose include acorn squash, apricot canned, balsamic vinegar, banana, Beetroot juice powder, bell pepper. 838 more foods were tested with no significant fructose.
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