Talk to me about fructose - and other sugars if you like

[GLC1968]

I don't eat fructose except naturally occurring in fruit. I also don't limit my fruit intake, but I'm not a fruit junkie either. In fact, I would rather eat veggies or meat, so I try to monitor my fruit to make sure I'm getting in some daily. It's not an issue this time of year (mmmm, blueberries!!), but I can go a day or two without eating any fruit in the winter sometimes.

For me, fructose is no worse than any other form of sugar (including alcohol), but I generally avoid them all because I don't like how they make me feel. I get plenty of starches/carbs from potatoes, squash and root veggies (again, depending on time of year), so I don't need added sugar. If I am eating something that contains sugar (like ketchup) I will be vary particular about which product I choose to minimize not only fructose and cane sugar, but sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners too. I just make it a habit to avoid really sweet stuff. I will occasionally make the exception for special occasions but then it must be truly special (monthly birthday celebrations at work don't count!).

[OakLeaf]

(mmmm, blueberries!!).

We just picked 50 lbs of blueberries in two trips to the you-pick, and if I'm not careful I'll have to make another trip if I want to have enough to last the winter.

/blueberry drool

[GLC1968]

We just picked 50 lbs of blueberries in two trips to the you-pick, and if I'm not careful I'll have to make another trip if I want to have enough to last the winter.

/blueberry drool

My bar top is covered with canned blueberry syrup and blueberry preserves awaiting a pantry reorganization. Our freezer is loaded with bags of them, too. I just love those little suckers!!

[Crankin]

I can't live without my daily dose of blueberries!

[reux]

Add me to the list of blueberry addicts. I planted a few blueberry bushes last year but lost all the berries to the birds! Oh well.

My daughter was recently diagnosed with Fructose Malabsorption, so we are low fructose in this house. I feel like I need a degree in both nutrition and chemistry just to feed my family.

For some people fructose really is poison.

[lph]

That's interesting ,reux. Googling fructose I heard about Malabsorption for the first time, I had no idea it existed. I was just out to see if I maybe should quit my daily glass of orange juice and try to get better at keeping fresh fruit at work.

We have (had) the woods chock full of blueberries right up until a week ago, and if I'd just been a bit quicker I could have picked the freezer full. I have a couple of litres, stirred with sugar, waiting for winter :-)

[reux]

I had never heard of it either. We all know about lactose intolerance but fructose was news to me. My poor daughter, I feel so bad for her, but it is manageable. Just a big p.i.t.a.
If you have no problems digesting fructose (which isn't always so obvious, I could tell you all about it but it would be a long long post), then I don't see why moderate amounts of natural sugar wouldn't be just fine in a normal healthy diet.
I think clean, organic, minimally processed food is the way to go. I don't have to worry about reading labels when I'm just eating fruits, veggies, and meat! It's the ice cream that gets me into trouble, lol.