If you find that you are sensitive to fructose or if you are fighting to lose those last few pounds to maintain a lean body, then you’ll want to start strategically limiting your intake of high fructose fruits and consume fruits with low-to-medium levels of fructose in moderation.
What Is Fructose?
Fructose is a monosaccharide carbohydrate, which is one of the simplest forms of sugar. Similar to glucose, it is often referred to as “fruit sugar.” Fruits with more than 4 grams per serving of fructose are considered ‘high in fructose.’
Common high fructose fruits include all dried fruits, grapes, apples, pears, cherries, pomegranate, kiwi and blackberries. Consume fresh, low-fructose whole fruit in moderation like avocados, cranberries, apricots, and clementines.
Fruits and Fruit Juices Highest in Fructose
The below table provides a list of high fructose fruits, in order of greatest to least fructose content by serving size.
| Food | Serving Measure | Fructose Per Serving (g) | Value per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honey | 1.0 cup | 138.79 | 40.94 |
| Raisins (seedless) | 1.0 cup, packed | 48.97 | 29.68 |
| Molasses | 1.0 cup | 43.1 | 12.79 |
| Figs (dried) | 1.0 cup | 34.17 | 22.93 |
| Dates | 1.0 cup, chopped | 28.75 | 19.56 |
| Prunes | 1.0 cup, pitted | 21.66 | 12.45 |
| Peaches (dried) | 1.0 cup, halves | 21.58 | 13.49 |
| Apricots (dried) | 1.0 cup, halves | 16.21 | 12.47 |
| Pomegranate juice, bottled | 1.0 cup | 15.86 | 6.37 |
| Jackfruit | 1.0 cup, sliced | 15.16 | 9.19 |
| Pickles, sweet | 1.0 cup, chopped | 14.1 | 8.81 |
| Sapote, mamey | 1.0 cup 1" pieces | 13.4 | 7.66 |
| Grapes | 1.0 cup | 12.28 | 8.13 |
| Bananas | 1.0 cup, mashed | 10.91 | 4.85 |
| Cranberries (dried) | 0.25 cup | 10.78 | 26.96 |
| Cherimoya | 1.0 cup, pieces | 10.05 | 6.28 |
| Persimmons | 1.0 fruit (2-1/2" dia) | 9.34 | 5.56 |
| Pears | 1.0 cup, slices | 8.99 | 6.42 |
| Plums | 1.0 cup | 8.81 | 5.47 |
| Plantains (fried) | 1.0 cup | 8.21 | 4.86 |
| Kiwi | 1.0 cup, sliced | 7.83 | 4.35 |
| Mangos | 1.0 cup pieces | 7.72 | 4.68 |
| Cherries | 1.0 cup, with pits, yields | 7.41 | 5.37 |
| Apples (with skin) | 1.0 cup, quartered or chopped | 7.38 | 5.9 |
| Blueberries | 1.0 cup | 7.36 | 4.97 |
| Feijoa | 1.0 cup, pureed | 7.17 | 2.95 |
| Grapefruit juice | 1.0 cup | 7.16 | 2.9 |
| Chokecherries | 1.0 cup | 6.7 | 4.35 |
SOURCE: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 28 (May 2016)
Why Fructose Matters if you have Gout
The reason fructose should be limited in relation to gout is because it increases the level of uric acid in the body. The ideal range for uric acid is between 3 to 5.5 mg per dl, and to keep levels below that I would recommend you target fructose intake to 15 – 25 grams or less per day. In practical terms, 1 cup of watermelon balls equals 5.17 grams of fructose, which is below the target range.
Why Fruit Juice Should be Limited, or Avoided
The extra ingredients manufacturers add to these drinks act as preservatives and flavor additives, but can be compromising to your health. Potential unwanted problems include: insulin spikes, canker sores, and simply excess sugar which may increase your risk of cancer. Big Agra often fortifies these drinks with Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), calcium, and Vitamin D. What are the quality and standards behind fortification? Squeezing your own fresh fruit avoids these issues and is a safe alternative to consuming fruit juices with preservatives and added ingredients.
Related articles:
Is the fructose weight given measured per 100g of the fruit? I thought blueberries were supposed to be super low fructose.
It’s per 100g, yes.
Blueberries are high in anti-oxidant properties, among other benefits. Compared to other high fructose fruits, they are very low in sucrose (good) and fairly low in overall total sugars (7.3g). If you are looking to limit fructose, you can do so strategically and still consume some of your favorites fruits like blueberries. Total sugars for apples and grapes are 13.3g and 18.3g respectively and have more than double the fructose content of blueberries. Think smart! 🙂
Please note that I’ve updated all fructose levels so that they are per serving instead of 100 grams. Which is much more helpful.
More helpful? I’m not so sure Nick. You should have kept contents per 100g.
You can’t easily compare fruit contents when given as “cup”. Which cup by the way? The US customary one (236.5882365 ml, thanks for nice and easy for conversion) , the US legal one (240ml), the Australian one (250 ml) or the Japanese ones (200ml and 2401/13310 ml) ?
By the way in many countries (I’d say in most of the countries) cups are not units of measure: they are only small bowls of various sizes.
Even if there was only one cup used evreywhere in the world, a cup is a unit of volume. Not a unit of mass. It’s not so smart to use a volume unit when you want a mass of fructose in g, in particular when you don’t know the density of the fruits.
What do you do you do with large fruits or large pieces of fruits compared to small?
Do you expect that the gaps in your cup will remain constant for large strawberries, small strawberries, sliced strawberries and pureed strawberries?
If you really want to be precise the per 100g strategy is better. Just use, from time to time, a weighing machine and you’ll soon know that your small cup of raspberries wheighs 80g, your medium one weighs 120g and the large one weighs 160g. No need to weigh them every time.
Another (small) advantage when using a weighing machine and the content per 100g is that there is no need to slice your bananas or your apples and put the slices in a cup.
Sugar contents are always given in per 100 g on products tags (at least in Europa) and in databases.
I like the USDA database (don’t forget to click on full report to have all nutrients, they aren’t showed by default) : https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2385?fgcd=&man=&lfacet=&count=&max=50&sort=default&qlookup=raw+strawberry&offset=&format=Full&new=&measureby=
They sometime give also have nutrients content by cup but they have cleverly converted cups (volume) for various preparations in weight :
Here are the quantity of strawberry in one cup depending on preparation: halves 152g, pureed 232g, sliced 166g, whole 144g.
From whole to pureed this is more than a 60% increase in weight, it could probably be more with large strawberries.
That’s one good reason for not using cups.
In the FODMAPs diet it is recommended to avoid fruits with more than 3g of fructose per 100g. How can you easily check that with a content by cup?
For people who really have a problem with fructose it’s surely a better idea to use content per 100g.
Believe me when you are used to read nutrients content per 100g you are really messed up when appears cups of grapes, half bananas and quarters of cantaloupe.
In my opinion the cup is much more a “unit” used in cooking and recipes and should stay there. Cup is probably fine with sugar and flour when making cakes…
But with vegetables and fruits of various shapes, sizes, preparations and densities it’s not really a smart move.
Speaking of nutrition/science/medicine we should cope with nutrients content per 100g.
I read about fructose by Nick and it helped me to understand because I need to control diet. Cups are easy for me as I can visualize the quantity of fruit that I eat rather than wieghing it.
Agree completely. What’s a cup? Weighing us more precise. What is medium for one person is large to another. Cups and servings are useless as far as I am concerned. Keep the weights please.
Thanks for the input Gwen. I’ll see if I can incorporate both into the article.
Cheers
In the UK a “serving” is defined as 80g and “cup” isn’t used, Better just to list “per 100g” to avoid confusion and excess verbiage.
A question. When you give the amount of fructose in something e.g. 7.6gm for grapes; for what amount of grapes does that apply — 100 gms? 200 gms? All of the data above do not reference the amount of fruit being considered. I doubt that if I eat one grape that I will have received 7.6 gms of fructose. Would you please supply the reference amounts for which the above data have been presented.
It’s 100g
Please note that I’ve updated all fructose levels so that they are per serving instead of 100 grams. Which is much more helpful.
this is the worst idea ever.
As a type 2 diabetic I really appreciate honesty in health information. Like many type2’s I struggle to lose weight so I am hopeful that my new found knowledge might help. Thank you.
Glad I could help! That’s what I’m here for 🙂
Unquantified amounts don’t tell anything!
Grams per butterfly?
Grams per spoonful?
Grams per dogpile?
Not explaining the glucose/fructose ratio is careless. It sounds ridiculous but sprinkling sugar on fruit balances the ratio and corrects high-fructose malapsortion.
Before you go off at me, try it, you don’t believe the difference it makes!
My resource explains it’s per 100g and was referenced, thanks
Big help, big help. And suatilperve news of course.
My daughter has fructose intolerance.
So do my children. When they turned 18 & 20, they decided on their own to watch every bite they put in their mouth. No more gluten, sugar, sweeteners, etc. – zero- and they are doing great and are like new people that have more energy!! Their bodies were tired from trying to process something that was hard for them. They eat simply now and have healed their stomach issues.
When you say that raisins contain 37.1 grams of fructose, or that grapes contain 7.6 grams is it per each whole piece of fruit? Or per 100 grams of fruit? or per kilo, per pound, per cup..? Thanks
That’s the level of fructose you’d get if you consumed 100g of raisins, for instance. Thanks for stopping by!
Please note that I’ve updated all fructose levels so that they are per serving instead of 100 grams. Which is much more helpful.
Sup guys! I’m not trying to bust anyone’s balls or anything I’m just trying to share the truth and help people. I’ve been browsing the comment section and discovered that a lot of people struggle to loose weight, and that’s probably why you found this site. Now, what if I told you that sugar does not make you fat nor is it dangerous. Sugar, unlike coffee, is a nutrient and every single cell in your body runs primarily on sugar. When you eat sugar the sugar goes into your bloodstream so it can then be transported into the millions of cells, but in order to get into the cells insulin is required. Insulin sort of opens the door up so that the sugar can access the cells. Normal low levels of insulin is perfectly fine and healthy, but high levels of insulin is not good and causes obesity and diabetes. What causes high levels of insulin? The answer is fat. If you eat a diet high in fat, especially cholesterol, the insulin wont be able to open the door to the cells efficiently and then your body produces more insulin. Now, I know what I’m saying might offend some people, but it is totally legit.
Thanks for the comment, but I disagree with all of your points.
Edit: I missed one point that is correct – high levels of insulin is bad. But fat is NOT the cause.
I don’t. Jade is spot on and Nick has the right idea about fructose. I agree with both of you, except for Nick not agreeing with Jade.
She’s totally right, but fat itself is not alone. Pepsin breaks down insulin.
Riboflavin absorbed in the body as FAD and FMN keeps insulin low because they use unsaturated fats for fuel(unsaturated fats increase insulin levels).
Anything that drops thyroid activity, too much sugar, estrogen dominance, xenoestrogens, hormones in dairy- they all raise insulin levels.
Too much insulin not only triggers sugar cravings, it raises LDL, adds fat and causes PCOS in women (metformin does not cure PCOS btw).
I’m fructose intolerant. Avoiding this stuff makes me feel better. I still get insulin spikes- sometimes calcium with fats at the end of the meal helps. Also pepsin (protein- NOT taurine, leucine, whey or soy please! They all raised my cholesterol and weight)… vitamin C helped curb my sugar cravings. It helps with weight loss. You still have to eat right and exercise.
Fructose is different than glucose. The liver gets damages from it. See Dr. Robert Lustig explain the differences in the way your body handles sugars on youtube sometime. What a great talk.
Simply not true.
When you consume an amount of sugar in excess to what can be used by your TRILLIONS of cells (not millions), and can be stored in your liver and muscle cells in the form of glycogen (which is not very much: about 400 kcals-worth), the rest is shipped to the liver for conversion to a storage form of energy. That form is called triglyceride-a very large and stubborn fat. Triglycerides are large enough that when they get to the intended cell for storage, they must be disassembled on the outside of the cells’ phospholipid bi-layer in order to fit through it, and then reassembled on the other side. Once there, it is difficult to get back out until you have mobilized it by burning all serum glucose and stored glycogen.
Consuming INFLAMMATORY fats like manufactured or oxidized commercial vegetable oils and canola oil (hint: they are all oxidized and inflammatory), then, yes. They contribute to obesity, CVD, and all other chronic inflammatory disorders. However, consuming a proper ratio of polyunsaturated fats (which is close to impossible with the diets available to Americans without supplementation), along with whole, undamaged mono-unsaturated fats, and PLENTY of NATURALLY saturated fats (as evolution intended), not factory hydrogenated saturated vegetable fats, is vital to health, fitness, and longevity.
I consume a diet of upwards of 60% fats, tons of them saturated and I am a 40-year-old competitive athlete with about 9% body fat. A high-fat diet DOES NOT make you fat and what’s more, dietary fat has ZERO glycemic consequence (no insulin response).
I appreciate the detailed response Nick. Fantastic job regarding the 9% bodyfat – I’m totally jealous. What sport(s) are you competing in? Cheers
So sorry Jade….but you are wrong. Your comments are old school & maybe you should do some reading on current literature.
Thanks for chiming in!
I do not know how old school Jade’s comments could be because I am going on 75 and never read such ridiculous stuff. Yes, your body and brain needs sugar but it is not the same as table sugar or the sugar added to drinks.
I really do not care if sugar leads to diabetes or the wrong type of fat because I do not care to consume much of either.
I have a chart that says bananas have 7.1 grams and pineapple 4.0???
Where from? (curious)
Thanks for your information about high fructose fruits. I’m trying to reduce bad sugar in my diet, but need alkaline fruit and veg to manage lymphoedema after breast cancer. Your easy to read lists will help me easily organize my fruit and veg shopping to benefit me and my family’s healthy eating.
You’re welcome! There’s a book by Raymond Francis called Never Fear Cancer Again that I’d like to mention. His main suggestion is to not eat processed sugar, but I’m sure you already knew that. I hope you come back soon!
I have IBS bad, i just avoid all fructose – no fruit, at all….
Nothing wrong with that. I know that Jay Leno never eats fruit, and personally I have very little. Eliminating gluten cleared up my digestive issues, and I’m experimenting with dairy. Cheers
Great information Nick.
I am vegetarian and it seems that I have recently developed gout of all things. Love spinach and all sorts of vegetables and fruit especially bananas, oranges, apples, custard apples, etc
Apparently spinach is full of purines and I need to avoid fructose as well. thought I was eating well with no dairy, meat or seafood!!! Aaaaah so what does one eat!!!
Awesome discipline Gary! Very few are able to remove food groups from their diet, and even fewer can determine which specific foods are causing them issues. If you are not open to seafood or meat, increasing fat intake and starchy vegetables would be your only variables left. Personally, I am able to tolerate white rice very well, but not potatoes. So I would look at squashes and sweet potatoes (as they are quite filling), and coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil – as you can incorporate them into meals or just consume straight. Many people are so focused on proteins and carbs that they forget about the healthy and filling fats! Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
Drink bay leaf tea to help cure gout and high cholesterol…
Where do u get bay leaf tea from
You can get it from Amazon http://amzn.to/1RhFo23 or Moutain Rose Herbs https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/bay-leaf-whole/profile, but if I were you I’d try Apple Cider Vinegar. Seems to be the clear winner on Earth Clinic http://www.earthclinic.com/cures/gout.html
I’ve been having some very difficult times with gout the past few days. After research, discovered that fructose is to be avoided. I’ve been taking Quercetin and Bromelain for gout control and have been successful until the last few days. I’m also trying to eat gluten free, which helps in a gout diet. I just ate dried apricots and see that they are high in fructose. Why are fresh apricots so much lower in fructose? Does the drying process somehow create an increase in fructose content? If I eat 2 fresh apricots would that equal 2 dried apricots in fructose content? I also eat a low sodium diet; was born with a deformed kidney, have asthma meds and meds that increase seratonin levels. My diet is getting even more difficult with no fructose.
You would have to eat approximately 2.6 raw apricots to equal the fructose level in one dried apricot. The numbers on my site are per 100 grams, and the drying process significantly reduces the weight of a fruit. For example, 1 raw apricot weighs 35 grams whereas 1 dried apricot weighs 7 grams. Put another way, 2.8 raw apricots (100g) = .7g fructose, and 14.2 dried apricots (100g) = 12.2g fructose. One dried apricot has about .88g fructose. One raw apricot has about .33g fructose. With dried fruit, the tendency is to consume more because of it’s smaller portion compared to it’s larger more satiating raw counterpart. Therein lies the danger of inherently and ACCIDENTALLY over-consuming fructose when eating dried fruits.
As far as diet, I’ve been eating gluten free for over 4 years and love it. Instead of focusing on what you can’t get, it’s easier to seek out what you can eat. Trust me…I’m discovering new foods every day and they taste delicious! One over-generalized but hopefully helpful piece of advice: concentrate on healthy fats, vegetables, and meats, and you’re set!
Hi there I have a 2 and a 1/2 year old son who has allergies to milk protein, soja and fructose. Trying to prepare and arrange meals is a nightmare coulped with the fact he hasn’t actually eaten properly for nearly one year he shows little to no interest in all food. Firstly do you have any advice or suggestions to get him to eat and second do you have any meal ideas that may be interesting for a 2 year old. Having done a little research its seems strange many of the foods like meat that I’d learned weren’t the greatest are now one of the the things my wife and I are been encouraged to give him, that said I’d give him just about anything if he’d actually eat a meal.
Thanks
When I was in grade school, my parents had us eating vegetarian and I was miserable. What used to be a hearty meal was reduced to salad and bread and I was left starving after dinner, so I can relate and hopefully I can help.
I would start out by making a list of what foods and meals he likes. There must be some. Start making them multiple times per week, and try experimenting and deviating from there. I personally think that Meat should be a staple in everyone’s diet. Meat is only “not great” when you buy very low quality meat from questionable sources. If you’re just starting out there’s nothing wrong with buying meat and seafood from your local grocery stores. Over time, and if finances permit, begin to gradually upgrade your meats to “wild caught” for seafood and “grass-fed” for other meats. These meats have healthy fats (healthy fat is good for you by the way) and have lots of vitamins and minerals.
As a whole, focus on: healthy fats, healthy meats, and vegetables, and nuts in moderation.
Quick meal examples:
Breakfast: bacon and eggs (extra credit: spinach, kale, sweet potatoes)
Lunch: chicken, rice (extra credit: stir fried onion, celery, garlic, carrots, coconut milk, curry paste (look for a good one))
Dinner: beef roast, carrots, romaine lettuce, potatoes (some people are sensitive to potatoes)
If you still need help, reach out again!
Hi,
Need a good food list or recipe nook on gluten free foods or meals, finding sensitivity to a lot of foods, can’t pinpoint if it’s intolerance or sensitivity but am taking anti gas pills colon cleanse pills and probiotics with no difference, still bloated and unable to lose last 10 lbs to acquire comfortable weight.
I did hcg diet- lost 60 lbs, kept it off last 5 years except for last ten lbs. , its not a vanity thing im pre diabetic and hypertensive 10 lbs heavier, have to watch cholesterol too.
Felt the best just doing the diet portion of the hcg diet its an awesome clean way to eat, it’s been a struggle to re incorporate regular foods back in, what is, in your opinion, best way to maintain a clean diet? Im all for cutting out sugars completely, starches potatoes etc, have given up most all meats except chicken and fish love fresh vegetables, could use help finding my caloric intake number, seems 1200 is average for me but i weight lift and do aerobix and cardio average 4-6 days a week depending on schedule, still struggling with keeping it off,any suggestions helpful, thanks
Hey Nick…
I am new to your site.You are doing a great job.I am little confused with your list as it says grapes have high fructose content… Where everywhere else I read them as low fructose one. Please clarify.
Hi Nitin,
Grapes are HIGH relative to other fresh fruits, but LOW relative to both fresh and dried fruits. Canteloupes, for example, are a fresh fruit with only 1.8 grams of fructose per 100g serving. Whereas grapes have 7.6 for the same amount (high). In contrast, grapes are much lower than raisins, for example, which have 33.8 grams for that serving size. So it’s all relative and depends on how much you consume, and most importantly, what how low of a fructose level you are aiming towards. Hope that helps.
is watermelon high in fructose enough to cause gout??
The reason fructose should be limited in relation to gout, is because it increases the level of uric acid in the body. The ideal range for uric acid is between 3 to 5.5 mg per dl, and to keep levels below that, I would recommend you target fructose intake to 15 – 25 grams or less per day. In practical terms, 1 cup of watermelon balls equals 5.17 grams of fructose, or BELOW the target range.
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the helpful list putting fruits in order of fructose content. Exactly what I was looking for.
All of your suggestions are very helpful, but I disagree with the advice to include meat. I’ve been vegetarian for most of my life for ethical reasons. It repulses me to eat the flesh of other species, and I deplore the suffering imposed on animals by the meat industry. Further, there is now the environmental concern that animal farming contributes massively to climate change, as well as using much more water than arable.
Recently, I completed an online nutrition course (Coursera and other websites offer free courses run by universities) and was surprised to find that the vegetarian diet is undertaken by most people for health, not ethical, reasons and that avoiding or greatly reducing intake of meat is recommended by the WHO, Cancer Research and government medical advisers world-wide. The course was run by a nutritionist, and all the lectures provided links to research. Sorry, I don’t have those links now.
As an almost life-long vegetarian, I was greatly surprised that the diet now being promoted in response to the obesity crisis and general problem of people living longer but being more unhealthy (type 2 diabetes, chronic circulatory problems, increase in allergies and food intolerances, etc) is meat-free.
So what about if you were growing watermelons in the backyard and a bird was coming in to land when it got caught by the vines and was slammed into the ground and died, would you still eat the watermelon grown by that plant or would it be treated as meat?
Seriously! We are omnivores for a reason!
How are your zinc levels?
You know that zinc is VERY poorly absorbed from plant sources don’t you?
And how about your CoQ10?
Fruit and veg really only contain trace amounts of this important enzyme.
B12 anyone?
If you are worried about the conditions of livestock just buy organic free range from a reputable source 🙂
Just saying 🙂
Good luck with your diet anyhow!! 😀
So you note that all dried fruit are high in fructose… does that only apply to dried fruit obtained in stores, or also to homemade dried fruit (that wouldn’t have any additives)?
Dear Marie eat dried fruit is no how much fructose the question is how much you can eat the “normal level” is less than 15 grams of fructose , no eat 15 grams of the specific dried food, and by the way fruit is considering as snack of after balance meals or between the meals and must be change every day. made a Menu at home and comparing with food out side
Homemade dried fruits will also have a high content, as the fruit consist largely of water. when the water is removed, then the sugar content is proportionally higher.
Also note that many fruits have sucrose as the main sugar, so a fruit can have a large sugar content and a low fructose content. It is relevant because sucrose is 50% fructose, which it becomes due to sucrase, so even if the fruit does not have pure fructose, a percentage of the sucrose will become fructose anyway, and it will function exactly the same as “pure” fructose directly from a fruit.
dried strawberries shouldnt be too high in fructose
I really enjoyed your article. I would like to know if you agree with authors that recommend limiting fructose (from fruit) to 25-59 grams per day. That is still plenty of fruit, specially if following your list of low fructose fruit. Thanks!
Interesting article, thanks Nick
For anyone who would like to get more into the science, I can highly recommend the book “Why We Get Fat” by Gary Taubes. I’m not a diet or fitness expert by any means, but this book is a real eye opener and the final few chapters have some great advice on diet. Looking forward to reading “In Defense of Food” next!
I had been listing and observed my body and my blood sugar levels and a cord with AMA this level are “standars” but I find out that this a simple squematic conclucion of” good health” I try all the diabetic medication in the market for the last 10 years and all cause damaging to the organs ” by control the sugar in the blood and none cure the problem and the farmaceutic companies and lawers get rich. the only reason that I still alive is by lising my body of what I eat and how much of it that, en conclucion fructose is the devil but if you don’t do exercise at least 30 minutes plus how much food eat during the day. On that every body must be honest with youself and lie. remember they try to get sick and made money and the solution is in your hand no on pills.
Hi Nick, I couldn’t find coconuts on your list..??? cheers mal
Late to this article and I didn’t read all of the comments, but might it not be better to not even list sucrose content in the fruits and rather split that amount into 1/2 glucose and 1/2 fructose and add that to those totals? From my understand (Dr. Lustig, who I sure hope you are familiar with*), the body very quickly and easily separates sucrose into those two simple sugars anyhow, and it is the cumulative amount of fructose (= fructose + 1/2 of sucrose) that wreaks havoc in/on the body. The complaint about apricots above might have been due to the failure to take this into account.
(Otherwise, ) Thank you so much for the #s. It would be great if they were put into a table form. 🙂
* If not fmiliar with (Robert) Lustig, search for his name &or “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” online, on YouTube. He later published a book called “Fat Chance”.
Very much appreciate the excellent comment Timmy! Just want to clarify that my numbers are only the fructose levels, not sucrose. I would include sucrose, but that would change the purpose of the article…many people are looking for fructose levels only, and that’s what I’m trying to share. I like your idea of a table. I’m working on upgrading all of my articles, so I will certainly consider. I hope you stick around, because good things are coming around the corner soon (I’m almost done with my first book…it’s been over a year now).
Im not sure what 2 believe anymoe.
Seems advice changes with each wbsite.
But this one seems ok
Hi Nick,
I don’t know how I got into this blog. But I’ve surely learnt A lot from it and will put into practice if not now in future. Very interesting debate.
Can’t wait to read more and get that book ready.
So are dates ok for people to consume that have gout or high sugar levels and tomato just checking
Dates are very high in fructose and tomatoes are very low. A cup of chopped dates sets you over the recommended amount of fructose. You would have to eat less than 1 cup and not eat any other fructose that day (difficult) in order to eat that much safely.
Nick,
Do you work in the meat industry or just receive payment from them?
There’s a hell of a lot of misinformation on this site.
Hope the money helps you sleep better at night.
Paul, I do not work in the meat industry nor do I receive payments from them. What specifically do you have a beef about?
I like learning new things and hearing new perspectives, so if you would care to enlighten me I would appreciate that more than gross-generalizations made in a comment written on a post about fruit.
Thanks for a place for discussion of these important matters.
I am presently recovering from gout for the second time in 4 years.
I believe 4 litres of purchased apple juice (first time) and 1 cup of vacuum packed dried prunes (second time) were the triggers.
A search on Google for “fructose” and “uric acid” led me to your site.
Both episodes have centred on the same joint in the instep of my left foot.
Question is “how can I remove the existing uric acid crystals from my system” and especially from my foot.
Is there a food or natural method that is up to the job.
Most disturbing concern for me (age 87) is high blood pressure (new to me). I love blueberries, like to have 1/2 c. twice a day. Also like gluten-free chia seed bread with nut butters or avocado. Are these bad for the blood pressure?
Hi Thelma, it depends on the ingredients of your gluten free bread. Avoid specially potato flour which is high in glycemic index. Also your salt intake shouldn’t be more than 1.5 gr a day.
I am not convinced that bananas and pineapples are low in fructose. I come across in other articles that they have a high content of fructose. On the contrary blackberries and kiwis have lower amount of fructose .
I really appreciate the list. I am not a gout suffer, but like others here am very insensitive to various sugars and many of the FODMAPs. Sam is correct though, glucose helps the absorption of fructose which is why many fructose intolerant people can’t have high fructose corn syrup (like to kill me) but tolerate table sugar. The balance of fructose to glucose is key. I would really love someone to put together a list of fruits that accounts for the ratio of fructose to glucose so that some fruit could be ingested. As useful as this list is, fructose intolerant people should be careful ratios can make a difference. Like many others here, I personally avoid fruit almost entirely. So much research is done on the protein sensitivities like gluten. More needs to be done on sugar sensitivities.
There are 2 rules, you must apply both.
Rule number 1: you need a ratio glucose/fructose greater than 1
Rule number 2: you need to have less than 3g of fructose per 100g of fruit.
Some dried fruits can have upto 25g glucose and 25g fructose per 100g. Rule number 1 can be respected but rule number 2 won’t be: 25g for 100g it’s really huge. Just avoid these dried fruits.
You can read read on USDA that, for example, dried figs contains 25g of glucose for 23g of fructose. The ratio (25/23) is ok but the total amount of fructose is way too much (23>>3).
Sorry if you like figs 🙁
“Fruits with higher than 4 grams of fructose are considered high.”
-Is this per serving or per 100gr?
Thanks! 🙂
Hi, you noted the opposite in your paragraph where you name low fructose and high fructose fruits, but then in your list you have apples low, but in your paragraph you say they’re high. May you please explain asap b/c i’m getting super bloated and tired from my smoothies, need to figure out which fruit is worse and which ones i should allow. But this is confusing to me, not sure if I’m reading it correctly. Thanks!
All the ones you said in your paragraph above ur list that were low fructose and safer, are the exact ones I use in my smoothie. I do cherry tomatoes, carrotes, spinach, kale, fiber, coconut oil scoop, coconut milk for liquifying, and then the fruits are: Mango, peach, strawberry, blueberry, maybe a slice of pineapple if it’s in my bag of frozen fruit, and finally a whole banana. All those you said are safe, but then in the list they look higher than 4g….
I am getting so bloated that a smoothie keeps me full for TEN hours. It’s not fat, it’s just bloating and very tired from it. I DONT GET IT! I’m eating nothing but healthy fruits and veggies, but so tired after. If i eat a salad I don’t feel tired, if I eat potatoes or bread I feel tired. You get my drift? So thus, why is my smoothie making me tired if it’s supposedly full of healthy garden products? It’s got to be the sugar… Possibly the coconut milk but I don’t know. Please reply with your wonderful knowledge! Thanks
The more you mix, the more you will not know what causes problems/allergy/intolerance to your body. It”s very individual and you need to find out…
Thank you for chiming in Kristof! Appreciate it
I am a diabetic 2 type I love to drink this dry fruit it’s name is call Lou HAn kua it’s dark brown in colour &sweet .my friend advice me don’t drink it. Cause it is quite sweet.what’s your suggestion
I think this page contains a lot of misleading information and hype.
Firstly, it is difficult to decipher the list of fruits and decide which ones have too much fructose.
Secondly, this article’s advice is basically:
Buy and eat the fruits (blueberries and strawberries) which are the most expensive by portion, so that Big-Agra can make a killing. If you don’t want to pay up, then don’t complain about the hassle of preparing and cleaning fruits like pineapples, cantaloupe, grapefruit, and …… prickly-pear, bitter melon, etc.
I don’t see how you are struggling so greatly to understand a list that has fruits with the most fructose on top – sorted descending. It doesn’t get much more simple than that. Also, I am not for Big Agra, but I am for providing accurate information. Just because you can’t afford low fructose fruits, doesn’t mean using irrational logic to make yourself feel better will work. If you have something intelligent to say, I’m all ears.
You say, “The ideal range for uric acid is between 3 to 5.5 mg per dl, and to keep levels below that I would recommend you target fructose intake to 15 – 25 grams or less per day.” Do you have a link to the science behind that statement? Although there is good epidemiological evidence that OJ, oranges and apples increase the incidence of gout*, and some evidence that fructose accelerates uric acid production, I haven’t found the paper backing your comment.
* https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa035700
Mal, thank you for your comment. Those are two separate statements: (1) recommended uric acid levels and (2) recommended daily fructose intake range. The Epidemiology of Uric Acid and Fructose: “fructose is known to induce uric acid production by increasing ATP degradation to AMP, a uric acid precursor (85, 93, 94) and thus, within minutes after fructose infusion, serum uric acid levels rise (94). Furthermore, de novo purine synthesis is accelerated, further potentiating uric acid production.” [1] Since fructose intake is proportional to serum uric acid level, excess fructose intake would therefore increase uric acid levels in the body.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3197219/