Fruit and Sugar Combination Intolerance - Expert Advice from Carroll Method NDs
The Carroll Food Intolerance Test results prove I’m intolerant to fruit and sugar eaten together within four hours. Allergy testing never revealed any food combinations as an issue, although I experienced on-going type two allergy reactions.
Therefore, advice from Carroll Method naturopathic doctors (NDs) is to avoid the combination of fruit with reactive sugars. These foods may be eaten separately, but should always be kept at least four hours apart. No food should be eaten if it contains both of these. These NDs identify the foods and ingredients that include fruit and sugar. You may be surprised by several items on these lists.
List of Foods Containing Fruit
My Carroll Method ND’s specific instructions about fruit:
Fruit means all apples, pears, berries, lemon, oranges and other fruits, raw, cooked, or dried. Also, all products made from fruit, such as wine, wine vinegars, apple cider vinegar, fruit liquors, citric acid, acetic acid, cranberries, coconut, coconut sugar, avocado, dates, date sugar, cashews, allspice, cloves, balsamic vinegar, bergamot, cream of tartar, olives, papaya, palm, and all oils, barks, peels, etc. from these fruits. This includes any food cooked or flavored with fruit or fruit extracts. Italian wines are considered fruits. It is illegal in Italy to add sugar during the termination process.
Fruit does not include pineapple (cactus), melons (gourds), monk fruit, tomatoes, and rhubarb which are vegetables.
List of Foods Containing Reactive Sugars
My Carroll Method ND’s specific instructions about sugar. These are reactive sugars that cause an intolerant reactions:
Sugar means white, brown, turbinado and raw sugar, molasses, sucrose, sucralose, sucanat, dried cane juice, evaporated cane juice, or any sugar cane (even organic), or sugar beet product. Do not use artificial sweeteners, such as saccharine or NutraSweet. Rum and most wines contain sugar.
Substitute agave, honey, pure maple syrup, date and coconut sugars, or barley malt (unless intolerant to gluten).
Neutral Sugars can be Combined with Fruit
Neutral sugars can be combined with fruit and do not drive reactions for most. These sugars are agave, honey, maple syrup, date sugar, coconut sugar, and barely malt (not for the gluten intolerant). Do not bake with honey. If you have this combination intolerance, test your gut by eating fruit and neutral sugars on an empty stomach and monitor reactions.
Fruit and Sugar Intolerance - My Pro Tips
Finally, I am following my favorite experts advice and cutting all refined sugars. The recommended substitutes honey and maple syrup (straight from the sugar shack) are even more enjoyable than refined sugar. High glycemic foods cause digestion issues, inflame my body and itchy feet.
I need four hours to completely digest fruit or sugar per the Carroll Method. Some may need more time, up to eight hours, between fruit and sugar for proper digestion.
The fruit and sugar combination intolerance is an area full of pitfalls. Not a lot of information is available. Of course, there would be no pitfalls if sugar is eliminated sugar completely as recommended by many experts, especially for gut healing.
Fruit and Sugar Substitutes
- Fruits are better eaten whole, not juiced, we need the fiber.
- Know the fruit list and don’t mix with reactive sugars, review list above.
- Use neutral sugars when possible, i.e., honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and date sugar.
- Enjoy fruit for dessert.
- Pies made with veggies can be combined with reactive sugars, i.e., pumpkin, sweet potato, and rhubarb.
- Tarts made with fruits can be combined with neutral sugars.
- Indulge occasionally with sorbets and gelatos made with pineapple, melons, or monk fruit.
- Drink Kombucha.
- Enjoy dark chocolate. An 85% chocolate bar has significantly less sugar than even a 70% bar.
- Drink Italian wines, they are not fermented with sugar or ‘scurated’.
- Enjoy wine in small infrequent amounts and not with sugar.
- Better, cut all alcohol.
- Best, cut the sugar!
Fruit and Sugar Pitfalls
Don’t eat vegan desserts containing fruit and sugar, unless it is a neutral sugar
Don’t eat jams and pies made with fruit and sugar, unless it is a neutral sugar
Do not eat fruit salads made with added sugar, i.e., dried fruits containing sugar
Don’t eat dried fruits, i.e., raisins and craisins, made with added sugar.
Don’t consume fruit juices with added sugar, i.e., lemonade.
Do not eat dishes containing fruits like olives and/or balsamic vinegars followed by sugar.
Don’t eat plant based ice creams made from cashew or coconut.
- Be aware of combining avocado and coconut oils with sugar.
Do not use artificial sugars.
- Don’t drink wines and champagnes fermented with sugar.
Don’t drink fruit cider beers.
Do not consume mixed drinks made from fruit and sugar. Rum is made with sugar.
Shots, anyone?! JK.
Fruit and Sugar Intolerance Combined with Alcohol
Combining alcohol with a fruit and sugar intolerance, is toxic. This combination drains all my energy and can make my stomach very upset. Rum is made with sugar. Most wines are fermented with sugar. The only exception is Italian wines, it is illegal to ferment wines with sugar in Italy. Fruit cider beers are made with fruit and sugar.
Alcohol always makes food intolerance symptoms worse.
Fruit and Sugar Intolerance - Simple Test
Here is my simple test. If consuming anything on the fruit list combined with sugar results in symptoms, you may be intolerant to fruit and sugar eaten together. Some need four hours between fruit and sugar, some up to eight hours. Do a test, eat fruit combined with sugar on an empty stomach. Be aware of immediate reactions, i.e., bloating, gas, reddening of facial skin, or lower energy. Simply eliminate this combination, better yet, eliminate sugar completely. Leave plenty of time between fruits and sugars. For a thorough test, get the Carroll Food Intolerance Method.
Best Advice - Cut the Sugar
Several friends and family members have the fruit and sugar intolerance. A few friends are fruit intolerant. Most of us cut sugar from our diets with much success. The cravings stop a few days after cutting sugar, really.
Some need to omit all sugar and fruits. One friend eliminated all fruit after testing fruit intolerant. She previously cut all sugar, as she suffers with peripheral neuropathy. Learning she was fruit intolerant was one solution she needed. She cut all fruit and it reduced her pain.
Finally, I cut all refined sugar at age 62. I cut the chocolate bars too, so many brands contain heavy metals. Now I enjoy cocoa powder to flavor coffee and yogurt deserts. My cholesterol is normal and dropped 15 points as a result. I enjoy small amounts of honey, maple syrup. My skin and nails thank me.
Fruit and Sugar Combination Intolerance - Expert Advice
See these articles about sugar:
- My Blog
- Mayo Clinic
- Dr. Hyman
- PCRM Exam Room Podcast
Hungry for some desserts? Check out my gluten and dairy free dessert Recipes. I include links to my favorite gut healers and a few of my own.
Namaste,
Diane