The Meat, Carb & Dairy Trap (as I am calling it) is a food battle that I am still figuring a way out of. A Fructose Malabsorber’s world while trying to adhere to the strictest of diets can easily turn into this crazy unhealthy food trap. A world without fruits & veggies is one that is full of sadness, and since my realization that Fructose Malabsorption IS Irritable Bowel Syndrome I have been testing my limits with the naturally delicious fruits and veggies that tempt me daily…
Here are some tidbits I have discovered during my daily food experiments that will hopefully help uncover the answer to your own complicated tummy puzzle & avoid falling into the dreaded… Meat, Carb & Dairy Trap!!!
1.) Wheat turns into fructose when it gets broken down in your gut.
As an admitted carb-oholic who lived as a vegetarian for a solid decade, I love CARBS! Pasta, English Muffins, Bread, Crackers, Cookies… you name the carb and I am so there! The trick to not getting sick is that they must be enjoyed in small quantities, spread out throughout the day & NEVER trust it if you can’t read the ingredients. HFCS is lurking around every corner in processed-carb-land. Be very very careful.
2.) Lactose and Fructose are sugar relatives, if you will.
Though I’m not a full blown Lactose Intolerant, I am sensitive to it so I always keep some lactase pills (the enzyme with breaks down lactose in our gut) with me if I am having a dairy splurge. Cheese and ice cream are two food groups in my diet (yes, food groups… mmm). Did you know that if a cheese shows zero grams of carbs on its nutrition information that it is technically free of lactose? Lactose is a sugar and therefore a carb… food for thought 🙂
Speaking of ice cream…
Always be leery of anything in the frozen isle. HFCS frequently hides here too. If you are looking for a yummy and simple ice cream, I always have Breyer’s All Natural Vanilla and Mint Chip in my freezer. Just a few simple ingredients and absolutely amazing! I must note that it is full fat ice cream so moderation is key because…
3.) Fat is not an IBS / FMr’s friend.
Red meats, cheese, delicious potato chips (which I had for dinner… guilty), butter & full fat ice creams are all culprits in the fat department. From an FMr’s standpoint, it is best to avoid red meats, and moderate all other fat sources. The all-encompassing theme with this type of lifestyle is… Eat a variety of tolerated foods in moderation over many small meals during the day.
4.) The issue of getting enough fiber.
Knowing that FM is a branch of IBS, it is worth noting there are two extremes in the IBS universe: loose bowel movements or no bowel movements. I fall into the not so many movements category, so I need fiber desperately, but I can’t have most natural sources of fiber because they are all contaminated with fructose (aahhhh!!!) What’s a person to do? Culturelle probiotics work well, but they get pricey quickly. Chia seeds are great and I eat them all the time, but they just aren’t enough for me.
The solution to my tummy puzzle is a single cup of light roast coffee in the morning (which I take with a tsp of sugar and a dash of Land O’ Lakes Fat Free Half & Half since theirs has the fewest ingredients.) While most people drink coffee to wake up their brain, the caffeine jump-starts my IBS system. A second cup… then I’m sick 😦 So K-Cups are brilliant for me, but depending on which variety of IBS you lean towards, caffeine can actually be harmful by making a runny situation even worse.
5.) Fruits and veggies are NOT the enemy.
I have struggled with this trap of meat, carbs and dairy since I first got diagnosed (which for me quickly evolved into just carbs and dairy because most meats are chewy… that is besides the point). I recently found I could tolerate many more fruits and veggies than I originally imagined.
Fresh spinach is always on hand at our house, and I try to eat a salad every day with shoestring carrots (just a small handful), sunflower seeds, either Feta or Parmesan cheese depending on my mood, with some homemade dressing (the easiest variety is one-third yellow mustard, one-third unseasoned rice vinegar or distilled white & one-third olive oil, then season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar and I always add some dried herbs because I’m crazy).
I can have a few slices of cucumber, zucchini or green pepper, and I eat celery and cook with scallions all of the time. Oh! Can’t forget avocado! Avocados are very interesting from the FMr’s perspective… They have more fructose than glucose, but their quantities are soooo small that the ratio doesn’t really matter as long as you don’t eat the whole thing… they are nature’s butter after all … see note 3 🙂
And fruit is a little more tricky…
but now that it is officially berry season and I have painfully little self control… more often than not when I walk past the display of amazing smelling strawberries at the store I just can’t help myself. But I have learned through multiple times of getting sick that I can have 2 strawberries and a 3rd will send me running for the bathroom. I buy them fresh sometimes, but I always have frozen and freeze dried berries on hand to cook with when I’m feeling fruit deprived.
Here’s a yummy recipe for you fruit cravers out there!
Berry Oatmeal Breakfast Cake:
Serves 8 or 1 soon-to-be-sick Fructose Intolerant person who ate the whole thing… don’t do that. Moderation Is The Key!)
Ingredients:
1-1/3 Cup AP Flour (Gluten Free AP Flours are great too)
3/4 Cup Quick Cooking Oats
1/3 Cup Sugar (you can add some dextrose too if you’d like, since it can only help)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Milk (I love Silk Pure Almond! I cook with the unsweetened original & drink the sweetened vanilla or chocolate to satisfy my sweet tooth)
1/4 Oil (I like canola in this application)
1 Egg
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries, Strawberries or Raspberries (keep frozen until ready to add to batter)
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400*F and grease an 8″ or 9″ round baking dish.
2.) Combine dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl, and in a separate bowl combine wet ingredients (milk through egg). Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until the batter is slightly lumpy but uniformly moistened.
3.) Fold in the frozen berries (chop the strawberries into smaller pieces if using) then pour into prepared pan.
4.) Cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until the cake starts to pull away from the pan and it looks golden brown and delicious on top.
5.) Cool on rack for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!
I hope that all of this information is helpful, and if you are craving something that you really shouldn’t have let me know.
Happy & Fructose Free 