13 Science-Backed Ways to Avoid Fructose

Co-authored by Leslie Chartier and Janice Tieperman

Last Updated: May 4, 2025 Fact Checked

Are you switching to a low-fructose diet? Sticking with low-fructose foods is a great and effective way to combat fructose intolerance and/or GI issues like IBS—best of all, it’s totally doable. Read on for plenty of tips, tricks, and suggestions to help you cut fructose from your day-to-day meals and snacks.

The Best Ways to Avoid Fructose

Check the labels on sauces, syrups, and condiments. Personal chef Leslie Chartier says they often contain high quantities of high-fructose corn syrup. Natural sources of fructose, like fruit, aren't harmful for most people. But if you're fructose intolerant, avoid high-fructose fruits like apples, mangoes, and pears.

1

Stay away from high-fructose fruits.

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Apples are one of the biggest offenders out there. While fruit is fine to eat in moderation, high-fructose fruits like mango, pear, watermelon, grapes, and raisins will only leave you with gut pain and other uncomfortable symptoms.^{[1]
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Research source} Instead, stick with low-fructose fruits, like:
- Lemons and limes
- Bananas
- Cranberries
- Mandarin oranges
- Strawberries
- Avocados^{[2]
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  PubMed Central
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- Dieticians advise only eating 1-2 baseball-sized servings of fruit each day to help keep your symptoms away.^{[3]
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2

Steer clear of high-fructose veggies.

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Onions, asparagus, and other veggies are full of fructose. Veggies like artichokes, broccoli, leeks, mushrooms, shallots, red peppers, peas, and okra are known to cause unpleasant flare-ups for fructose-intolerant individuals.^{[4]
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PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health

Go to source} Stock up on plenty of low-fructose veggies instead, such as:
- Sweet potato
- Turnip greens
- Spinach
- Green pepper
- Chives^{[5]
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- Dieticians advise eating no more than 3 servings of veggies each day on a low-fructose diet.^{[6]
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  Research source} For reference, one serving of vegetables equals 1 cup of leafy greens or a ½ cup of any frozen, fresh, or canned veggies.^{[7]
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  American Heart Association
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3

Limit flavored dairy products.

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Dairy products like flavored milk and yogurt can be high in fructose. Dairy items with fruit flavoring are also high in added sugar and fructose-containing products—even products flavored with natural fruit. To be safe, stick with plain dairy products instead.^{[8]
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American Heart Association
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- If you want to add some flavor to your yogurt, mix in natural flavors and spices like vanilla or cinnamon.

4

Skip sugary cereals.

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Shop for low-fructose cereals with less than 6 grams of sugar per serving. Make sure that the sugar or sweetener ingredient is towards the bottom of the ingredients list, too.^{[9]
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Cleveland Clinic
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Go to source} Here are a few safe, low-fructose varieties to choose from:
- Cornflakes
- Frosted Flakes
- Crispix
- Rice Krispies or Frosted Krispies
- Oatmeal, oat-based cereals, and porridge are also safe options if you’re on a low-fructose diet.^{[10]
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5

Ditch ready-made meals and desserts.

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Strive to eat meals you prepare for yourself at home. Homemade meals are better than boxed dinners or other microwavable meals, which are often made with high-fructose corn syrup. Also, try to avoid any commercial baked goods and desserts, which are often high in fructose.^{[11]
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Cleveland Clinic
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- In moderation, chocolate can be a great dessert option on a low-fructose diet. Dieticians suggest limiting yourself to 5 squares of dark chocolate, 4 squares of milk chocolate, or 3 squares of white chocolate.^{[12]
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- A bowl of lactose-free ice cream is another refreshing, low-fructose dessert alternative.^{[13]
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  Cleveland Clinic
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6

Toss out any high-fructose snacks.

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Fruit leathers, muesli bars, and dried fruit are all bad news. Thankfully, there are plenty of low-fructose snack options out there that shouldn’t trigger any unpleasant symptoms, like:
- Tortilla chips
- Coconut yogurt^{[14]
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  Cleveland Clinic
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- Pretzels
- Boiled eggs

7

Avoid high-fructose condiments and sauces.

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Tomato sauce, jam, and Asian-style sauces are just a few to steer clear of. Many condiments and sauces have some amount of fructose in them, including reduced-fat mayonnaise, pasta sauce, tomato paste, and chutney. If possible, clear these items out of your refrigerator and pantry if you have them on hand.
- Some condiments, like mayonnaise, tomato sauce, and BBQ sauce, can be enjoyed in small servings that are less than 3 US tbsp (44 mL).
- Like tomato paste and tomato sauce, ketchup also isn’t recommended for people with fructose intolerance.^{[15]
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8

Switch to a low-fructose bread.

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Wheat, rye, and barley bread aren’t good options for a low-fructose diet.^{[16]
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HelpGuide
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Go to source} Instead, stick with bread that is wheat-free and gluten-free. Cornbread, rice bread, potato flour bread, and spelt sourdough bread are all safe options to choose from.^{[17]
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Johns Hopkins Medicine
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- Feel free to change things up with gluten-free or wheat-free pasta, too.
- Talk to your doctor and ask for their recommendation on how much bread you can eat. Not everyone on a low-fructose diet can tolerate bread, even low-fructose varieties.

9

Stop drinking high-fructose beverages.

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Soda and fruit juice are a few drinks to avoid. If you’d like to add a little variety to your beverage line-up, opt for low-fructose drinks like coffee or sucrose-sweetened soda.^{[18]
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Cleveland Clinic
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- Apple juice is especially high in fructose, so try to avoid it if you can.
- Stick with sugar-free drinks that are pretty low in fake sweeteners like acesulfame k and aspartame.

10

Steer clear of any high-fructose alcohol.

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Alcohol can be pretty irritating to your GI system in general, so it’s really best to save it for special occasions. When you do pour yourself a glass, opt for beer, wine, or spirits low in fructose.^{[19]
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Cleveland Clinic
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11

Ditch any items with fructose listed on the label.

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Check the ingredients for things like high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Reading food labels is one of the most effective ways to limit and avoid fructose in your diet. The key is knowing what to look for. As you read each food label, scan for a few different fructose-based sweeteners:^{[20]
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Cleveland Clinic
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- Agave nectar
- Palm or coconut sugar
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Sorghum
- Invert sugar

12

Kick high-fructose corn syrup from your diet.

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HFCS is an especially unhealthy form of fructose. Commonly found in candy, soda, and processed foods, excess HFCS can lead to serious health concerns like obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.^{[21]
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Cleveland Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source} Always avoid this ingredient when you’re grocery shopping, as it can also pop up in unexpected places like:
- Canned food
- Cereal
- Jellies
- Condiments^{[22]
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  PubMed Central
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13

Create a meal plan with your doctor.

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A customized meal plan can cater to your exact level of fructose tolerance. Safe fructose levels vary from person to person, so it helps to ask a doctor or dietician for advice. Schedule an appointment to figure out what you can and cannot eat. Also, ask about the exact amount of fructose you can have per day so you don’t go over.^{[23]
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- If you’re sensitive to a lot of different foods and ingredients, ask your diet or dietician if you can try a low FODMAP diet. This type of diet limits a lot of triggering foods and ingredients, including fructose.

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Tips

Cut out or limit beans from your diet as much as possible. They don’t have a lot of fructose in them, but they can cause a lot of unpleasant gassiness.^{[24]
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Warnings

Steer clear of any foods or beverages with “sorbitol” included on the ingredients list. Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that can worsen digestive symptoms for some, so it’s best to avoid it altogether.^{[25]
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