The magic of Jelly Beans

No it's not a story of Jack and the Jelly Bean Stalk or anything like that.  It's just that Jelly Beans can be magic for those of us with a sensitivity to Fructose.  So, here's how it works:
Lots of us have symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) when it's really an inability to digest Fructose and/or Lactose.  Or, if you are lucky like me, BOTH!  Since being diagnosed with Lactose Intolerance (years ago) and Fructose sensitivity (more recently), I've been feeling MUCH BETTER!

So, what are my coping strategies? 

For the Lactose I use Schiff's Digestive Advantage, Lactose Defense Formula.  You take it twice a day for a week, then once a day after that.  I can eat anything now - even ice cream and cheesecake.  Now, it's not helping my diet but it sure tastes good!

For the Fructose - well - that's different.  For starters I try to avoid foods high in fructose.  Fructose is fruit sugar.  Foods naturally high in fructose include apples, pears, dates, raisins, figs, apricots, any foods that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), any foods that contain "golden syrup" (popular in Europe), iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, grapes, fruit juices, etc.  Most of the time I can control what I'm eating, but what if I manage to injest something high in Fructose?  Eat JELLY BEANS!

So, how does it work?  Well table sugar - which does not cause me issues - is a balance of glucose and fructose.  Glucose + Fructose = Sucrose (table sugar).  It's about 55% glucose and 45% fructose.  When that ratio gets flipped and the Fructose goes up - then I can't digest it.  But, if I pop jelly beans (they are made from Glucose syrup) I can push the ratio back in my favor - adding glucose and allowing my body to digest.  I also keep glucose sugar in the house (Dextrose is the name) and will sometimes add it to recipes (replacing some of the table sugar) to again insure I can digest properly.

Oh the magic of chemistry!