Diagnosing Digestive Disorders
About 62 million people in the United States are diagnosed each year with a digestive disorder. Treatments may include antibiotics, and other medications. Now, some people can reduce symptoms of these disorders simply by changing their diet.
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Fructose, a type of sugar found in everything from soft drinks to honey to apple juice, and it could be making you sick.
Peter Beyer, R.D.
Researcher
University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, KS
"There's a limit to the amount of fructose that we can consume."
Researcher peter beyer says our fructose intake has nearly tripled in the last thirty years. He suggests we limit the amount of sugar in our diet to about twelve teaspoons a day.
Peter Beyer, R.D.
"That's the upper limit and right now, we're at 32."
Fructose can cause gas, bloating and pain. More than 50% of healthy people have symptoms after consuming just 25 grams of fructose - the amount in just one soda. For people with gastrointestinal disorders, fructose can make their symptoms worse.
Peter Beyer, R.D.
"By eliminating, or at least reducing, the amount of fructose in the diet, then they may get along a lot better and may have a better quality of life."
When fructose is consumed and not absorbed properly, high levels of hydrogen are produced.
Now, researchers say a simple test to measure hydrogen can detect fructose intolerance. It can also alert doctors to other problems such as bacteria overgrowth in the GI tract.
After complaining of abdominal pain, miles has had the test more than once.
Miles Jones
"This looks like the best one I've had yet."
He's cut out soda and limited fructose to stave off problems.
Miles Jones
Limits fructose intake
"It appears like things are getting under control."
The hydrogen test is just starting to be used to detect fructose intolerance and bacterial overgrowth, but it has been used in the past to diagnose lactose intolerance in many people.
BACKGROUND: According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 62 million people in the United States are diagnosed each year with a digestive disorder. The cause and natural history of many digestive diseases remain unknown, but they may develop congenitally or from multiple factors such as stress, fatigue, diet, or smoking. Digestive disorders include Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and peptic ulcers, to name a few. Cancers of the esophagus, colon and liver are also listed under the digestive disorder category. Digestive diseases result in nearly 200 million sick days, 50 million visits to physicians, 16.9 million days lost from school, 10 million hospitalizations, and almost 200,000 deaths per year. Cancers of the digestive tract, which includes the colon, the gallbladder, and the stomach, are responsible for 117,000 deaths yearly. Non-cancerous digestive diseases cause 74,000 deaths a year.
FRUCTOSE'S ROLE: Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a simple sugar found in honey and in the fruit and other parts of plants. It is much sweeter than sucrose (cane sugar). In the last 30 years, the amount of fructose consumed by Americans has nearly tripled. Today, the average fructose consumption is about 37 to 40 grams per day. Peter Beyer, a researcher from the University of Kansas, says: "There's a limit to the amount of fructose that we can consume. We have increased the total amount of sugar in our diet. Fructose has replace sucrose in the diet and fructose is more slowly absorbed." When fructose isn't absorbed properly, the sugar that is left over is fermented by the bacteria in the colon. Beyer says this results in a gassy, bloated feeling. He says, not only may fructose be causing some gastrointestinal complaints in healthy individuals, but it may also be making matters worse for people who have digestive disorders.
TESTING FOR INTOLERANCE: Researchers from the University of Kansas recently studied the effects of fructose on the digestive system. As fructose that isn't absorbed properly makes its way through the digestive system, hydrogen is expelled. Some of the hydrogen exhalations are picked up by the blood, causing the gas to circulate and eventually escape through the breath. In a study of 15 adults, the researchers fed pure fructose to the volunteers and then analyzed their breath for hydrogen. In one test, each person received 25 grams of fructose -- roughly the amount in a 12-ounce can of soda sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. In a second test, each individual consumed twice that amount. Over the next few hours, the researchers monitored the volunteers' exhalations. Breath concentrations in excess of 20 parts hydrogen per million suggests malabsorption. In the first test, hydrogen levels in the breath of seven of the volunteers exceeded 20 parts per million. After consuming 50 grams of fructose, 11 of the 15 exceeded the threshold that signals malabsorption, with the group average at 51 parts per million. Beyer says: "For people who have existing gastrointestinal disorders, fructose, in the amounts that we're talking about, may worsen their symptoms. By eliminating, or at least reducing the amount of fructose in the diet, then they may get along a lot better and have a better quality of life." He says physicians should consider adding breath analysis for fructose intolerance to their diagnostic test reservoir.
Bob Hallinan
Media Relations Coordinator
University of Kansas Medical Center
3901 Rainbow Blvd. Room G011-DELP
Kansas City, KS 66160
(913) 588-5240
bhallina@kumc.edu
Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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