Introduction
There was this email forward that found popularity a few years ago when it came to soft drinks particularly associated with the brand name Diet Coke. The forward contained snapshots of what happens when a popular brand of mints known as Mentos, where about four in number are dropped into a bottle of a carbonated beverage (in this case, Diet Coke) causing a strong reaction that results in the formation of foam and spewing of the Coke.
Thanks to this discovery getting a lot of attention, you will find several 'How-to' articles that read: How to make a Mentos and Diet Coke bomb. And this Mentos-Diet Coke display should be enough to describe what would happen to someone if they consumed both these products one after the other.
However, there is another problem associated with carbonated beverages due to their high fructose corn syrup levels, also known as 'fructose intolerance'.
Fructose Intolerance & its Symptoms
Among debilitating disorders such as autism, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, 'fructose intolerance' also belongs to this list of genetic disorders meaning that you can get these from your parents, thanks to faulty genes and chromosomes (both X & Y).
However, this is very different from 'fructose malabsorption' as almost one out of three people are sensitive to high levels of fructose, but not necessarily showing the symptoms that are associated with this digestive disorder.
Very simply, fructose malabsorption is merely the unavailability of the epithelial cells in the intestine to help in the digestive process of breaking down fructose (about 25 g) into smaller molecular fragments, hence leading to symptoms that largely cause discomfort, and will be discussed later.
On the other hand, hereditary fructose intolerance is extremely rare and according to statistics, occurs with a frequency of one in ten thousand people. More importantly, this disorder remains with the patient for life, and has to be monitored constantly. Although, both these disorders are similar in terms of symptoms, the reasons for their occurrence is very different.
Symptoms
Some of the common symptoms associated with both 'fructose intolerance' and 'fructose malabsorption' are
1) Bloating of the stomach
2) Diarrhea
3) Constipation
4) Flatulence
5) Stomach Pain (due to muscle spasms)
6) Aching eyes
7) Fuzzy head
8) Fatigue
9) Depression (which occurs because hormones and neurotransmitters cannot be synthesized)
Diagnosis & Treatment
If you suspect these symptoms, and in consulting a doctor, you will have to take what is known as the 'hydrogen breath test', which checks the levels of methane (and the absence of hydrogen) produced in the body which points to the presence of a particular food intolerance, and in this case, fructose intolerance.
Much like most other food intolerance disorders, there is no cure other than to abstain from foods that contain 'fructose', which means that you will have to maintain a strict diet all through your life, not unless you fancy the symptoms again.
In Closing
On a completely different topic, 'going green' has become a fad (for lack of a better word!!) which means that all things 'synthetic' are now frowned upon and this includes commercial products that are subject to a certain degree of processing by the method of 'food labelling'. Even though I'm not a tree-hugger, I'm not so convinced that companies that prepare processed foods have our best interests in mind… but one thing's for sure, Mother Nature does! :)
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