anonymous wrote:I am now on my 5th fructose-free day. The headaches have subsided, but I'm having trouble sleeping (don't know if that is related), and the cravings haven't disappeared but they are duller. I just had a couple of questions for David (or anybody else that can answer!).

Is the ultimate idea to eventually get to the point where you are eating nothing sweet? I have given up everything sweet excluding fruit (i did cut out dried fruit, grapes, banana etc), and trying to limit this to 2 pieces per day. I understand that the high fibre content sort of counteracts the negative effects of fructose, so fruit is ok, but is it ideal to get to a place where you are eating NOTHING sweet at all, not even fruit, so that you have absolutely no sugar cravings? Do you eat fruit?

How long does it take to get to the point that things like chocolate taste TOO sweet - where it actually no longer tastes good?

What are some good snacks? I've ditched yogurt and muesli bars, and because I'm allergic to nuts I've found that I can only really snack on fruit or raw vegetables. Everything else seems to have sugar. I have thought about making celery with peanut butter but was unsure if peanut butter is ok to eat.

I really want to do this properly - I am a very all or nothing person, and if something contains a small amount of fructose, say 2g, I would rather just give it up entirely (not really counting fruit here because of the fibre) than limit my consumption. I really like how you have put a list of foods to stay away from, however I am slightly confused. One of these foods was yogurt. You also have the guide to Australian yogurts which tells you which are the best/worst to eat - did you put this up so that people who "must" have yogurt could do so within reasonable limits, or because it is totally fine to have yogurt as a part of your diet if it is low fructose? I know I seem pedantic, but my question is, what is the BEST way to do this? Will eating low-fructose foods be less successful than eating no (or as close to) fructose at all? Will I reach my goals faster by ditching it entirely, will I suffer less cravings?

Basically, what I'm asking is, what is the ideal way to go about this - which is going to be the most effective, and work the fastest? (I'm not in a rush, but would rather it take a year to lose the weight than two).

Thank you SO much for writing this magnificent book - honestly, when I was reading it I actually felt liberated. I'm a 19 year old girl and have been addicted to sugar my whole life - and because of this I recently gained all of the weight I lost through pure hard work and exercise back. I was SO tired of even thinking about food/diets/guilt/where my next hit was coming from that I honestly had nowhere else to turn - I'd tried everything and was becoming more depressed with each day. I felt like the book understood me and I KNOW that so many others would feel the same if they read it. I passed it on to my family, and now we are becoming a fructose-free household.

Sorry for the essay!

Congratulations on going low-fructose. It is a big step as it means permanently changing your diet and lifestyle. I feel sorry for you that you cannot eat nuts! I've relied on roasted almonds as my number one snack when giving up sugar. I've found a type of peanut butter than contains no sugar (i think it is kraft - just check the label). Eating a humus dip with vegie sticks is another good snack. I also like broad beans and chickpeas as a snack - you can find little packets of them in the health food section. Yes, they contain a fair amount of fat - but no sugar. I also love avocado on toast. As for yogurt, I've found a greek style yoghurt that has no added sugar and is delicious (So the only sugar it has is from lactose). You could try baking little savoury muffins (perhaps ham, cheese and corn) and keeping them in the freezer at work or home. I ate a lot of rice crackers while giving up sugar but I'm trying to stay away from them now as they do contain a bit of sugar and it all adds up. Water crackers usually have no sugar so read some labels and find some crackers that your like.

Generally products that say they are 'low fat' have added sugar so beware. It seems a little strange buying the 'full fat' version of a product after years of trying to avoid fat.

It seems to me that David is trying to educate people about how much sugar is in food - rather than trying to promote a particular diet. So look at the sugar guides as a source of information, rather than as a guide of what to eat. For example, its probably not a good idea to eat any icecream or commercial cereals (except oat brits - I think these are very low sugar).

I find that is really is easier to not eat any fructose (except fruit). I used to think "i'll just have a little bit of....(cake, chocolate, slice etc)" but it really simplifies things when you decide to not eat foods that contain sugar anymore. And hopefully your good choices will make an impact on those around you.

Good luck