As the symptoms are fairly non-specific, sufferers often struggle for several years before their physician identifies fructose malabsorption (intestinal fructose intolerance). If you think you may have fructose intolerance, you should consult your physician immediately. Your physician will first ask questions about your dietary habits – for example whether the complaints occur after eating certain foods. A special breath test is used to determine whether you indeed have intestinal fructose intolerance.

Breath test for fructose malabsorption

Before the fructose tolerance test, patients must drink a fructose solution. The hydrogen breath test is based on the fact that the body converts unabsorbed fructose in the large intestine into substances including hydrogen in the event of malabsorption. This gas enters the lungs via the bloodstream and is ultimately exhaled. Consequently, if the physician measures the hydrogen content in the exhaled air and it is above a specific level, this indicates fructose intolerance