Lemonade...can I have that?

Summer Carnivals! Gotta love them. The rides, the fries in vinegar and that awesome, shaken, home-made Lemonade. But can Nate have it? How much fructose is in it? Is it worth it? 


These are the questions we now ask ourselves as we stand in the lemonade lines.


 Here is what our Cleveland Clinic Dietician told us and what we found in our research:

Lemons contain fructose, a natural sugar common to most fruits. 

Compared to many other fruits, lemons contain relatively low amounts of fructose.

Here are fruits that are very low in fructose: Bilberry, Blackberry, Gooseberry, Grapefruit Lemon, Lime, Loganberry, Nectarine, Pomelo, Raspberry ,Redcurrant Whitecurrant ,Wild Strawberry

So is is worth it? Depends on the severity of your fructose malabsorption or intolerance. We make sure Nate has already eaten dinner- his symptoms cause belly aches and other symptoms that make him unable to eat or too full (he ends up losing weight too).

At our city's festival Nate enjoyed a half cup of lemonade without any issue- so for us, it was worth it! I wouldn't allow him to drink any other than the kind made with cane sugar and even then, only after he's had a full day of fructose free eating.

I've included a home made lemonade recipe that is syrup free- remember lemons do contain fructose though so don't try it if you're in your 2 week fructose free stage!

Enjoy :)


How to Make Lemonade (whether life hands you lemons or not)

4 cups water
1 cup lemon juice (about four lemons’ worth-or use lemon juice from concentrate)
½ cup sugar 

Stir until sugar is dissolved and sweeten or water down to taste. Enjoy!