A healthy adult usually cannot tolerate more than 25 grams of fructose per day. The amount is lower for people with an allergy to fructose whose intestines have a basic problem absorbing and transporting fructose.

Many parents believe giving their young children a lot of fruit is good for them, but caution is advised. Among children who drink apple juice, parents should consider that it is often sweetened with fructose and one serving alone can have 25 grams of fructose, said Sonja Laemmel, a nutrition adviser to the association. Thus, to achieve a balanced diet, it’s better to eat more vegetables, she said.

The recommended daily amount of fruit for adults is 500 grams, half that for children. To digest fructose, it helps not to eat fruit on an empty stomach. It should be mixed with yogurt or curd, the association said. Fruits with a lot of fructose include apples, pears, plums, dates, figs, mangos and pineapples.