What You Need To Know About Sucrose Intolerance
What Is Sucrose Intolerance Caused by Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (CSID)?
What is it about sugar and some starches that can wreak havoc on some kids? Often, it’s because these kids have a rare inherited disorder called Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (CSID). CSID causes sugar intolerance; so when kids with CSID eat foods with sugars in them, they wind up with some very unpleasant symptoms.
Normal Intestine
CSID Intestine
Normal Intestine
CSID Intestine
Helping Children Cope with CSID
Children of all ages have to learn to live with CSID. The more you know, the better you’re able to help them cope throughout their young lives. Click on Toddler, School-Age Kids, or Tweens and Teens to find out more.
Kids Eat a Lot of Carbohydrates
It’s amazing that a healthy diet for kids over two years old should include 50% to 60% of calories coming from carbohydrates – good carbohydrates.1 Unfortunately, lacking the sucrase and isomaltase enzymes, kids with CSID have difficulty digesting both good and bad carbs.
Kids Eat a Lot of Carbohydrates
It’s amazing that a healthy diet for kids over two years old should include 50% to 60% of calories coming from carbohydrates – good carbohydrates.1 Unfortunately, lacking the sucrase and isomaltase enzymes, kids with CSID have difficulty digesting both good and bad carbs.
- Benton JM. Carbohydrates and sugar. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sugar.html. Last updated January 2019. Accessed March 12, 2020.
- USDA Agricultural Research Service. What We Eat in America, NHANES 2015-2016. Table 1. Posted 2018. Accessed December 17, 2019. www.ars.usda.gov/arsuserfiles/80400530/pdf/1516/table_1_nin_gen_15.pdf
- USDA Economic Research Service. Average daily intake of food by food source and demographic characteristics, 2015–16 and 2017–18. Last updated April 1, 2021. Accessed December 17, 2019. www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/DataFiles/50590/food_table1.xlsx?v=3851.1
- USDA Economic Research Service. Dairy products: Per capita consumption, United States (Annual). Last updated September 30, 2021. Accessed December 17, 2019. www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/DataFiles/48685/pcconsp_1_.xlsx?v=8578.9
- University of Minnesota. Nutrition Data System for Research. 2018 Nutrients per Food Report. Accessed December 17, 2019. Subscription-based website.
- Aqua-Calc. Calculate weight of generic and branded foods per volume. Accessed December 17, 2021. www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/food-volume-to-weight
Parent Stories
“My son, Jarrod, was in first grade. Upset and withdrawn after school, he finally told me at bedtime that he had diarrhea during recess and had to change clothes in the nurse’s office. The other kids were teasing him, calling him awful names like ‘stinky’ and ‘poopy pants.’ I was devastated. I knew it was time to talk to our doctor.”
“As a mother, it is devastating to watch your baby deteriorate before your eyes and not know what is causing him to react to certain foods in this horrifying way. To get the proper diagnosis and then to be able to manage his diet with the right foods and therapy has been just what we needed.”
“When my son was first diagnosed with CSID and I realized how much his diet needed to be restricted, I thought it might be near impossible and I feared his diet would be so restricted that it would be unhealthy … After a year or so with therapy, my son felt like he could eat more like a normal kid!”
