Do You Suffer from IBS or IBD? A Low-FODMAP Diet Could Help

Would you be willing to commit to a restrictive diet for about a month if it meant pinpointing the triggers for the most painful and miserable symptoms of your bowel condition? The low-FODMAP diet has helped up to 85 percent of patients successfully eliminate problematic foods and significantly improve how they feel.

What Is a Low-FODMAP Diet?

If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), you likely will be prescribed a low-FODMAP diet to reduce your symptoms.

FODMAP (fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) foods are sources of short-chain carbohydrates that may not be absorbed well. They then pull water into the gastrointestinal tract and can cause cramping, constipation, gas, bloating or diarrhea. These substances are sugars and fibers found in common foods that we eat.

For a low-FODMAP diet, these foods are restricted for a period of time to see what triggers negative reactions in your body so you can learn what foods to avoid long term.

How To Determine FODMAP Foods

A low-FODMAP diet limits or eliminates these dietary components:

• Fructan sources: wheat, rye, garlic, onion, leeks and artichokes
• Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) sources: beans, lentils, soybeans and nuts, including cashews
• Lactose sources: dairy products and ingredients from cow, goat or sheep’s milk
• Fructose sources: certain fruits, honey and high-fructose corn syrup
• Polyols sources: sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, erythritol, xylitol, isomalt, apricots, avocados, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums and mushrooms

The low-FODMAP diet was developed at Monash University in Australia in 2005. The same research team has created a smartphone app that allows users to look up which foods are low and high FODMAPs and includes more than 80 low-FODMAP recipes.

Getting Started

To begin, you should meet with a registered dietitian to first talk about what you normally eat. The dietitian may ask you to bring a diary of your current foods and symptoms to the appointment so you can learn which foods to eat and which to avoid on a low-FODMAP diet. You’ll be asked to follow the low-FODMAP diet for two to six weeks to reduce your symptoms.

You should plan all your meals carefully — both those eaten at home and away. Make shopping lists of appropriate foods. Closely read food labels and ingredient statements. The higher up an ingredient appears on an ingredient list, the more of that food is contained in the product. Use the ingredients list to identify FODMAP foods so you know which products to avoid. If high-FODMAP ingredients are listed at the bottom of an ingredient list, the food may be considered low FODMAP and allowed on your diet.

Low-FODMAP Diet Tips

While following a low-FODMAP diet, these tips will help you feel better and succeed:

• Aim to drink 64 ounces of water daily.
• Limit portion sizes at each meal to keep the FODMAP level low enough to avoid symptoms.
• Because some high-fiber foods also are high FODMAP, this diet may limit your fiber intake. Carefully plan your meals to include alternative fiber sources.
• If you have IBS and constipation, you may benefit from eating more fiber. However, if you have IBD and constipation, eating more fiber is not recommended unless you are in remission and do not have any strictures. A dietitian can advise you about the right amount of fiber.

Reintroducing High-FODMAP Foods

After the initial strict phase of the diet, your dietitian will help you reintroduce foods into your diet. Adding one high-FODMAP group at a time will help you learn which kinds of foods cause your symptoms.

Your dietitian will determine how quickly to reintroduce high-FODMAP foods into your diet. A slower approach involves restarting the food and then waiting a couple of days before introducing another. A faster approach adds a new high-FODMAP food each day.

When you add high-FODMAP foods, pay close attention to the recommended portion size. This will make it easier to identify the foods causing your symptoms. As you reintroduce foods, keep detailed symptom records to identify all foods that cause reactions.