Low FODMAP Diet

What Is This All About, and What Do I Need to Know?

The Low FODMAP Diet has received more attention in recent years due to its success in helping with a wide range of GI symptoms and conditions. There are a large number of people today that report general issues with digestion, and a trial of Low FODMAP foods can result in some major improvements. This holds true for people with food sensitivities as well as general GI complaints.

“FODMAP” stands for “fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols”. That is a mouthful. Hence, the name FODMAP was born. The low FODMAP diet is a special type of elimination diet in which certain FODMAP containing foods are completely eliminated from the diet for an extended period of time.

This diet was originally formulated for people who have severe digestion issues, but people who have the following common diagnoses could greatly benefit from a trial of a low FODMAP diet:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): This diagnosis comes with a wide variety of gut symptoms.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): More specifically, chronic inflammation of the intestines. This includes conditions like Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO): This is a condition in which individuals have excessive bacteria in the small intestine.

Celiac Disease: A severe gluten sensitivity that can cause damage to the small intestine.

The most common symptoms that people with these diagnoses have include (but are not limited to):

• Abdominal cramping
• Abdominal bloating
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Severe gas

But What Do All of Those Fancy FODMAP Names Mean?

High FODMAP foods (in other words, the foods eliminated during this diet) are basically a variety of simple sugars. They are short-chain carbohydrates that are not broken down or absorbed during the journey through our digestive tract. This means these foods are essentially unchanged by the time they reach the end of our intestines.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as these FODMAPs often end up being food for our friendly gut bacteria. We need to be eating foods that feed our healthy gut microbiome. That said, these foods can be problematic for those diagnosed with IBS, IBD, or SIBO.

The Reason?

As these FODMAP foods travel through our digestive system they undergo a fermentation process which results in hydrogen or methane gas as the byproduct. When this process is not carried out appropriately, this becomes a causative factor in some of the unwanted and uncomfortable digestion issues: excessive gas and bloating.

For those who do not tolerate FODMAPs well, the root of the problem is usually an underlying gut imbalance. There are a number of contributing factors as to how a person ends up with gut imbalance, but we won’t go into full detail here. Check out our writeup on Leaky Gut to learn more.

Interesting side note: High FODMAP foods draw water into your colon, often resulting in chronic diarrhea. So, if you experience frequent diarrhea, then trialing out this diet could be a great experiment.

What are the “feel good” parts about this diet?

Before we start sharing all of the things you have to cut out when trying out this diet, we should first share that many of the foods that are on the “no-no” list for this short-term diet are considered very healthy. So just know that even if this “diet” requires you to temporarily cut out a whole host of foods, this doesn’t mean that you will have to cut all of them out forever in order to feel better.

Another piece of good news is the low FODMAP diet is very much meant to be a temporary diet. It is considered to be more of an “elimination” diet and works as a gut reset. It is recommended you avoid the high FODMAP foods (see the specifics laid out below) for about 3-6 weeks before you start reintroducing one food item at a time.

A major positive takeaway is the high success rate reported by those who experimented with this diet. Older studies from 2011 showed that 75% of people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) reported improvements in symptoms after a low FODMAP diet. A more recent study done at John Hopkins reported that up to 86% of people report a reduction in symptoms after trialing this diet! That is a HUGE percentage!

People even reported feeling improvements in symptoms within a matter of days after starting the elimination phase.

Other Benefits: From the studies performed for the Low FODMAP diet, participants even reported improvements in their psychological status. This means they felt happier, more motivated and reported a reduction in fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Ever heard of the “gut-brain connection?” It is very real, and we will dedicate a write-up to this in the future. So, stay tuned!

From the studies performed for the Low FODMAP diet, participants even reported improvements in their psychological status. This means they felt happier, more motivated and reported a reduction in fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

ANOTHER Interesting Fact: Stress is known to be a major factor in the worsening of symptoms in patients with IBS. There really is no well-defined cause for IBS, but what we do know is that diet and stress together have a significant effect. See our dedicated write-up on Stress to learn different ways to manage your stress.

How Do I Know If This Diet Could Be Right For Me?

As this diet is quite restrictive, it is best to discuss with your doctor before starting. It may be beneficial to meet with a dietician as well who can help recommend specific meal plans and help to ensure you’re getting the appropriate amount of calories for your needs.

People often lose weight on this diet so if you are already underweight, then an organized approach with your medical team is highly recommended.

This diet is also not advised during pregnancy, for people with other dietary restrictions, or for people with eating disorders.

How Do I Go About Doing a Low FODMAP Diet?

As we said, the low FODMAP diet is a type of elimination diet followed by a reintroduction phase. The end goal is to help people figure out which foods worsen their gut symptoms, so they know what foods to avoid in the long run. During the reintroduction phase outlined below, you will start to learn which foods are bothersome and which ones have no effect on your symptoms.

There are four basic parts to this diet: Planning, Eliminating, Reintroducing, and Tracking.

Step 1: Planning

Plan ahead by removing high FODMAP foods from your fridge and pantry and create a shopping list that sticks to the foods you can enjoy during this period. This will help the 3 weeks of “dieting” go much smoother. Choose a convenient time of the year to start this diet. Avoiding vacations, holidays, birthdays, etc. will be helpful.

Step 2: Eliminate

Stop eating the high FODMAP foods for 3 weeks.

Worth noting: Some studies asked the participants to eliminate the high FODMAP foods for up to 6 weeks. If you are very sensitive, symptomatic, or very motivated and would like to try this stage for longer, then do not extend past 6 weeks before starting the reintroduction stage. Given how restrictive this diet is, it is only meant to be followed for a short amount of time.       

Step 3: Reintroduce

Slowly reintroduce the restricted high FODMAP foods one at a time to see which ones are troublesome.

Very important piece to this experiment: Keep a journal nearby and jot down how you feel during this phase. You can add in a new high FODMAP food every 3 days, but only one at a time.

Many choose to incorporate a “Challenge Phase” in this step, where they eat the newly reintroduced food multiple servings per day so they can get very clear signals from their body. 

Step 4: Track

Create a guide for yourself based on what you discovered during the reintroduction phase. Once you have identified the foods that cause new or worsening gut symptoms, then you will want to limit or avoid these foods all together moving forward. It is possible your gut just needs time to heal. Many have found that what seemed to be problematic foods for them can once again be tolerated.     

The shortfalls with this highly supported and well researched diet…

The data is a bit unclear when it comes to the EXACT foods to eliminate, as some studies allowed certain foods while others did not. This is because certain foods contain FODMAPs but are considered “low” FODMAP foods.

In theory, if you eat a whole host of “low” FODMAP foods in one day, the large amount of “low” FODMAP foods can negatively affect your digestion just the same as eating a small amount of “high” FODMAP foods. See how that could get tricky?

Our take on these discrepancies… if you are really trying to improve your gut health and you are wanting to try a restrictive elimination diet like this one, then do your best to avoid even the low “FODMAP” foods. This way you can walk away with very clear results that you can confidently stick to for long term health.

The lists below are a basic guide to the FODMAP diet. We looked at a wide variety of research and were able to pull the most commonly chosen foods avoided in the studies. Know that you may find some discrepancies if you google the “low FODMAP Diet” online as there are various opinions out there.

Read Those Labels:

Pay attention to the fine print when buying food. Practice looking at labels to see what products you are using that may contain high FODMAP ingredients such as wheat or high fructose corn syrup. Many marinades, salad dressings, and even blended seasonings will have added ingredients that should not be eaten during the elimination phase.

What Foods Do I Need to Avoid on the Low FODMAP Diet?

The following foods should be avoided during the Elimination phase.