Struggling with symptoms like Diarrhea, bloating and gas is not exactly a recipe for a good time. And, if it goes on long enough, you’ll probably do a little detective work online to try and figure out what’s causing your problems and how you can fix them ASAP. You may stumble upon mentions of a low-FODMAP diet.
FODMAP is an acronym that stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols. It’s a fancy medical way of saying that foods that fall into this category can affect the stomach and GI tract, he explains. lea ann chen, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine. A low FODMAP diet encourages you to cut out certain gas-prone foods and then slowly reintroduce them to see which one is the most troublesome.
A low-FODMAP diet is generally not a long-term thing. But, Dr. Chen says, “It really depends on why you do it. It is driven by symptoms. If you are on a low FODMAP diet and it doesn’t help you, there is no reason to stick with it indefinitely. ” Other people may find that the diet helps with symptoms while they are working on an illness or trying to identify food sensitivities, she says. And some people, like the ones who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), find that a low-FODMAP diet combined with medications is the most effective long-term treatment. “The payoff is how much it helps you and whether you think it’s worth it,” says Dr. Chen.
If you’re interested in trying a low-FODMAP diet, Richa Shukla, MD, assistant professor of medicine and gastroenterology at Baylor College of Medicine, offers this advice: “Don’t be too restrictive.” She recommends testing for a few weeks and seeing how you feel. “If you’re not making a difference, it’s time to reassess things,” she says. Because it can be difficult to navigate on your own, your best and safest option is to work with a registered dietitian or gastroenterologist on a low-FODMAP diet.
Want to see if a low-FODMAP diet will help your bowel problems? Here’s what you need to know about the ins and outs of this eating plan.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you can find more information on their website.
How does the low FODMAP diet work?
The low-FODMAP diet is an elimination diet and consists of three phases. Start by eliminating foods high in FODMAP for several weeks to allow your gut to neutralize itself, says Dr. Shukla. During this phase, you should begin to notice some improvement in your symptoms.
After that, you will begin to slowly reintroduce those foods into your diet. You may find that certain FODMAP-rich foods cause you problems while others do not, or you may learn that all of them are a problem for you, Dr. Chen says.
Finally, you will work on maintaining the proper diet. This means avoiding triggers and focusing on foods that don’t make your problems worse.
What are the best low-FODMAP foods?
There is a whole range of foods that are considered low in FODMAP, and it’s hard to know for sure what is best for each person, says Kathy LeBarre, RDN, a dietitian at Spectrum Health. “During the restrictive phase, we may find that some foods are better than others,” he adds. Here are some examples of foods that fall into the low-FODMAP category:
- Avocado
- bananas
- Blueberries
- olives
- Oranges
- brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Almond milk
- Arugula
- Peppers
- Carrots
- Eggplant
- Lettuce
- Integral rice
- Oatmeal
- Almonds
- Misery
- Beef
- Chicken
- Eggs
Eating a low-FODMAP diet doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be low-FODMAP all the time, but it can help. “For the most part, a low FODMAP diet would be ideal, but there is some leeway to incorporating a moderate FODMAP serving into a meal,” says Laura Manning, MPH, RDN, CDN, a clinical nutrition coordinator at the Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Clinical Center at Mount Sinai.
What are foods rich in FODMAP?
What may be a bad high-FODMAP food for you may not cause any problems for the next person. In general, however, “FODMAP-rich foods contain short-chain carbohydrates that ferment rapidly in the digestive process and are poorly absorbed,” Manning explains. “They can cause digestive upset like gas, bloating and diarrhea when consumed.” Some examples of foods high in FODMAP to avoid include the following:
- Apples
- Cherries
- Pears
- Pink grapefruit
- Barley
- farro
- Wheat
- Milk
- Cream
- Ice cream
- Yogurt with soft cheeses
- Soy milk
- garbanzo beans
- Broad beans
- Agave
- Honey
- Artichokes
- Beets
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Mushrooms
- Green peas
What is a low-FODMAP diet plan like?
It depends on what phase of the diet you are in, according to Keri Gans, RD, author of The little change diet. This means that it will be a bit more restrictive on the elimination portion of the diet compared to reintroducing some foods.
Here are some sample meal plans you can follow when on a low-FODMAP diet:
Day one
- Breakfast: Oatmeal cooked with peanut butter, a splash of maple syrup and a cup of strawberries
- Lunch: Herb Roasted Chicken on Arugula Salad with Cucumbers, Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes with Lemon Dijon Dressing and a Gluten Free Bun
- Sandwich: Lactose-free yogurt and raspberries
- Dinner: Baked salmon with dill, brown rice and spinach sautéed with olive oil
Day two
- Breakfast: Avocado toast on sourdough bread topped with two poached eggs
- Lunch: Quinoa bowl filled with chicken, pumpkin, carrots, and kale
- Sandwich: a handful of olives
- Dinner: Pasta mixed with shrimp, sautéed spinach, olive oil, salt and ground pepper
Day Three
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with a berry garnish
- Lunch: Chicken sandwich with lettuce on sourdough bread and garnished with baby carrots
- Sandwich: a handful of almonds
- Dinner: Steak Garnished with Sauteed Carrots and Green Beans
In general, a low-FODMAP diet is “considered safe and healthy” when done right, Manning says. But he adds that “it is important to ensure that the diet is adequate in fiber, protein, calcium and certain B vitamins” because deficiencies can occur if the variety of foods is limited or if the diet is followed for a period of time longer than He suggested.
If you plan to go on a low-FODMAP diet beyond what’s prescribed, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor or a registered dietitian, just to make sure you’re covering all of your bases.
The bottom line: The low-FODMAP diet is intended to be used as a short-term eating plan to identify food triggers that make symptoms or gastrointestinal condition worse. If you plan to follow it for a longer period of time, be sure to speak with a doctor or nutritionist.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and is imported to this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
