What Is the Low Fodmap Diet?

There are certain foods that are particularly bad for your gut and can create havoc within your digestive system such as gluten and dairy. Besides these foods, there are even other seeming harmless foods with many health advantages that can lead to poor digestive health such as irritable bowel syndrome or abdominal pain.

FODMAPs are those highly fermentable and badly absorbed sugars that tend to be hard to completely digest into your small intestine. Consumption of such sugars can lead to various problems for your body such as bloating, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, gas, and more. This is where the low FODMAP diet comes in.

A low FODMAP diet helps in restricting such sugars and carbs from your diet routine that tends to have a dramatic positive impact on your symptoms.

Let’s learn more about the low FODMAP diet.

What Is the FODMAP Diet?

The FODMAP diet is understood to be a temporary diet that is overly restrictive and is often followed by people who are either suffering from small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

It is important for such people to consult a doctor and figure out a diet that works best for them without causing imbalances or nutritional deficiencies.

What are FODMAPs? Are They Bad?

ODMAP can be understood as short-chain carbs or sugars such as disaccharides, polyols, fermentable oligosaccharides and more that are not absorbed by the small intestine. Few people tend to experience negative digestive distress after eating such foods.

Symptoms of such FODMAP foods include stomach bloating, cramping, flatulence, diarrhea, gas, and constipation. These carbs or sugars are bad few people who tend to be sensitive to such foods.

What Are the Benefits of the FODMAP Diet?

The low FODMAP has been gaining so much popularity in the contemporary world due to the numerous benefits that they provide. The benefits include:

A better quality of life – The triggers associated with severe digestive symptoms may reduce the quality of life by having a negative impact on work performance and social interactions. A low FODMAP diet will improve the overall quality of life by lowering the severity of these digestive symptoms.

Reduced digestive symptoms – The digestive triggers of FODMAPS include bloating, flatulence, bowel urgency, acid reflux, and stomach pain. Following a low FODMAP diet has shown to significantly lower the severity of these digestive symptoms.

How Do You Follow the FODMAP Diet?

FODMAP tends to be a complex diet that should be followed in three stages to avoid any complications or problems.

The first stage is referred to as restriction where you strictly avoid all kinds of foods that are high in such carbs and sugar.

The second stage can be understood as a reintroduction where you introduce different types of FODMAP foods into your diet to understand which foods cause severe reactions and the ones that you can tolerate.

The third stage is personalization where you tailor the diet according to your needs and requirements.

Should Follow the FODMAP Diet?

A low FODMAP should only be followed by certain people, such as those suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This diet can be harmful for people who are not suffering from sensitive digestive system as FODMAPS consists of prebiotics that tend to be crucial for the bacterial growth of the gut. Elimination of FODMAPs from the diet will have a negative impact on your gut health, which will have a direct negative effect on your overall well-being.

This is why only people suffering from IBS should consider following this diet, otherwise it can result in nutritional deficiencies and imbalances to your diet.

What Do You Eat on the FODMAP Diet?

The main aim of the low FODMAP is to restrict your intake of such carbs to about 2.5 to 3 grams per day, which translates to about an intake of 0.5 grams in one sitting. Several foods naturally tend to be low in FODMAPs. These include:

Fruits and vegetables – carrots, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchini, celery, bean sprouts, tomatoes, bell peppers, kale, grapes, pineapples, cantaloupe, strawberries, lime, star fruit, blueberries, kiwi, spinach, and more.

Proteins – tofu, chicken, prawns, fish, beef, eggs, pork, and more.

Dairy – mozzarella cheese, Greek yogurt, cheddar, lactose free milk, and more.

Nuts – walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, and more.

Condiments – pepper, cumin, salt, cardamom, saffron, coriander, cinnamon, mustard, fish sauce, and more.