What is the Low FODMAP Diet?

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I love to write about all different types of gut health issues (and solutions) but my favorite is the Low FODMAP diet (if you couldn’t tell). If you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) then you probably already know what I’ve been talking about for months. If you don’t have IBS and have no idea what I’m talking about (as many of my friends and family members have mentioned to me) then read on for an explanation.

Table of Contents

FODMAP stands for: Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, and Polyols. These are carbs like wheat, garlic, beans, pistachios, lactose, honey, avocados and plums (to name just a few!!!). The diet was developed by researchers at Monash University in Australia and has been extremely well studied.

FODMAPs are small chain carbohydrates (sugar & fibers) that are often malabsorbed in the small intestine. And if you have IBS or SIBO, this can cause a lot of uncomfortable GI stuff (like gas, bloating, abdominal pain and altered bowel habits like diarrhea or constipation). The Low FODMAP diet is a therapeutic diet created by researchers @monashfodmap in Australia to help treat IBS (and before this diet very little was known about how to treat IBS with nutrition).

The diet is meant to be SHORT TERM. There are 3 phases:

1-Elimination of High FODMAP foods for 2-6 weeks.

2-Re-challenge phase. This can take time as you reintroduce foods from each of the different carb groups to figure out which one is causing you issues.

3-Personalization. You know what FODMAPs you can tolerate and which ones give you a problem, but now it’s time to find a BALANCE between reintroducing higher FODMAP foods you can tolerate and limiting/avoiding ones that you can’t tolerate.

I know it sounds kind of confusing but this diet can be life changing if you suffer from IBS. Andddd this might be my favorite diet to talk about (I know, i shouldn’t play favorites ) so if you are struggling with your IBS please CONTACT ME! I offer virtual nutrition consults, email support and LOTS of educational materials 🏻

**Note**

If you’re not sure if you have IBS, please consult a Gastroenterologist first to be evaluated. This diet can be restrictive of #prebiotics and shouldn’t be done unless needed!

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