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Reintroducing FODMAP – Why Do It?
3 tips for a successful FODMAP reintroduction
Photo: Pexels, Oleg Magni, ©
I leave you with three tips to give you the best odds during your FODMAP reintroduction phase:
1. Choose foods that contain only one FODMAP
Several foods contain more than one FODMAP, such as cherries for example, which contain sorbitol as well as an excess of fructose compared to their quantity of glucose. Cherries are therefore not a good choice to test your tolerance to either sorbitol or fructose. To test your tolerance to sorbitol, choose yellow peaches, avocados or blackberries, which only contain the FODMAP sorbitol. To test your tolerance to fructose, try honey or mangoes for example.
2. Choose a quantity you usually eat
The consumption tests during the reintroduction phase have to be personalized, there is no point testing your lactose tolerance by drinking a large glass of milk if the quantity of milk you usually have is 1 teaspoon in your coffee!
To help guide your tests, take a look at the quantities in the tables of our book The FODMAP Solution – Put an end to IBS symptoms and abdominal pain or the precise quantities in The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet app.
3. Continue the low FODMAP diet throughout the reintroduction phase
As you carry out the consumption tests, you’ll find one or several FODMAP groups to which you’re not intolerant. All the same, it is important not to reintroduce these FODMAP groups before the end of your reintroduction weeks, as the addition of several FODMAPs can distort the following weeks’ results.
What next?
You’ve identified the FODMAP or FODMAPs responsible for your symptoms, what next? You can adopt a varied diet from which you eliminate the FODMAP(s) to which you’re intolerant. Nonetheless, tolerance and intolerance to FODMAPs can change over time. It is therefore a good idea to test yourself from time to time with the foods you have put aside.
During this maintenance phase you can test your tolerance to foods for which the FODMAP content isn’t always available. For example, if the FODMAP content of your flour or favourite fruit isn’t known, this is the moment for a consumption test. To do this, eat a small amount and monitor your symptoms. If you have no symptoms, you can then gradually increase the quantity up to a normal portion. If symptoms remain absent, you can start eating the food in question again. Otherwise, it’ll confirm that this food is not suitable for you.
Sources
- Staudacher, H.M., et al. (June 27th, 2012). Fermentable Carbohydrate Restriction Reduces Luminal Bifidobacteria and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The Journal of Nutrition, 142(8): p. 1510-1518. Retrieved from http://jn.nutrition.org/content/142/8/1510.full
- Halmos, E.P., et al. (January 2015). Diets that differ in their FODMAP content alter the colonic luminal microenvironment. Gut, 64(1): p. 93-100. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25016597
- Varney, J. (January 3rd, 2016). Prebiotics and probiotics: what are they and should I be including them on a low FODMAP diet? Retrieved from : http://fodmapmonash.blogspot.ca/2016/01/prebiotics-and-probiotics-what-are-they.html
Author
Member of the Quebec College of Dietitians (ODNQ) and Dietitians of Canada,Jef graduated from McGill University in December 2014. Recently graduated and passionate about culinary arts, Jef poses a simple, effective and practical look at daily meal planning. With this in mind, she works in conjunction with the mission of SOSCuisine...
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