Low fodmap diet?

Jenna__XoXo
Jenna__XoXo Posts: 117 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm starting the low fodmap diet Monday to try to help with my digestion issues. Does anyone have any advice or tips for before I start? Any good recipes? This diet is a little overwhelming but I also think I'm making it more difficult than it really is.

Replies

  • deuter_814
    deuter_814 Posts: 4 Member
    I was told to go on this diet in the fall of 2015 and it was very hard. I meal planned and kept it as simple as I could so there weren't too many things to think about. It really changes everything you eat so beware of all ingredients and eating out. I got pregnant the winter of 2015 and all of my digestive issues stopped and haven't returned so I haven't had to go back on it. Good luck to you.
  • placeboBL
    placeboBL Posts: 62 Member
    Do you have any of the Fodmap apps? They can be helpful in tracking what you can eat and what you can’t. Fodmap is a simple version and the Monash University app is helpful too — it can tell you down to the gram how much of each ingredient you can have.

    Try not to eat out for a couple of weeks until you get used to it.

    Watch out for added sweeteners, because they’re in everything and tricky.

    Fody is a brand that is safe, and they have good sauces, salsas, dressings, etc.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited June 2019
    yukfoo wrote: »
    Hi... This treatment was prescribed and under the supervision of your doctor right? There are concerns a low-FODMAP diet is not for everyone. Unless you have been diagnosed with IBS, research suggests the diet could do more harm than good.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390324/

    That has been my take on low FODMAP diets for years. They are essentially prebiotics. What the scientists studying the Microbiome are learning is that if you have a bad microbiome, of course prebiotics are going to make you feel temporarily worse. But what cures a bad Microbiome? Fiber and prebiotics. Or, as the study you posted points out, it could just be you're symptomatic of gluten intolerance or some other food allergy.

    My wife suffered from IBS for years and later on Fibromyalgia. We gradually moved over to a plant based diet. Had she gone low FODMAP years ago, I'm convinced she'd be in much worse shape today. Instead, her Fibro is in remission and she eats around 40g of fiber a day now. Her IBS is no more. She went gluten free and got tested and found out she was Cow Dairy intolerant (common in those that have issues with gluten).

    Most FODMAP diets also recommend going dairy free and eliminating most wheat. But my wife actually increased everything else that they tell you not to eat -- plant based fiber. What I see people do all the time is to keep the dairy and gluten and eliminate all the plant sources of fiber, the absolute worst thing you can do.
  • Jenna__XoXo
    Jenna__XoXo Posts: 117 Member
    yukfoo wrote: »
    Hi... This treatment was prescribed and under the supervision of your doctor right? There are concerns a low-FODMAP diet is not for everyone. Unless you have been diagnosed with IBS, research suggests the diet could do more harm than good.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390324/

    I haven't been to a doctor yet. I'm actually not sure who to go to to start out. I've read a lot about it online and I feel like it would really help me though.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    Maybe instead of trying to eliminate all fodmaps, just remove the most common culprits of IBS. That would be garlic and onions.
  • samhennings
    samhennings Posts: 441 Member
    yukfoo wrote: »
    Hi... This treatment was prescribed and under the supervision of your doctor right? There are concerns a low-FODMAP diet is not for everyone. Unless you have been diagnosed with IBS, research suggests the diet could do more harm than good.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390324/

    Thanks for this, my doctor recommended I follow a low FODMAP diet but mentioned nothing about it having negative effects.

    I ignored him and never went with it, but its interesting all the same!
  • mochapygmy
    mochapygmy Posts: 2,123 Member
    I will add one last thing. Low FODMAP diet is NOT for weight loss. It is only to address IBS issues. People who go on low FODMAP may maintain, gain or lose weight it all depends on their gut and other potential health issues.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited June 2019
    mochapygmy wrote: »
    jennamburchette2014 wrote: »
    yukfoo wrote: »
    Hi... This treatment was prescribed and under the supervision of your doctor right? There are concerns a low-FODMAP diet is not for everyone. Unless you have been diagnosed with IBS, research suggests the diet could do more harm than good.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390324/

    I haven't been to a doctor yet. I'm actually not sure who to go to to start out. I've read a lot about it online and I feel like it would really help me though.

    Why do you think it would help you?

    A lot of people fail to understand that Low FODMAP is an elimination and reintroduction diet. The reason it is recommended to do this under medical (either a gi Dr or much more likely a FODMAP trained dietician) is because some people continue to have IBS symptoms on low FODMAP because their problems are other issues like histamine, salacytes, milk proteins etc etc. Also reintroduction is done in stages to identify which FODMAPs and what quantity that you react too because you need to keep as many high FODMAP foods in your diet for optimal microbiome health. A dietician may have insights into which FODMAPs to challenge first. There are even FODMAP registered dieticians that are willing to work with you remotely.

    If you do not have IBS low FODMAP should not be followed not even to support a partner because it does change your microbiome.

    Monash university is the gold standard for FODMAP information. Their app is the only one that is 100% accurate and regularly updated. The one time cost funds FODMAP research. It's really helpful because it also opens up your diet. Some people are told to eliminate all dairy but there are dairy products without lactose like aged cheese.

    For reintroduction I used the guide on the "Little bit yummy" site because it was more detailed with testing amounts than the one my dietician gave me. While the diet has a strong learning curve things that helped were a Facebook low FODMAP support/ recipe group. Be careful choosing one as not all are strict FODMAP and can be confusing to new people.

    I know my 3 triggers and quantities of them. I also learned how to manage my symptoms more effectively in case of a flare.

    Yes! My wife eliminated cow dairy but then started having (years later after her IBS and Fibro was in remission) issues with too many nuts. Some of the latest research on nut allergies hints that some of the bacteria found in dairy might help with nut allergies and we added back in sheep and goat cheese and now she's not sensitive to nuts.

    But your description is wonderful. It is an elimination diet and most don't understand that and eliminate things like Garlic and Onions and continue to eat dairy and gluten (which are usually the culprits). It's easier to eliminate garlic and onions, isn't it, for most? Which is exactly what the article/study was hinting.

    In my opinion, even blood allergy testing isn't 100%. My wife was told no cow dairy but she has no issues with A2/A2 dairy. It's just A2/A1 that she reacts to, the most common cow dairy.

    The concern with eliminating whole groups of foods is that there is one common denominator with healthy people found by Microbiome researchers -- they eat the largest variety of plants -- 30 a week or more. What I've seen is when people start eliminating huge groups of foods, they develop more sensitivities and get worse over time.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    re: fodmap diet.

    1. the app by the Monash university is good for understanding the different foods and how they may impact someone who has issues with FODMAPs.

    2. There is nothing terrible about a low FODMAP diet more than any other elimination diet. The only reason most elimination diets may be 'bad' for us is if we don't think about what we're doing, in my experience (and in analyzation I've seen from allergists, of what can go wrong in an elimination diet). Like, if we typically get certain vitamins from X and Y food, and we stop eating that food and do NOT add in a food that HAS that vitamin, then of course we're going to do worse.

    So if you DO try this diet, just be aware that it is a change, that you want to be more aware of your nutrients and vitamins so you don't miss out on something you need, and that you pay attention to how you feel, that's all. If you start feeling tremendously worse very quickly, it's likely something you are eating is NOT good for you. If you start feeling worse but it's a very slow progression, it may be that you're missing something in the diet and the problem is growing.

    You might get some help from doctors, but honestly, most doctors are about as useful as drunk snail when it comes to advice on elimination diets. It is just not in their training, and in fact, most doctors have been taught for decades that food is very seldom the issue if you have pain...even if it's in the gut. Even if it occurs AFTEr you eat specific foods. So they don't offer much help, most of the time (especially if you are a woman). Research has been proving this to be not that accurate, but it'll be many years before that really trickles down into medical training.



    3 If you really want to succeed for a few weeks and see if this helps, best advice I've heard is to NOT start it all at once (for not medically necessary diets). You start looking up low fodmap recipes. Then try them. When you find ones you like, replace regular recipes in your diet with them. Within a month or two you will typically have all your recipes replaced with low fodmap ones, but you'll have recipes you LIKE, so you don't feel like you are deprived or suffering from a lack of 'good' food, you know? Makes it much more likely to succeed.

    And then you slowly try to add foods in and see if you feel worse. And then you repeat it (take it away, see if you feel better again, and add it in, and see if you feel worse) (I'd look up how to add foods on an elimination diet, for info).
  • naomi8888
    naomi8888 Posts: 519 Member
    jennamburchette2014 wrote: »
    yukfoo wrote: »
    Hi... This treatment was prescribed and under the supervision of your doctor right? There are concerns a low-FODMAP diet is not for everyone. Unless you have been diagnosed with IBS, research suggests the diet could do more harm than good.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390324/

    I haven't been to a doctor yet. I'm actually not sure who to go to to start out. I've read a lot about it online and I feel like it would really help me though.

    I have done this but it was following tests with a doctor and under the guidance and support of a naturopath. You really need to be prepared to stick with it for a few months and document everything you eat and note the symptoms. It takes dedication...
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    A friend of mine with lifelong gut problems was finally diagnosed with IBS and had his triggers pinpointed by a breath test. Is that an avenue worth exploring?
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4069289/
  • mochapygmy
    mochapygmy Posts: 2,123 Member
    P.s. I'm not a FODMAP trained dietician just a nerdy person who has done extensive reading on the subject when I went thru this. Please follow your FODMAP trained dietician's advice which will likely mirror mine but still.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited June 2019
    If you've got some time today or this weekend, these guys are at the forefront of Microbiome science in the world. There's 3.5 hours of very highly technical information in these free recordings from the 8th Microbiota for Health World Summit. There's a 35 minute segment on Low FODMAPs and IBS.

    But if you also look later on in the Index, two presentations are basically on why eating more fiber (which is restricted with a low FODMAP diet) is counterproductive for your long term gut health. As others have mentioned, low FODMAP diets are a very useful elimination diet for controlling symptoms, but if done incorrectly, do more harm than good.

    You do have to "sign up", but all the information is free to the public.

    https://www.gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/en/the-gmfh2019-replay/
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    edited June 2019
    acpgee wrote: »
    A friend of mine with lifelong gut problems was finally diagnosed with IBS and had his triggers pinpointed by a breath test. Is that an avenue worth exploring?

    IMHO, not really, no.

    IBS, as it is usually diagnosed now, is - again IMO - a poor diagnosis. It is supposed to be a diagnosis of exclusion, basically a 'we are verifying that you ARE having physical problems, and none of the disorders/diseases that cause these problems are present, so we have no idea what is causing it. So here is a diagnosis that verifies that your problems are real.'

    At this point, however, a growing number of doctors do NOT exclude other conditions before diagnosing IBS. I say this as someone who has gut issues, and is in many support groups for people with gut issues. Of the many, many reasons people in these groups turned out to have gut issues, among them were: food allergies, celiac disease, crohn's disease, food intolerances, chemical sensitivities, lyme disease, parasitic infections, bacterial gut infections, dysautonomia, fructose malabsorption, intolerance of FODMAPS, intolerance of salicylates, and lactose intolerance.

    I would say at least half of the folks in the groups, no matter WHAT they turned out to actually have, were misdiagnosed with IBS at some point in the process of trying to get diagnosed. I would honestly view any diagnosis of IBS with 1. belief that the person is having a problem. and 2. healthy skepticism of the diagnosis unless at least a couple of second opinions, from doctors in other specialties, were acquired as well.

    So that said - a breath test can tell if certain bacteria are at higher than normal levels, typically because they are getting different food than normal because certain foods aren't being broken down properly. so this CAN help to tell if you have lactose intolerance or fructose malabsorption. Possibly FODMAP issues well.

    But as doctors don't know - like, at all, because there has been no studies done that are replicable so far - how ANY other kind of intolerance works? It's not that useful otherwise, I understand. Doctors couldn't even agree gluten intolerance (one of the most researched intolerances in the last ten years) was REAL until recently, and that was only because they finally managed a test that detected certain inflammatory and immune system related markers. Breath test didn't tell jack all about it.

    Any other foods? Same thing - it's only going to show problems with one's ability to digest certain parts of certain foods, and that's IF these foods ALSO contribute to abnormal growth of certain bacteria (which make the gas that's detected by the breath test).

    Elimination diet would be a better bet. Allergy tests wouldn't hurt, just in case.

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