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The Water Closet

Low-FODMAP Diet: Moderation or Deprivation?

2/15/2018

4 Comments

 
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When people talk about a vegan low-FODMAP diet, or really any low-FODMAP diet, the dialogue tends to revolve around which foods are off-limits. This can lead to the erroneous and flawed belief that avoiding high-FODMAP foods means permanently excluding many nutrient-dense and delicious ones and enduring a lifetime of misery, deprivation, and nutritional deficiencies. But how closely does that assumption align with reality?

Eliminating broad swaths of food groups simply because they contain some quantity of certain types of short-chain carbohydrates (known as FODMAPs) isn't a wise approach. Doing that not only is misguided, but it's also unnecessary. For most people with IBS, dietary triggers are confined to just a few foods within particular food categories, and often to just certain amounts of those foods. What does that mean in terms of the practical application of a low-FODMAP diet for IBS?

The low-FODMAP diet basically has three phases:
  1. the elimination phase
  2. the reintroduction phase
  3. the maintenance phase

During phases 2 and 3, you can explore which foods you tolerate best and in which quantity. You may discover that even foods notoriously high in FODMAPs may be well tolerated in limited portions or when cooked certain ways. For example, although onion and garlic are both triggers for me (and for a large majority of other people with IBS), I can tolerate them in minute amounts in a dish -- as long as they're low on the ingredient list and are very well cooked, and there are minimal other high-FODMAP foods in the dish. (I'm unable to tolerate raw onion or garlic in almost any amount.)

Legumes tend to be another very problematic food for a lot of people with IBS (me included). However, when portion size is limited to just 1 tablespoon of beans, I find that I can tolerate even those highest in FODMAPs (such as kidney beans). Some people have told me that raw apple is a trigger for them but applesauce is well tolerated, or that peaches or apricots are problematic but peach or apricot jam isn't.

People are often surprised to learn that even though legumes (peas, beans, and lentils) are a high-FODMAP food category, certain legumes in certain portion sizes fall into the low-FODMAP range (such as 1/2 cup of canned lentils or 1/4 cup of canned chickpeas, drained and well rinsed). Soybeans are another legume that's high in FODMAPs, but firm tofu (which is made from soybeans) is fine. Avocado is another high-FODMAP food, but 1/8 an avocado is considered low-FODMAP. Mushrooms in general are high in FODMAPs, but oyster mushrooms and canned mushrooms (preparation methods matter!) are not. Mung beans are high in FODMAPs, but mung bean sprouts are safe.

Check the tables on this website and in my book Low-FODMAP and Vegan to find out which foods in which serving sizes have been rated high- or low-FODMAP by Monash University. That said, be prudent. Don't allow other people or other websites to demonize broad categories of foods because they mistakenly think these foods must be completely or permanently excluded by everyone following a low-FODMAP diet.

So what's the lesson here? Despite what the high-FODMAP food tables tell you, IBS is a very individual condition and not every high-FODMAP food (or even every low-FODMAP food) affects everyone with IBS the same way. Preparation method and portion size are key, along with staying vigilant of the quantity of other high-FODMAP foods you're consuming at the same time. You might actually be able to tolerate a far greater variety of higher-FODMAP foods than you realize as long as you keep your overall FODMAP intake at a meal in check.

​These are the important takeaways that can help you expand your dietary options while keeping your symptoms under control:
  • Determine which preparation methods make certain foods more (or less) tolerable for you.
  • Determine which foods in which quantities are tolerable for you.
  • Determine whether eating something raw or cooked (or canned or sprouted) makes a difference.
  • Avoid eliminating entire food groups just because one food in that group is troublesome for you.
  • Monitor your overall FODMAP load at a meal so you can enjoy more variety without overdoing it.

*****
I love hearing from you! Please post your thoughts in the comment section that follows.
4 Comments
Nancy Siegal
2/15/2018 11:57:22 am

Thank you so much for this balanced article on the FODMAP issue.
I have been overwhelmed by all the information and much of it that is conflicting.
Your advice is sensible and understanding that not all FODMAPS might cause issues is reassuring since for me there are only a few that cause me issue.
Also understanding at least for me that I don’t need have to give up being a vegan/vegetarian is wonderful.
Also, I have ,earned that for me this isn’t a cure all either, yes, I have some relief but it doesn’t cure I S.
Most grateful for your website,
Nancy

Reply
Emily link
4/14/2019 10:15:11 am

Jo - thanks for this, and your blog in general! Yesterday I said to my husband, "How can I be a vegan with IBS?" b/c I'd been doing some research and finally realized that I HAVE to follow a relative low FODMAP diet if I'm not going to be miserable for the rest of my life.

I found a supplement that converts fructose into glucose on the way down, so I don't have to give up fruit. But what about veggies? (I've been gluten- and lactose-free for some time.) Digestive enzymes don't seem to help. But your advice in the post above has given me hope! (I found your blog via another blog talking about vegans and IBS).

And honestly, it's what I've known for years, but I've been SO brainwashed by the natural health "experts" (not to mention the raw vegan community - oh my GOSH!) telling me that the more veggies, the merrier, that I've been forcing myself to eat high quantities of foods (like cabbage family veggies) in one sitting, then blaming my discomfort on my "sensitive digestive system." Or, hormones. Instead of saying, "You know what? If I feel miserable, I'm not healthy. Let's dial it back a bit, even give up a few things, shall we?"

Thank you for giving me hope. And showing me I don't have to eat dead animals to regain my health. :)

Reply
Sailja
2/10/2021 11:16:40 am

Hi
I am going through same what was the supplements to take for fruit

Reply
Dawn W
10/3/2019 05:37:43 pm

I started watching what I eat more carefully [FODMAP-wise] after repercussions from vegan pizza with lots of onions the day before. Now about 17 days in, I'm doing better overall, but had a major set back after eating fried homegrown okra last night. ;-( I suspect it was the wrong kind of fiber.
It's going to be a real learning experience.

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    Vegan author Jo Stepaniak, MSEd, has endured IBS for decades. She understands firsthand the challenges of living with dietary restrictions as well as chronic pain and illness.
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