The FODMAP diet is a 3 stage diet that is used mainly to manage symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). IBS is a condition with gut symptoms including abdominal (tummy) pain, bloating, wind (farting) and changes in bowel habit (diarrhea, constipation or both). This diet was developed by Monash University.
FODMAP is an acronym for four groups of short chain carbohydrates, or sugar molecules found naturally a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and milk products.
The aims of the diet are to (Monash University):
Learn which foods and FODMAPs you tolerate, and which trigger your IBS symptoms. Understanding this will help you to follow a less restrictive, more nutritionally balanced diet for the long term that only restricts foods that trigger your IBS symptoms.
Assess whether your IBS symptoms are sensitive to FODMAPs. Not everyone with IBS will improve on a low FODMAP diet. So it is important to understand whether you are among the ¾ of IBS sufferers who improve on the diet, or the ¼ of IBS sufferers who do not experience symptom improvement on the diet and therefore need to consider other IBS therapies.
The low FODMAP diet has been scientifically proven to help 75% pf people gain relief of IBS type symptoms
The three phases to the FODMAP diet are as follow:
Low FODMAP phase: This phase lasts 2-6 weeks. During this time, you will avoid foods high in all FODMAP groups.
Re-challenge phase: During the re-challenge phase, your dietitian will guide you through FODMAP challenges to help you determine your level of sensitivity to the different FODMAPs. Generally this phase may last 8-12 weeks depending on your progress.
Modified low FODMAP diet: Once you know your trigger FODMAPs and level of sensitivity, your dietitian can help you to reintroduce some high and moderate FODMAP foods. This stage is important to ensure your long term diet is balanced and a healthy gut.
A long term low FODMAP diet is not recommended as it is nutritionally imbalanced and may exclude some essential nutrients for optimal health. Therefore it is important to go through this diet with the guidance of a dietitian.
Contact us to schedule your session with our Accredited Practising Dietitians today!