If you’ve heard of a low FODMAP diet and wondered what in the world that is, you’re not alone! A low FODMAP diet can be complicated and shouldn’t be followed without the guidance of a healthcare professional or dietitian.
Foods that are high in FODMAPs should be avoided (e.g. milk, legumes, gluten, high-fructose foods, fructans like garlic and onion) while foods that are low in these types of carbohydrates can be eaten.
We’ll explain what FODMAPs are, why you might need to follow a low FODMAP diet (and how to do it), and more in this article!
What is the low FODMAP diet?
The low FODMAP diet is a diet that avoids certain types of carbohydrates that can be poorly digested by some people. FODMAP is an acronym for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols.
| FODMAP | Example of sources |
| Oligosaccharides | Legumes, whole grains, certain cruciferous vegetables, some fruits |
| Disaccharides | Lactose (dairy products), maltose (wheat, cornmeal, barley, and several ancient grains) |
| Monosaccharides | Sugars like fructose, which is found in many types of fruit |
| Polyols | Sugar alcohols found in certain fruits, vegetables, and sugar-free/reduced-sugar products |
Fermentable means that these carbs can be fermented by bacteria in your large intestine. Fermentation by intestinal bacteria means that the carbs are converted into organic acids, and the byproduct is gas.
If your body is sensitive to certain types of FODMAPS, that means that you’ll have an increase in symptoms like gas, bloating, and other signs of digestive upset when you eat those foods. One of the reasons this can happen is a lack of enzymes that break these carbs down.
For instance, the natural sugar in milk called lactose is a FODMAP (a disaccharide). If you don’t make enough of the lactase enzyme, you’re considered lactose intolerant and might experience digestive upset when you consume lactose.
Who might need a low FODMAP diet?
If you’ve been diagnosed with digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome or have symptoms of food intolerance, you might be a good candidate for a low FODMAP diet. (Always reach out to your healthcare provider or registered dietitian before trying a new diet, though!)
Some signs of a potential food intolerance include:
- Stomach pain
- Increased gas
- Bloating
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
How to follow a low FODMAP diet
The low FODMAP diet is a form of an elimination diet. The goal is to identify which foods you’re sensitive to by avoiding them for at least two weeks while monitoring your symptoms.
For instance, you might find that you don’t do well with fructose (a type of monosaccharide) or oligosaccharides like beans by eliminating them from your diet for a while.
It’s not recommended to cut out all of the FODMAPs at once because the diet would be very restrictive. If you did so and noticed an improvement in your symptoms, you wouldn’t know which of the foods were culprits!
What can’t you eat on the low FODMAP diet?
Note: this list isn’t exhaustive, but covers many foods you should avoid on a low-FODMAP diet. For a more in-depth list, contact your healthcare provider!
| Food Group | Examples of foods to avoid |
| Vegetables | Garlic, onions, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, scallions |
| Legumes | Black-eyed peas, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, soybeans, split peas |
| Fruit | Apples, apricots, avocado, ripe bananas, blackberries, cherries, grapefruit, mango, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, pomegranate, prunes, raisins, watermelon |
| Grains/cereals/nuts | Wheat (bread, crackers, pasta, etc), almonds, barley, bran, bread, cashews, einkorn flour, gluten-free flours like almond flour, amaranth flour, and coconut flour; muesli cereal, pistachios, rye, semolina, spelt flour |
| Sweets/sweeteners | Agave, honey, sugar-free products with sugar alcohols or isomalt |
| Prebiotics (can be found in some high-fiber products) | FOS (fructooligosaccharides), inulin, oligofructose |
| Drinks | >1 beer, fruit juice in large quantities, malted chocolate drinks, milk-based drinks, drinks with high-fructose corn syrup, >1 glass of wine, whey protein |
| Dairy | Buttermilk, cheese, cream, custard, gelato, ice cream, kefir, milk, sour cream, yogurt |
What CAN you eat on the low FODMAP diet?
Note: this list isn’t exhaustive, but covers many foods you might be able to tolerate on a low-FODMAP diet. For a more in-depth list, contact your healthcare provider!
| Food Group | Examples of foods to eat |
| Vegetables & legumes | Alfalfa, carrots, collard greens, corn in small amounts, cucumber, green beans, bell pepper, ginger, kale, beans and lentils in small amounts, olives, parsnip, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, seaweed, spaghetti squash, spinach, squash, Swiss chard, sweet potato, tomato, water chestnuts, yam, zucchini |
| Fruit | Blueberries (1 cup), unripe bananas (one), clementine, coconut, dragon fruit, lingonberries, grapes (~1 oz), guava, small portion of honeydew melon, kiwi (2 small), mandarins, oranges, passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, rhubarb, tangelo |
| Grains/cereals/nuts | Wheat-free/gluten-free bread as tolerated (without ingredients on AVOID list), gluten/wheat in very small amounts, Brazil nuts, bulgur (one serving), buckwheat, brown rice, corn flour/corn products, flaxseeds, macadamia nuts, oats/oat flour, peanuts, pine nuts, popcorn, potato flour, quinoa, rice, seeds, sorghum, walnuts |
| Sweets/sweeteners | Artificial sweeteners (not sugar alcohols), glucose, jam, maple syrup, sucrose (table sugar) |
| Drinks | Limited amounts of alcohol, whey protein isolate (no lactose) |
| Dairy/dairy alternatives | Butter, cheese in moderate amounts (lower in lactose than milk and yogurt), milk alternatives like almond milk & hemp milk, coconut milk in small amounts (less than 1/2 cup), tofu, tempeh, non-dairy yogurt, Greek yogurt in small amounts (lower in lactose) |
| Meat/protein | Any type of meat/protein without ingredients on the “foods to avoid” list; this includes red meat, fish, eggs, etc. |
FAQs:
Some of the main food groups in the low FODMAP diet are fructose, lactose, fructans, galactans, and polyols. These are all types of carbohydrates that can be fermented in your large intestine, causing symptoms like gas and bloating.
Some of the common triggers for IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) are dairy products, high-fructose foods, high-fat/fried foods, caffeine, and carbonated beverages.
Peanuts are low in FODMAPS, along with most nuts – except for pistachios, almonds, and cashews, which are high in FODMAPs.
Plain potato chips are considered low FODMAP (potatoes aren’t a high-FODMAP food), but if they have added seasonings such as onion and garlic powder they can become high FODMAP.
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