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Health Trend Investigation: Everything You Need to Know about FODMAP Diets

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Perhaps you have seen the funny looking acronym pop up on your Pinterest homepage, or maybe you’ve had friends or family members mention their efforts to stay away from high FODMAP foods. But beyond a vague familiarity with FODMAP, most of us aren’t exactly sure what FODMAP is. Read on to find out what the unusual acronym FODMAP is and if it may be just what you need to address your health concerns.

What is FODMAP?
The acronym FODMAP was created by researchers at Monash University. It stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides Dissacharides Monosaccharides And Polyols. Without getting into complex chemical equations, what these long names refer to are sugars that are not fully absorbed by the body. As a result, they ferment in the colon, which leads to a host of digestive problems.
When someone uses FODMAP numbers to determine diet the idea is to eat only low FODMAP foods such as blueberries, bananas, spinach, zucchini, rice, oats, and more. The idea is to adhere strictly to the diet for a period of six weeks and then slowly reintroduce higher FODMAP value foods to determine which foods are problematic for each individual.

Where Are High FODMAPs Lurking?
The tricky part about cutting high FODMAP foods from your diet is that they are not necessarily found where you might think to look for them. Consider the following examples of otherwise healthy food choices that have high FOODMAP values: apples, watermelon, milk, broccoli, asparagus, garlic, lentils, wheat, and avocado.

Who Might Want to Consider a Low FODMAP Diet?
For many people, most to all of the foods with high values are not problematic and are actually nutritious choices. However, for some people the diet has proven to be very helpful. In particular, adhering to eating low FODMAP foods has been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Symptoms (IBS). Because extreme stress can also affect digestive enzymes and bacterial balance, it can be a beneficial way of eating during times of monumental stress. Finally, FODMAP can be worth a try if you are experiencing otherwise unexplained digestive problems.

The Bottom Line
A FODMAP diet is not for everyone, nor is it presented as a cure all solution for everyone. However, if any of the above criteria apply to you, FODMAP presents a research based, non-gimmicky, food based way of addressing your concerns.

Categories: Healthy LivingTags: ,

Author: Coach Kim

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