Irritable Bowel Syndrome Diet | Low FODMAP diet

Stay away from milk and wheat and eat quinoa, rice, and bananas for a helpful irritable bowel syndrome diet, also known as the low FODMAP diet. Learn more.

Do you get symptoms similar to stomach flu — abdominal cramps plus a change in bowel movements — that wax and wane but never vanish? Do you frequently get diarrhea or constipation or both, alternating? Do you often feel gassy and bloated?

Those are irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, which might come on slowly, arrive quickly for no apparent reason, or set in after an actual stomach flu or infection.

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Stress and IBS

From 10 to 15 percent of Americans of all ages, live with IBS, considered a disturbance in the way your gut, brain, and nervous system interact. Stress can trigger or aggravate the symptoms, which tend to be unpredictable. Many people who consider themselves afflicted with a “sensitive stomach” never seek medical help.

It clearly makes sense to avoid foods that trigger the symptoms, but sometimes the dangerous foods aren’t obvious.

The irritable bowel syndrome diet, or low FODMAP diet

To get clues for your own triggers, you might try the low FODMAP diet, which is backed by early research. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, all different kinds of carbohydrates.

The idea is that these carbohydrates tend to pull water into your digestive tract and ferment. Eating too much of them could lead to symptoms. Wheat, barley, and rye, which contain gluten, are all high in FODMAPs. Some people who avoid them often feel better on gluten-free diets, and they might do even better if they cut out more FODMAPS.  

If you are ready to try the low FODMAP diet plan, see a nutritionist. He or she might guide you through four to six weeks of restricting high FODMAP foods. You’ll then introduce forbidden foods one by one, keeping a symptom and food diary, so you have records of how you responded. A regime of restricting all high FODMAP foods indefinitely could actually hurt you over time, changing your gut bacteria, and you’ll be missing out on delicious and healthful foods.

High and low FODMAP foods

For a handy crib sheet on high and low FODMAP foods, check this list. The FODMAP diet plan eliminates milk products with lactose, such as ice cream, creamy cheeses, and cow’s milk. Instead, you’ll eat nut or rice milks and cheeses like feta and brie.

Fructose is also on the don’t-eat list of the irritable bowel syndrome diet. So, the diet cuts out honey, agave nectar, and commercial products with high-fructose corn syrup. You’ll eat products with plain old sugar instead if you want something sweet.

Dried fruit and fruit juice are high FODMAP foods, including apples, pears, and fruits with stones (peaches, cherries, and avocados, for example). Instead, you can eat fresh bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, honeydew, kiwi, lemon, lime, oranges, and strawberries.

The FODMAP diet eliminates many vegetables that are otherwise desirable, including broccoli and cauliflower, as well as super-healthful chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, and soy. That’s why you don’t want to stick with a strict regime for long.

Safer vegetables include bok choy, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, olives, parsnips, potatoes, and turnips.

You can eat meat on this diet, along with eggs, fish, and nuts (but steer clear of pistachio and cashews). You’ll stay away from wheat, rye, and barley but can eat oats (which are not gluten-free unless specified so), corn, quinoa, and white rice.

IBS is linked to anxiety and, research suggests, early life trauma in some people. Difficult experiences can affect your gut, which in turn affects your mood. Your best strategy is to learn which foods cause your symptoms and avoid them, while also doing your best to create a life that helps you stay calm and upbeat.

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