# A Low Fodmap Question



## Jazzi7

I've just started the Low Fodmap diet. I have a print out from my dietition and I've bought Dr. Sue Shepherds book "Food Intolerance Management Plan". All of which have been helpful but I'm finding firstly that doing my research around the place (online & otherwise) there is conflicting information as to whether or not you can have Molasses on the Low Fodmap diet. Some Charts say it's fine, other people say it contains fructose or too much of it? I have been looking for a healthier alternative to sugar or honey. I have been using honey in my tea etc. so I thought I could replace it with Molasses? Can I have sweet chilli sauce on things if in the ingredients it includes garlic?In Dr. Sue Shepherds book it says you can have Indian - Tikka dishes (yoghurt marinade) or tandoori dishes... wouldn't they contain garlic or onion? I'm not super familiar with indian food (my staple up until now would be butter chicken, occasionally a tandoori dish as well) but I would have thought that either of those would contain one of those ingredients. I could be wrong. Anyone got any good suggestions for take away food you can eat or and restaurant food? I have 6 wks on the Low Fodmap elimination diet & I want to continue my social life during this period lol. Often when I go out for dinner my group of friends decide on the spare of the moment where to go so I don't get the opportunity to ring the place ahead of time etc.Thanks for any help you can give. I'm going a bit cross eyed trying to work it all out & I don't see the dietition until after 6 wks.


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## kriley

I agree, it is pretty confusing. Seems like everything has garlic or onion.My doctor recommended I join this site a while back and finally did- just a lurker.But, he just started a site called lowfodmapibsdiet.comI just joined it. So far not many users as it is pretty new. It is a membership site but pretty cheap.He does have some good information including a food list. And there is an ask to doctor section where you can email him questions and he will answer them. It also looks like he anwers questions in the forums.Hope this helps and good luck!


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## whiterose1713

Jazzi7 said:


> I've just started the Low Fodmap diet. I have a print out from my dietition and I've bought Dr. Sue Shepherds book "Food Intolerance Management Plan". All of which have been helpful but I'm finding firstly that doing my research around the place (online & otherwise) there is conflicting information as to whether or not you can have Molasses on the Low Fodmap diet. Some Charts say it's fine, other people say it contains fructose or too much of it? I have been looking for a healthier alternative to sugar or honey. I have been using honey in my tea etc. so I thought I could replace it with Molasses? Can I have sweet chilli sauce on things if in the ingredients it includes garlic?In Dr. Sue Shepherds book it says you can have Indian - Tikka dishes (yoghurt marinade) or tandoori dishes... wouldn't they contain garlic or onion? I'm not super familiar with indian food (my staple up until now would be butter chicken, occasionally a tandoori dish as well) but I would have thought that either of those would contain one of those ingredients. I could be wrong. Anyone got any good suggestions for take away food you can eat or and restaurant food? I have 6 wks on the Low Fodmap elimination diet & I want to continue my social life during this period lol. Often when I go out for dinner my group of friends decide on the spare of the moment where to go so I don't get the opportunity to ring the place ahead of time etc.Thanks for any help you can give. I'm going a bit cross eyed trying to work it all out & I don't see the dietition until after 6 wks.


I didn't see this until now. Most likely, the Indian dishes mentioned are not made with onion or garlic. Many Indians actually keep a "allium-free" (aka no garlic, onion, scallion, or leek) diet. This is for some type of religious reason that I won't pretend to understand or know anything about. Often they use something called asafoetida powder to add an oniony flavour to sauteed dishes. It is also known as Devil's Dung and smells absolutely dreadful when raw. I avoid Indian because the yogurt doesn't agree with me.Good takeout options for me have been Vietnamese and Japanese, especially sushi. You can also usually do OK with Chinese if you order either fried rice without onion or a meat & veggie dish with sauce on the side and just eat the meat/veggies, rice, and some soy sauce for flavour. Vietnamese is probably my most reliable bet, but Philadelphia has an insane amount of Vietnamese shops and they all tend to prepare things pretty much the same way. I like to the the BBQ Pork vermicelli salad dishes. Grilles meat, shredded veggies, and rice noodles with a fish sauce vinaigrette. So good!As for your other questions, my "healthy" replacement for sugar/honey has been pure maple syrup (NOT Aunt Jemima's or some other atrocity that's mostly corn syrup). I'm gathering from your vernacular that you aren't in the US, so this may be a prohibitively expensive option or just not available, I'm really not sure how common of an ingredient it is in other countries. Some brands of rice syrup are also OK, and I have had good luck with small amounts of molasses and brown sugar.Do not eat the sweet chili sauce with garlic. Garlic is a pretty powerful trigger for most with FODMAP absorption problems. Garlic oil is OK, though, and a great way to add flavour to dishes.During the elimination phase I would try to avoid eating out at all costs. I know it's no fun, but plan your outings to be after dinner at home or just abstain altogether. It's only 6 weeks, and it's so worth it to get your system to a baseline where you can start experimenting with your individual tolerance levels.


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## Goldfinch

Totally agree about Viet and Japanese food. I've been making simple stir-fry with chicken, thai basil and scallion greens and serving it over rice or rice noodles. And I made "Bun" for the first time the other night, which is the above reference rice noodle salad with shredded cukes, carrots etc and a light dressing using fish sauce.I anyone want a great source for Viet cooking, go to Andrea Nguyen's website. I have her book, "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen and there are a lot of recipes that are low fodmap. Another good book with lots of rice noodle recipes is by Nina Simonds (full title escapes me right now, but it includes "xxxAsian Noodles), and her direx for learning how to cook various types of rice noodles are spot on.In my experience both Indian and Chinese food can be difficult. Most of the restaurants seem to cook with an awful lot of garlic and onion.


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## ishylynn

I eat a lot of Korean and Vietnamese (thanks for the website link Goldfinch!), but I have trouble with Indian. We've made homemade paleo Butter Chicken, even adjusting ingredients, and it still gives me issues. Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese focus on fresh foods. With Korean, most dishes let you serve up how much spicy sauce you want to use. I also find American places easy. I get a small steak and a plain baked potato, or just a baked potato, adding a little salt. Things with table sugar are okay, but keep it minimal. I agree with whiterose that going all out during elimination is advisable. I've also found that keeping calories limited helps my stomach (think low-cal diet-1200 to 1600). I think it just reduces the load on my system in general.


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## whiterose1713

ishylynn said:


> I eat a lot of Korean and Vietnamese (thanks for the website link Goldfinch!), but I have trouble with Indian. We've made homemade paleo Butter Chicken, even adjusting ingredients, and it still gives me issues. Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese focus on fresh foods. With Korean, most dishes let you serve up how much spicy sauce you want to use. I also find American places easy. I get a small steak and a plain baked potato, or just a baked potato, adding a little salt. Things with table sugar are okay, but keep it minimal. I agree with whiterose that going all out during elimination is advisable. I've also found that keeping calories limited helps my stomach (think low-cal diet-1200 to 1600). I think it just reduces the load on my system in general.


What she said! Also, eating small, frequent meals helps to not stress your digestive system but instead keeps it moving at a slow, steady pace. Getting too hungry for me is also an issue- if my stomach gets too empty, it doesn't matter what I fill it with, I will get the painful bloating and gas.


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## Wendy74

whiterose1713 said:


> What she said! Also, eating small, frequent meals helps to not stress your digestive system but instead keeps it moving at a slow, steady pace. Getting too hungry for me is also an issue- if my stomach gets too empty, it doesn't matter what I fill it with, I will get the painful bloating and gas.


I have to agree on this too!! I have terrible bloating and pain if I wait too long between meals or snacks and get super hungry.


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## Korga

If I'm eating out with friends without a plan, I'll usually eat something before I go so that at dinner I can just get a salad. Otherwise I also stick with plain meat and potatoes. Be careful with oriental food as the soy sauce is usually made with wheat! At home I use a wheat-free brand. Yes, avoid all foods which may contain onion or garlic. Molasses is a NO on my lists, and unfortunately testing has confirmed this. I also use pure Maple syrup for most of my sweetening needs.


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## whiterose1713

Korga said:


> If I'm eating out with friends without a plan, I'll usually eat something before I go so that at dinner I can just get a salad. Otherwise I also stick with plain meat and potatoes. Be careful with oriental food as the soy sauce is usually made with wheat! At home I use a wheat-free brand. Yes, avoid all foods which may contain onion or garlic. Molasses is a NO on my lists, and unfortunately testing has confirmed this. I also use pure Maple syrup for most of my sweetening needs.


Soy sauce does contain wheat, but it has been fermented. This makes it OK for the low-FODMAP diet. The offending sugars are fermented during the aging process of the soy sauce so they are no longer there to irritate your tummy.


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## Kathleen M.

There are a few brands of Soy sauce that do not contain any wheat (as I have friends with celiac disease who can have particular brands of soy as even a trace of wheat protein will make them very ill).That being said regardless of how safe someone says something should be if it sets you off, it may need to be avoided (and sometimes it is hard to know which of the dozens of potential pitfalls restaurant food is the problem, but often something cooked in a restaurant may cause problems when the same thing made at home when there is more control does not...especially since restaurant food tends to have a lot more fat even if it seems like it shouldn't be that different. The fat makes it tastier.)


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## sayantan82

any one here with right side abdominal pain?No d or c


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## Kathleen M.

If stools are completely and totally normal every time, it can be chronic functional abdominal pain.

If you have changes in frequency or consistency even if not enough to be full on diarrhea or constipation it still counts to the IBS diagnosis.

Where on the right is the pain? Is this new or something that has been going on for awhile? How severe is the pain? Do you have a fever?


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