# Anyone try the low-FODMAP diet?



## vermeera (Aug 27, 2014)

Hello. I'm new here, and have been dealing with IBS-D since returning home after a year abroad (so, for 3 years).

I'm starting out on the low-FODMAP diet, and was wondering if anyone else has tried this, and what their experience was? I'm just in the first week, but I'm hopeful. I've kept a food diary for a long time, and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what foods caused problems. But looking at the list of foods high in FODMAPs, things are starting to make sense. Apples, for example, have given me trouble. Hummus. Watermelon. Beer. So like I said, I'm just starting out and don't know if this will makes things better for me or not. But the studies say it helps 74% of IBS sufferers.

If you haven't heard of it, it's a diet that focuses on limiting foods that are high in certain types of short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols, specifically Fermentable Oligo- Di- and Mono-saccharaides, and Polyols. Here's a link to one of many charts showing which foods are good and which are bad: http://lowfodmapsdiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ListOfFodmapsFoods3.gif

Here's some science around it:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3388522/#!po=95.4545

And someone's blog with an easy-to-understand description:

http://livinghappywithibs.com/category/low-fodmap-diet/about-the-low-fodmap-diet/

So, who else has given this a shot?


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## Bobby Chang (Jun 12, 2014)

Sent you a message ..can you pl. reply. Thx


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## ShirtyBird (Aug 28, 2014)

I've started working my way through the FODMAP too after recommendation from my Dr. Defiantly wheat/gluten intolerant (had coeliac test, negative). Also intolerant to melon which is supposed to be ok (not watermelon). Garlic is a definite no no but onions are ok. It's swings and roundabouts with FODMAP, what works for one may not for everyone. So trial and error. Good luck, hope it works for you.


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## threeheadedmonkey (Aug 9, 2006)

I tried it and I found limiting some foods helped but some foods that were apparently fodmap safe made my symptoms much worse so I stopped.


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## vermeera (Aug 27, 2014)

Thanks for the replies! Yes, it is a lot of trial and error. I've now gone through 2 weeks of trying to stick to low-FODMAP foods, and the only times I had flare ups I can connect to instances of high-FODMAP foods (in these cases cabbage, agave, and 1/4 cupcake - whoops!).

So that's 2 weeks with only 3 days total of feeling crappy. I'm hoping that as I get better at sticking to the diet, that will turn into 0 flare-ups.

I've been collecting low-FODMAP recipes, and it's relatively easy to follow when I shop for and make my own food. Eating at restaurants, however, is incredibly challenging.


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## Korga (Sep 8, 2011)

I have been on the low-FODMAP diet for about 4 years now. It has reduced my symptoms about 80% (probably because there is no such thing as a NO Fodmap diet) and I've improved another 10% with a turmeric tablet with breakfast. So currently I am experiencing no diarrhea but still some gas in the afternoons/evenings. This is a huge improvement for me, as I used to have severe diarrhea daily. I've encountered a few problems along the way: The diet is very low in green foods, and I became deficient in vitamin-K which in turn caused a calcium deficit. I also take a multivitamin and a few other Vits because the diet is so limited. I have learned to stay away from the 'Gluten-free' breads, as they are very fattening (potato or tapioca starch), and I do most of my own cooking from scratch because onions are in almost all prepared foods.


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## Joana (Sep 8, 2014)

Hi there!

Low FODMAP diet was a life savior for me. I have post-infectious IBS after a bad gastroentheritis. I lost 10 kg/22 pounds and couldn´t walk and this diet was the only way to start gaining weight and energy back again. After such an extreme experience I have decided to make a blog about it with tips and recipes that kept me going and keep me inspired. Feel free to check: www.mygutfeeling.eu. Hope it can help you!

Best of luck,

Joana


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