Hi all, today I wanted to discuss fodmaps. Since my lecture for our IBS Support group this month is all about Fodmaps I thought why not share some of the discussion here. If you have not heard of the term low fodmap you are not alone. Although we in the nutrition world find this term fairly common you would be surprised at how many health care professional do not know the terminology.
The Low Fodmap diet is used as treatment for IBS-D, IBS-C as well as SIBO. I have seen first hand this diet work its magic on many patients. I have also seen this diet fail and sadly need to go other routes. If you are suffering from IBS-C, IBS-D or SIBO the low fodmap diet may be right for you.
The low fodmap diet looks to eliminate or reduce the amount of fermentable carbohydrates in the diet. The acronym stands for fructose, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. In order to remove fodmaps you need to focus on 5 groups lactose, fructans, galactans, fructose and polyols.The total removal from the diet takes anywhere from 3-6 weeks and than if symptoms are improved we can start a re-challenge phase. This phase takes time and as we know slow and steady wins the race. As we are introducing items in each groups in small amounts we are looking to see if symptoms appear or worsen.
The diet is not meant to be for weight loss, although some do find that they lose weight on this diet and some may gain as their symptoms improve and are able to eat more. The idea of the diet is to focus on the removal of fermentable carbohydrate to help alleviate your symptoms.
Fermentable carbs are thought to act as fast food for your gut according to Kate Scarlata, rdn in a recent publication in today Dietitian Magazine, their small size allows for rapid consumption.
If you are looking to learn more about this cutting edge diet come to our next IBS Support group. Where we will be continuing our discussion on fodmaps and discussing new diet trends and their role in IBS management. For information in the next meeting go to our Facebook page.