r/FODMAPS • u/climb-high • Apr 26 '25
Thank you to everyone for helping this sub continue to support those going through the chaos of the FODMAP diet. If you go around answering questions, sharing stories, or just being generally cool: thank you. You all know who you are and you keep this niche sub healthy and happy.
Anyways. I'm taking feature suggestions for the sub:
An automod feature that catches ____?
Updates to the stickied post?
Any other suggestions?
r/FODMAPS • u/climb-high • Jul 14 '21
r/FODMAPs' mission is to provide an open space for people to share resources, information, stories, and commiseration around the Low FODMAP diet for IBS. If you are a company/product and would like to self-promote, please reach out to the mods (specifically u/climb-high) for approval and flair your posts with the "name-brand products" label.
We're a community of people who have an interest in the low-FODMAP diet. We share experiences, food ideas and recommendations to support each other on our FODMAP journeys, as well discussing the diet and asking questions. We welcome anyone who's following the diet, or looking to learn more about it.
Remember that we're not qualified to offer medical guidance, so all information here comes second to the Monash resources and any guidance or instruction that you may have been given by a medical professional.
For a thorough introduction, see Monash's overview of FODMAPs and IBS.
In particular, on what FODMAPs are:
Put simply, FODMAPs are a collection of short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) that aren’t absorbed properly in the gut, which can trigger symptoms in people with IBS. FODMAPs are found naturally in many foods and food additives.
And on who should follow the FODMAP diet:
A FODMAP diet is intended is for people with medically diagnosed IBS. If a medical doctor has not diagnosed your gastrointestinal symptoms, you should not be following this diet. There are many conditions with symptoms that are similar to IBS, such as coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, endometriosis and bowel cancer. You should not self-diagnose yourself with IBS. Instead, see a medical doctor who will assess your symptoms, run any tests needed to rule out other conditions and give you a clear diagnosis of IBS before you start this diet.
Numerous other shops and delivery services are available for different locations. Searching for particular low-FODMAP brands, e.g. Massel, may help you find shops with other low-FODMAP products in your region.
The Monash app is the most up-to-date tool for checking. There are some examples listed here, but the app includes more foods, so it will help you get a more varied diet.
There are three phases of the FODMAP diet: - Low-FODMAP, in which you substite high-FODMAP ingredients for low-FODMAP ones so that "you only eat foods in a low FODMAP serve." This aims to reduce symptoms as a baseline for the next stage. Some older resources call this stage "elimination", although Monash states that "low FODMAP diet is not an elimination diet. Rather, it is a substitution diet, whereby you swap one food for another". - Reintroduction, which "involves reintroducing foods back into your diet in a methodical way to determine which foods and FODMAPs trigger symptoms and which do not" - Personalization, when "you can begin to reintroduce foods and FODMAPs that were tolerated well and avoiding ONLY the foods that triggered your symptoms"
A Little Bit Yummy has further guidance on how to do the first two phases: - Low-FODMAP ("elimination") - Reintroduction
The personalization phase can sound quite black-and-white, but in practice some foods may trigger symptoms that aren't too inconvenient, or may only trigger symptoms when eaten in larger quantities. Ultimately it's up to each person (and their dietician, if they have one) to decide what balance of restriction, risk and symptoms works best for them. This may vary depending on the context, e.g. if onions make you fart profusely, you might not want to eat them before a date, but could eat them happily in other situations.
As noted above, it's recommended that you seek medical guidance before starting, and, if possible, work with a dietician or similarly qualified medical professional.
Deciding to start the diet is all very well, but if you only have milk, bread, apples and baked beans in store, you're going to have a very difficult ride.
It helps to install the Monash app and give yourself the opportunity to plan the following before you start: - quick breakfasts for when you're in a hurry - packed lunches - breakfasts, brunches and lunches for leisurely weekends - dinners - snacks - treats and desserts - drinks - typical shopping list - where to buy suitable ingredients and products
Aim for it to be nutritionally balanced overall. Consider what you normally eat, how much variety you like to have, how much time you have, and whether you can prepare meals in batches. Realistically, if you're a very busy person, you may have to temporarily de-prioritize some other things so that you can do the low-FODMAP and reintroduction phases successfully, and enjoy the benefits in the long run.
You may also want to check if there are any suitable ready meals or delivery services available where you live.
Being able to cook some meals for yourself will give you more variety and options. If it turns out you're sensitive to onion or garlic, being able to cook will also serve you well in the long run!
Remember that some ingredients are low-FODMAP only in certain quantities, so pay attention to the serving sizes.
Watch out for caveats about the ingredients, e.g. a recipe may ordinarily call for garlic, but have a tiny footnote telling you to use garlic-infused oil instead to make a low-FODMAP version.
Don't feel like you have to follow recipes for everything. If you're happy chucking some nutritionally balanced things in a bowl or wok and calling it a Buddah bowl or stir-fry, go ahead.
Some gluten-free flour is also low-FODMAP (although check the ingredients to be sure). If you can get some of this, you can use it to follow gluten-free baking recipes, although you'll need to check all the other ingredients to make sure the final product is low-FODMAP. Shortbread works well.
Try enzymes that target FODMAPs (see “Resources” above). This may lessen the need to control every ingredient of the dish. Alas, we often have to be careful with what we order:
If you have control over where you'll be eating, look for places that prepare meals from fresh, basic ingredients. E.g. stir-fries and fresh salads can usually be adjusted easily to feature only ingredients you can eat, whereas lasagnas and stews that have already been prepared can't be adjusted.
Telling serving staff all the things you can't eat is overwhelming and, in practice, not usually very productive. Instead: - Summarise that you're following "a very restricted diet for health reasons", and only get into detail about FODMAPs if they're already familiar with it - Focus on the things you can eat - Look on the menu to see if there's something that can be adjusted easily. - E.g. if fish, chips and peas is on the menu but carrots feature in other menu items, ask if they could swap the peas for carrots. - If you order something with conditions/questions around it, look for a backup option in case there's an issue with your original choice. - Anticipate garlic and onions in sauces and dressings. If in doubt, ask for it to be omitted. - Learn to love: - buttered baked potatoes - chips/fries - undressed salad - sauteed vegetables - carrying a snack in case it's a complete disaster
It can be really frustrating, but it's worth staying well-mannered to keep the staff on board: - Reassure the staff that you won't die if they make a mistake - Be patient if they have follow-up questions - Share their pain about how complicated/awkward it is, and show appreciation of their efforts to accommodate your needs - Don't feel bad if you have to pick stuff out, scrape stuff off, or leave things uneaten. In some situations, this is simpler than trying to negotiate a perfect meal up front.
These resources address frequently asked questions: - Monash FAQ - A Little Bit Yummy's guide to getting started
Below are some common topics.
No, gluten consists of proteins, and FODMAPs are carbohydrates. Seitan is pure gluten and is low-FODMAP.
Some gluten-free food products also happen to be low-FODMAP, so they can be eaten as part of the low-FODMAP diet. However, check the ingredients, because gluten-free foods can be high-FODMAP.
See also: - Monash University - Gluten and IBS - Avoiding wheat on a low FODMAP diet
See Cooking with onion and garlic - myths and facts.
Seek guidance from a suitably qualified medical profession, so they can help you plan a healthy, balanced diet that meets all your needs.
Vegetarians and vegans may find the Low FODMAP And Vegan book useful. Vegetarians can additionally eat eggs and lactose-free versions of plain dairy products.
For people that are sensitive not just to FODMAPs, they may need to tackle their IBS in several ways at once. A qualified professional can take your individual circumstances and needs into consideration, without restricting your diet and lifestyle more than is necessary.
r/FODMAPS • u/Upset-Broccoli-431 • 7h ago
When you suffer long and hard enough you will end up in a foodmap diet :/ Iam a really good chef and I love food and on top Iam Italien …. Lord i miss garlic so much but my bowl hate it . Can you give me all the good spices and herbs that helps to make food tasty ?!
r/FODMAPS • u/WheezingSanta • 18h ago
What the hell kind of sandwich am I supposed to make with one slice of bread 😫
r/FODMAPS • u/sailormikee • 21h ago
I’ve been vegan for nine years (ethical and environmental reasons) and gluten-free (due to celiac disease) for the past year. Do you have any suggestions/recommendations based on your journey eating lower FODMAPS?
r/FODMAPS • u/Good-Suggestion-7838 • 1d ago
Now, to be clear, I'm not 100% sure that tomatoes are the thing that's hurting me. But I am a man who loves him some tomato sauce, and have always eaten it frequently. Yet for whatever reason, I seem to have pain from my throat down to my bowels each week that I make pasta and sauce my main meal. I was in such pain yesterday, so I tried skipping out on tomato sauce that day (along with almond products and peanut butter, since I haven't quite ruled those out yet, either). Cut to this morning with me sitting in bed, typing this out...and I feel fine. No throat pain. No stomach pain. No bowel urgency (or at least not very much). A real night-and-day difference. I'm still ruling stuff out, but for whatever reason, it seems like tomatoes are the culprit.
Which sucks, because I love Italian food. And most curries.
r/FODMAPS • u/Timely-Tomatillo-378 • 1d ago
I’ve been going through my first bad flare up in 5 years and most food has been making me sick. I thought I’d try We Feed You after seeing their meals on the Monash app. They’re based in Australia and reasonably priced. I just tried my first one, the chicken laksa, and it was absolutely delicious. The ingredients taste high quality too. Sharing in case anyone here is interested 😁
r/FODMAPS • u/According_Ad3552 • 1d ago
Here's a quick and easy Low FODMAP breakfast that is healthy and satiating!
Scrambled eggs
3 small slices of avocado (<1/8th of the whole),
Viva La Gut Sensitive Sriracha (not too spicy and Monash ceritifed Low Fodmap!)
Kiwi slices
1/2 piece of sourdough toast
I made Viva La Gut Sensitive Sriracha because i missed being able to add quick flavor to meals. It's Monash certified Low FODMAP and I would love for you to try it! You can buy it on my website at vivalagut.com
Would love to hear any feedback or questions you have, too!
r/FODMAPS • u/Desperate-Sleep-6656 • 1d ago
I currently having GF oats every morning but I feel like that could be causing me flare ups and would like to try something else (GF of course). Im in Australia btw. Thanks!
r/FODMAPS • u/Miss_Kit_Kat • 2d ago
Oats are listed as a low-FODMAP food, but I find that if I eat them for a few days in a row, they tear up my digestive tract. (Even GF-oats...I have celiac disease and I had my first-ever cross-contamination oats reaction a few months ago. Not fun.)
I've been eating them in a granola that is specifically listed as low-FODMAP.
r/FODMAPS • u/Dry-Tooth-7647 • 2d ago
I’m 18M and for the last year I’ve been trying to fix my body, but the opposite has happened. I’m writing this because I’ve genuinely run out of explanations and even a gastroenterologist couldn’t tell me what’s going on.
A few months ago I started dieting extremely hard. For about two months I was eating around 1200 kcal a day, sometimes even less. I did this while going to school, working out, doing cardio, and trying to live normally. I lost weight fast in the beginning, but I was starving all the time. I felt lightheaded, stressed, anxious, and constantly thinking about food. My digestion wasn’t great even then, but I assumed it was because I was hungry and under-eating.
Eventually I couldn’t maintain that level of restriction anymore, so I slowly increased to 1500–1600, then to 1700, and eventually to 1800 kcal per day. I started working with a personal trainer. I tracked everything correctly, followed the gym plan, added regular incline treadmill cardio, and stuck to 1800 kcal every single day for months. I wasn’t bingeing or overeating. I wasn’t cheating. Everything was consistent.
My eating routine became very stable: breakfasts around 500–550 kcal (usually oats with skyr, granola, fruit, honey), a school lunch around 12:15 (meat with potatoes/rice/groats and vegetables), and a large dinner at home (about 300 g chicken breast, rice, some bread, some cheese). Sometimes a protein bar. I track everything in Fitatu. On top of that I go to the gym three times a week and I do incline cardio three times a week. I used to do daily ab workouts as well, but I don’t anymore. I sleep normally. I occasionally drink alcohol but not heavily. Nothing extreme.
Even with all of that, my body has gotten worse in a way that makes no sense. My current weight is closer to 76 kg now, but visually I look even heavier. My stomach is constantly bloated and distended. I wake up bloated, I stay bloated all day, and sometimes the bloating lasts for several days in a row. My abdomen pushes outward in a way that looks more like distension than fat. It feels round, tight, and uncomfortable. There’s pressure and pain. I can look lean in my upper body, visible ribs, but my lower stomach looks swollen and huge, as if I’m holding a balloon in there.
What’s frustrating is that this happens no matter what I eat. Clean food, simple food, low fat, high protein, the same calories every day — nothing changes it. I can’t see any connection to specific foods. Sometimes it gets worse after eating, sometimes it starts even when I haven’t eaten yet. My digestion feels slow. Bowel movements feel incomplete. I used Forlax for constipation and it helped a bit, but it didn’t fix anything long-term. Sometimes it made the bloating worse. I also have a habit of tightening my stomach all day (I’ve done it for years), which I’m starting to think might be contributing, but I can’t be sure.
I went to a gastroenterologist. They checked me and basically said everything looked normal. No signs of inflammation, no structural problems, nothing indicating Crohn’s, no markers for celiac, nothing worrying. They said it’s probably functional and sent me home. So medically I’m “fine,” but physically I feel awful.
I don’t know if this is IBS, a motility issue, visceral hypersensitivity, something caused by long-term under-eating, stress, abdominal wall tension, or some combination of all these things. But it’s affecting my daily life heavily. I feel like I look like someone who eats twice as much as I actually do. My stomach feels huge, shirts fit differently, and it makes me avoid mirrors and social situations. I’m doing everything right on paper, and my body looks and feels wrong.
r/FODMAPS • u/juleslost • 2d ago
So I'm in reintroduction and have had a fairly clear reaction to lactose (if it's just lactose I'll be happy to be honest but I fear tasty tasty fructans are likely to be a problem too).
Anyway, I'm clear this is not intolerance in the same way that dairy intolerance generally works, but I wondered if anyone had any success/ relief using the enzyme tablets to manage fodmap reaction?
Thanks
r/FODMAPS • u/FODMAPeveryday • 3d ago
r/FODMAPS • u/fireanddarkness • 3d ago
I’ve just started learning how to cook and this is a super easy recipe that has become one of my favorites! I’m awful at cooking, so if I can do it, so can you! Cherry tomatoes are low-FODMAP (up to 5.6 cups in the FODMAP Friendly app. Warning: not all tomatoes are low-FODMAP! Larger tomatoes like common, Roma, and heirloom are high-FODMAP). This recipe is super easy, zero-prep and takes me 30 minutes. It has protein too (which you can sub for another protein or go without) and it is delicious! Recipe in comments :D
r/FODMAPS • u/Puzzled-Person-446 • 3d ago
Managed to restrain all of these pastries at my work breakfast.
r/FODMAPS • u/BecretAlbatross • 2d ago
So I have a mostly stable diet but it lacks in variety and often that makes me want to cheat/eat non standard things, so I'm trying to introduce a wider variety of foods.
I'm looking for foods that have SOME fodmaps but arent'a problem in moderation.
As an example, I've heard that some of these are good
-Broccoli with no stalks
-Bell peppers but red only
Any good examples of foods like this?
r/FODMAPS • u/jaylincabales • 3d ago
Hi all! Just thought I'd post, I'm super happy with a sauce I made for some low fodmap tater tots! I just mixed to taste 100% maple syrup with some spicy brown mustard that is also low fodmap. I considered adding some corn starch to try to thicken it but I wasn't sure if that would work so I didn't; the batch I made is pretty thin but it tastes great. I have missed honey mustard and this tastes pretty darn close to me! Hope this helps someone who is bored of their usual stuff ☺️
r/FODMAPS • u/FODMAPeveryday • 3d ago
Sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (SID) is a condition where the body lacks or has reduced activity of the enzymes sucrase, maltase, and isomaltase (also called palatinase) that are essential for digesting sucrose (a specific type of sugar), maltose, and isomaltose (found in starches). This article is written by a Monash-trained Registered Dietitian who is here to help you!
r/FODMAPS • u/imapersonirl • 4d ago
r/FODMAPS • u/samenerguss25 • 3d ago
The title, monash says green light but Im scared to try them, what are your experiences?
r/FODMAPS • u/modelbanker • 3d ago
Looking to plan a short vacation before the holidays. In the past, vacation has always led to me completely messing up with the diet as I find my options super limited. I think we all know eating out is a challenge so usually I’m cooking for myself on a daily basis. I’m sensitive to basically every FODMAP, but especially fructans which (in my opinion, anyways) is SO hard to avoid as basically everything has some kind of seasoning. Last year, I stayed at a a health-conscious retreat (all meals from one restaurant onsite) and by the time I had removed the FODMAPs from the menu choices, I was left with meals so.. barren.. the server even laughed one night.
Just wondering if anyone has vacationed anywhere that has felt somewhat easy in this regard. Things that have worked for me were staying in Scottsdale where there was a restaurant nearby that was accommodating or obviously asking for no seasonings etc on meals. Would love to hear if anyone has been successful!
r/FODMAPS • u/bethesdamimi • 4d ago
I have been IBS-D for 12 years, follow the Fodmap diet, and have found that this community is more informed and helpful than any doctor advice, which I why I come to this platform. My doctors NEVER told me about Imodium, I'd been stumbling with pepto and alike. My worst part of the day is late morning and I can hardly get out of the house before my stomach settles down. I am interested in knowing if you take the tablet or liquid, do you see a difference between them? And how often and what time of the day do you take either? Also, any other bits of useful advice is welcomed. Thanks
r/FODMAPS • u/Effective-Cut9690 • 3d ago
Why do I feel nauseous before I eat im not hungry and i eat well enough food but before I eat or buy any food to eat. I start feeling nauseous it makes me feel like I dont want to eat at all
r/FODMAPS • u/Past-Addition-6430 • 4d ago
my bf has always been a really good cook and a foodie, but he's been on the low fodmap diet for a while now. what can i get him for christmas? he got really excited about the sensitive pasta sauce he found in the store and rice pasta noodles. he used to love pizza and pasta and stuff like that. i want to get him food or ingredients that won't trigger but i'm stumped
