Interested in your opinions about and experiences with FODMAP

[MikeOr]

If you have been Dxed with IBS-D due to SIBO and has followed a low FODMAP diet, I would be very interested to hear about your experiences, and also to learn your general opinion about the FODMAP theory. I recently found that FODMAP recommendations tend to come just from 2 sources: Monash University, and a company called Fodmap Friendly that has been founded by a lady who has left (or maybe has been forced to leave) Monash University. These 2 sources often contradict each other: eg Fodmap Friendly considers half a glass of blackberries a day acceptable, while the Monash thinks it is half a ... single berry a day ! And why other universities hasn't jumped on the bandwagon ?

[xjrs]

There are other universities involved in the FODMAP diet. The two leading ones are Kings College, London:

kcl.ac.uk/slcps/our-departm...

and as you say Monash University.

There are loads of studies on FODMAPs globally and not just by these institutions. It's relatively new science and the Monash app is always adding new ingredients. Maybe the new science will lead to some discrepancies depending on how each is measuring them.

As you are probably aware SIBO diagnosis is highly contraversial and the more effective way to test is through and medical procedure (which won't be available commercially) and not breath testing.

ibsresearcher.com/sibo/

In the section below, further down in the section, there is a discussion about FODMAP diet applied to SIBO by Jonathan Wolf of the Zoe:

ibsresearcher.com/sibo/#SIB...

I did find FODMAP elimination and reintroduction useful in my early days of IBS-D. However, there were hardly any FODMAPS I could tolerate and my diet became very restricted and in the end my IBS got worse. However, latterly, by using medication and Alflorex probiotic I have made my body more tolerant to a wider range of foods. I would always recommend this type of approach prior to trying FODMAP elimination and reintroduction otherwise a person can end up eliminating foods unnecessarily and worsen their health, which is what happened to me:

ibsresearcher.com/fodmap-el...

I still use the reintroduction method now and again, to try to re-test foods I wasn't previously tolerant to, with some success in some cases. However, I found my food intolerances weren't always limited to FODMAPs, such as tomatoes that give me pain and reflux.

If someone truely has SIBO, addition of probiotics may be counterproductive, though the approach discussed by Jonathan Wolf may tackle this aspect.

[Pattison40 in reply to xjrs]

Acidic fruits such as tomatoes and oranges give me LPR; have you managed to overcome your reflux and are you able to eat such foods again now?

[xjrs in reply to Pattison40]

It's weird since I am fine with oranges. However I haven't tested tomatoes again recently, so maybe I should again at some point. My reflux is more or less controlled. I sleep on an incline and suck on DGL licorce powder twice a day. Even though I am now IBS-C, I find that trying to have frequent BMs helps, as it flares up more if I am backed up, probably due to increased pressure.

[Pattison40 in reply to xjrs]

I used to get the DGL liquorice chewable tablets from H&B but now discontinued; where do you get DGL powder from?

[xjrs in reply to Pattison40]

I get mine from somewhere where you need to already have an account.

However if you google search for:

Vital nutrients dgl powder

there are a few places that sell it including:

lifestylevitamins.co.uk/pro...

These still sell the chewable tablets:

dolphinfitness.co.uk/en/fsc...

However I stopped the chewable tablets due to the xylitol content and new studies that show it may affect cardiovascular health:

nih.gov/news-events/nih-res...

[gulfofslides in reply to xjrs]

Tomatoes are in the nightshade family as both the skin and seeds contain some pretty nasty Lectins., which account for the pain and maybe the reflux. Spaghetti sauce w/o seeds and garlic are okay for IBS

[xjrs in reply to gulfofslides]

Garlic is a nightmare for me, though I've not tested it recently. I am OK with other nightshades. Any form of tomato sauce has been bad. Just goes to show the random nature of food intolerances for IBS sufferers.

[Pipken]

l use the fodmap .but l think it's a bit of hit and miss .l just try little bits of things and if don't agree l don't eat again .l find small meals work better .everyone diffrent .but now out of the whole week l get a couple of days which aren't very good .but l can cope with that .just listen to your body .

[OldgalwithIBS]

I tried Fodmap but didn't see a lot of difference with my GI tract. That said, I know it works beautifully for some so it's definitely worth trying!

[Fefcoo]

My IBS is so random; the FODMAP didn't really help.

[Luisa22]

My feedback might not apply exactly to your question. I was diagnosed with IBS D in 2020. SIBO was something I thought about as a possibility but then realised my symptoms didn't exactly fit with that. SIBO was never diagnosed by my doctor or a specialist.

But I did try the low FODMAP diet (for the IBS D) I gave it a fair trial of 8 weeks strictly.

What I found was a percentage of help from it, and another percentage of nothing. I would say about 50-50.

A few vegetables were on the low list and suited me well, and ever since have become part of my "safe foods" kit for rough times if and when those happen.

I did find out I am not gluten sensitive (after the trial, as I went comnpletely gluten free also for the 8 week trial.)

The jury is out about lactose. I am unsure. I can happily eat butter as much as I like, and milk chocolate of a certain brand, but have had struggles with cheeses. I bever was a milk user for many years anyway, and cannot bear yogurt, so don't find it easy to try some dairy products to test them. I did like ice cream in the past though, but haven't tested that either yet. Yet at someone's party I ate a good quantity of that awful "spray cream". and was perfectly fine for doing that. So lactose intolerance ?? Unsure.

Fructose....I cannot happily eat fruit but I can certainly eat honey, so I doubt if I have that. There must be another reason why I have to avoid fruit.

So anyway....I found that during the re-introduction experiments, (just as I suspected before doing the low FODMAP trial) many foods which are high Fodmap suited me and still do. Also many foods that are LOW Fodmap don't suit me and I still cannot eat them.

So that mixed bag of results leaves me with no idea at all about how much benefit the low Fodmap trial was for me.

One thing though; for anyone doing the low Fodmap trial (with or without a dietician) I would say it's important to take a very good quality vitamin and mineral complex A-Z supplement daily, unless there are medical reasons why not. As you might find some of the foods on the list don't suit you. The diet is restrictive anyway, and it becomes even more restrictive if that happens.

[Letsfixit1]

Hi, I had no success with the FODMAP diet. I know it strongly advises not to follow it without clinicial help, but these specialists are like golddust! I didn't take any extra vitamins (I wasn't part of this group then) and last year I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I don't know whether the FODMAP diet was responsible or not, but over the last few months I have gone down the opposite route of eating far more food groups, but in smaller quantities, to improve my gut biome. FODMAP also focuses your mind entirely on what foods are causing the problem - after years of struggling with IBSD I am not at all sure that food intolerance is always the cause. I don't know the answers, but my digestive system is so much better since I stopped FODMAP.