Low FODMAP Diet & Easy Food Alternatives
Everything you need to know about Low FODMAP food
What is the Low FODMAP Diet?
The low FODMAP diet is an elimination protocol that has been designed and validated for use in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to identify which foods cause their symptoms. The goal with the diet is to reduce your IBS symptoms to a more manageable level.
What are symptoms of FODMAP intolerance?
FODMAPs can cause IBS symptoms in some people because they are not absorbed completely in the small intestine and instead travel through into the large intestine. Here, FODMAPs interact with your gut bacteria and cause fermentation that triggers IBS symptoms.
FODMAP reactions are all about dose and tolerance. You will likely find your more symptomatic after meals that combine different FODMAPs or have large doses of FODMAP foods.
These are the most common IBS symptoms:
Bloating
Constipation
Diarrhoea
Gas
Stress
Pain
What does FODMAP stand for?
The word FODMAP is an acronym for groups of carbohydrates naturally found in some vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes and milk products.
| Fermentable | Gut bacteria ferments undigested carbohydrates to produce gases |
| Oligosaccharides | Fructans & Galactans found in onion, garlic, wheat, barley, rye, inulin, some dried fruit and legumes |
| Di-Saccharides | Lactose is the di-saccharide found in some dairy products such as milk, yoghurt, some soft cheeses, ice cream, custard and cream |
| Monosaccharides (And) |
Fructose is a monosaccharide found in some fruit, dried fruits, vegetables and sweeteners such as honey |
| Polyols | Sorbitol & Mannitol are found in cauliflower, mushrooms, stone fruits, and are used as sweeteners in certain products such as chewing gum and breath mints |
Research shows that the low FODMAP diet helps ~75% of people gain relief from their IBS symptoms.
Top 10 easy FODMAP friendly food swaps
Two Raw Sisters recipes use cost-effective pantry staple ingredients, and fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits. This list of FODMAP friendly food substitutes includes ingredients that are commonly used in our recipes, alongside low FODMAP alternatives that you can purchase directly from Ceres Organics. Ceres Organics sell a wide range of food products online including our personal favourite pantry staples.
| High FODMAP Foods | Low FODMAP Alternatives |
|---|---|
| Ceres Organics (CO) Wholemeal Couscous | CO Quinoa, CO Millet or CO Brown Rice |
| CO Legumes – Chickpeas, Lentils, Butter Beans, Black Beans, Cannellini Beans, Red Kidney Beans | CO Quinoa, CO Millet or CO Brown Rice |
| Pasta | CO Quinoa Shells, Spaghetti, Spirals, Penne or CO Sorghum Spaghetti, Spirals |
| CO Wholemeal Stoneground Flour | CO Buckwheat Flour |
| CO Cashews | CO Sunflower Seeds or Macadamias |
| CO Almonds and CO Pistachios | CO Brazil Nuts, CO Peanuts or CO Walnuts |
| CO Cranberries | CO Banana Chips |
| Dairy Cheese | Nutritional Yeast |
| Dairy Milk | CO Coconut Milk |
| Honey | CO Maple Syrup |
* CO = Ceres Organics (click products to shop online)
Groceries tip
We find it’s more cost effective to purchase nuts and seeds in bulk from Ceres Organics. We keep a container/jar in the pantry and store the rest in the freezer for later.
FODMAP substituting tip
High FODMAP foods can easily be substituted. If these are often in your pantry, see the chart above for Low FODMAP alternatives.