Thus, the Low FODMAP diet can help you against flatulence and cramps.
It's your best friend's birthday. She invites you to dinner. How great ... But ... What many people would be happy about is pure horror for you?
Just thinking about it gives you a bloated belly, a feeling of fullness or diarrhea and you suffer from abdominal cramps? Then you may have already been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.
But there is supposed to be a solution to this problem: The FODMAP diet.
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Chronic gastrointestinal problems can drive you crazy. Irritable bowel syndrome lead to despair. 10 to 15 percent of the western population suffer from irritable bowel syndrome.
This form of nutrition was developed by a doctor from the USA. Dr. Sue Shepherd from Monash University in Victoria suffers from celiac disease herself. So a gluten intolerance.
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She knows only too well the limitations in everyday life caused by abdominal pain, flatulence and the like. This has driven her to research the Low FODMAP diet and make it better known.
The low FODMAP diet has helped many with irritable bowel syndrome. By the way: It's not about completely avoiding certain foods, but keeping an eye on the amount of FODMAPs.
What is the Low FODMAP Diet?
Low FODMAP, low FODMAP diet or diet all describe one and the same phenomenon: a diet designed to calm the irritable bowel.
Behind this abbreviation are bulky names of nutrients that are believed to be responsible for digestive problems.
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FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) and sugar alcohols. They are naturally present in many foods.
It is important that you know that FODMAPs are not harmful. They are normal components of the diet.
However, some people's bodies are very sensitive to it. Especially those who have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.
FODMAP stands for
- F Fermentable
- O Oligosaccharides
- D Disaccharides
- M Monosaccharides
- A and (and)
- P Polyols
These carbohydrate compounds are found in many foods. In a FODMAP diet you reduce foods with a lot of fructose, lactose, fuctans, galactans and polyols.
These components in food can lead to digestive problems. Diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal pain and abdominal cramps are quite typical.
| Food group | FODMAPs |
|---|---|
| Fruit | Fructose, oligosaccharides, polyols |
| Vegetables | Fructose, oligosaccharides, polyols |
| Dairy products | Lactose |
| Cereals | Oligosaccharides |
| Sweetener | Fructose, polyols |
You'll find many FODMAPS in wheat, rye, legumes, many fruits and vegetables, milk, yogurt, and honey.
Because more and more people are suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, the low-FODMAP diet has become an established therapy in some countries.
The symptoms do not disappear completely. But according to studies, the symptoms can be improved with the FODMAP diet by up to 70%.
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I do a cure 2x a year and it helps at least for a while. Solve the problem can be with Omni Biotic SR 9* not, but at least it gets much less bad. I have tried several products, but only this one helps me. But make sure you buy the right one, there are a whole range of different Omni Biotics, some of which contain lactose!
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Irritable bowel versus normal digestion
All foods must first be broken down into their components in the intestine. Take, for example, pasta made from wheat flour.
Wheat flour consists of carbohydrates. In the intestine, they are broken down into their components. In the process, the FODMAPs become "visible".
If you have an irritable bowel, you can only absorb the FODMAPs poorly in the small intestine. They end up in the large intestine, where they really have no place. In a healthy intestine, the FODMAPs are almost completely broken down and absorbed in the small intestine.
Not in the case of irritable bowel syndrome. And now it comes to the real problem. In the large intestine, the pasta begins to ferment. This process is called fermentation. Gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen are produced.
A healthy intestine has no problem with this. An already sensitive irritable bowel cannot cope with this situation.
Diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal cramps or heartburn are the result.
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Why the irritable bowel cannot absorb FODMAPs
There's more than one reason why your gut can't process FODMAPs.
- The channels and the transporter responsible for the uptake of sugar are thus overtaxed. This happens especially with fructose.
- The sugar alcohols are too large to pass through the intestinal wall.
- You lack enzymes in your intestines that you need for splitting certain types of sugar.
- Your enzymes are overwhelmed with the splitting of the sugars.
No one can digest FODMAPs without problems. Those with irritable bowel syndrome have severe digestive problems with FODMAP foods. This can happen for three reasons.
- Your intestines are hypersensitive. In technical language, this is called visceral hypersensitivity. If this is the case, you feel the effects of FODMAP foods much worse.
- Your intestinal muscles are to blame. If you have irritable bowel syndrome, the activity of your intestinal muscles and nervous system may change. You tend to have spasms of the intestinal muscles when you eat FODMAP foods.
- Your intestinal bacteria contribute to this. With IBS, the bacteria in your gut can change - the gut flora is disturbed. And that affects the fermentation of FODMAPs.
How FODMAPs irritate your gut
Now it gets a little scientific. It's important that you have at least a rough idea of what's going on in a gut. I'll try to give a rough and simple overview.
To put it simply: If you have an irritable bowel, FODMAPs lead to an increased influx of water into the intestine. And at the same time to more gas production. You get a bloated belly, flatulence, abdominal pain and a rumbling belly.
How far FODMAPs influence your intestinal flora positively or negatively has not yet been researched.
Incidentally, gas production by FODMAPs can be measured in breath tests. The hydrogen content is measured. This is also used to test lactose and fructose intolerances, for example.
For whom is the Low FODMAP diet suitable?
If you have a healthy intestine, you should keep your hands off this type of diet.
FODMAPs are the food of our intestinal bacteria. If you go on this diet despite healthy intestinal flora, then you deprive the bacteria of their food basis. Your intestinal flora changes - or more scientifically: the composition of the microbiome changes.
What influence this has on your healthy intestine has not yet been sufficiently researched. And certainly not the long-term consequences.
There are initial indications that a FODMAP diet also promotes the growth of probiotic (good) bacteria is inhibited. And that can then lead to intestinal problems, even though you didn't have any before.
Therefore, you should never treat or cure yourself. Before changing your diet, see a doctor so that he can rule out other causes for your complaints.
The Low FODMAP diet should be followed for a maximum of two months. And only if you have really been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome!
Very often the symptoms of irritable bowel get better already during the Low FODMAP diet. So that you can eat a FODMAP rich food again after a few weeks weekly or every two weeks. It is carefully tested whether you tolerate the food or not.
Piece by piece, you build a LOW FODMAP diet that is tailored to your body.
The FODMAP diet is not a permanent diet!
The phases of the Low FODMAP diet
As mentioned, please do not self-diagnose. Have your IBS confirmed by a doctor and address the FODMAP diet.
1. avoid all FODMAP foods
In the first phase, you restrict all FODMAPs. This phase lasts 4 to 6 weeks. When you feel an improvement, then you move to the next step.
Don't lose your nerve during this phase. Especially with a very pronounced irritable bowel, this can actually take up to 6 weeks.
If you don't notice any improvement, FODMAPs are not your problem.
2. slowly start eating FODMAPS again
As soon as you notice that bloating, abdominal cramps, etc. improve, it's time for phase two.
Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write down exactly what you eat.
Now, foods high in FODMAP will be incorporated back into your diet.
You should now notice exactly which foods are good for you and which are not. This is different for every person.
For example, if you eat a yogurt and notice that your stomach starts to hurt again, you simply leave it alone in the future. At least for a certain time. You can repeat the test after a few months and taste a small amount of yogurt again.
To make this possible and to keep track, you must not eat all the food at once.
All foods you can eat without symptoms will end up on your FODMAP reduced menu for the long term.
3. the low FODMAP diet
Now you know which foods you can eat without hesitation and which not. All those that are good for you, you include in a meal plan.
You leave out the others.
However, that doesn't mean your tolerances will stay the same. Tolerance to certain FODMAPs can change over time.
Just because you can eat yogurt today doesn't mean it will be a year from now.
However, stress, anxiety, and an unhealthy lifestyle can affect your gut just as negatively.
Our conclusion
The Low FODMAP diet can help anyone diagnosed with IBS. Before making the change, talk to a doctor who will accompany you during the diet.
You must absolutely keep your hands off self-diagnoses!
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