Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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How The FODMAP Diet Affects The Gut

Many people have this experience: sometimes, even if you do not eat too much food, you often feel bloated, gas production increases, and even frequent diarrhea or constipation and other conditions. For a short period, it may be too big a problem, but if it lasts for a long time, it is possible to suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and most people will go to the hospital to get a prescription from a doctor, but often the results are not very satisfactory. Also as a result, the treatment for the vast majority of irritable bowel syndrome was proposed in 2010 by a scientific team from Monash University in Australia, and it is – the low FODMAP diet.

What is IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

Simply put, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder that persists or has intermittent episodes. It affects more than 10% of the world’s population, which means that 1 in 10 people suffer from this gastrointestinal disorder, and twice as many women (especially those under the age of 50), suffer from IBS than men.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Its most common symptoms include:

  • constipation or diarrhea
  • Bloating and increased gas production
  • Abdominal pain
  • Nausea, heartburn, acid reflux
  • Loss of appetite

Despite plaguing countless people, the definitive cause of irritable bowel syndrome, after all these years, has yet to be found, but what scientists do point out is that the following factors can affect it:

  • Intolerance to specific foods, as well as allergies, such as to dairy, gluten, or some short-chain carbohydrates
  • Chronic stress
  • Genetic factors
  • Hormonal imbalances or other changes that occur (such as menopause\ menstruation)
  • Unusual reactions to infections
  • Hypersensitivity of the digestive organs to pain, or problems with the muscles that move food

While the root cause cannot be found at this time, one thing is certain: food is the most common trigger for digestive disorders.

What is the Low FODMAP Diet

What is the Low FODMAP Diet

The foods that cause IBS may seem unrelated on the surface. But overall, most of them have one thing in common, mostly short-chain carbohydrates that are difficult to absorb, and FODMAP, which stands for this group of short-chain carbohydrates, stands for oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols:

→ Oligosaccharides, the main dietary sources of which include wheat, rye, many fruits and vegetables, and legumes

→ Disaccharides, the main dietary sources of which include milk, yogurt, etc.

→ Monosaccharides, the main dietary sources of which include various fruits and honey

→ Polyols, the main dietary sources of which include xylitol, sorbitol, etc., which are found in some fruits and vegetables

Thus, a low FODMAP diet means, of course, a diet that avoids, as much as possible, a high intake of short-chain carbohydrates. It’s worth noting that not everyone’s gut is sensitive to high FODMAP foods, and that eating high FODMAP foods is not the root cause of irritable bowel syndrome, they can just exacerbate or trigger IBS symptoms, especially in people who have sensitive stomachs themselves.

How a High FODMAP Diet Causes IBS

When we eat, food enters the esophagus from the mouth and reaches the stomach to be broken down before slowly entering the small intestine. Enzymes in the small intestine continue to break this food down into individual molecules, allowing them to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine. Food components not broken down or absorbed in the small intestine continue down the digestive tract into the colon. During this process, the following may occur that trigger symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome:

How a High FODMAP Diet Causes IBS

→ Causes diarrhea, some FODMAP foods are extremely hyperosmotic, which means that they can easily absorb large amounts of water, carrying a lot of it into the intestines, which can interfere with the rate of intestinal motility and cause diarrhea to occur.

→ Causes flatulence, most people don’t have the enzymes to fully break down FODMAP foods, and undigested FODMAP foods, then pass through the small intestine into the large intestine, where the bacteria will rapidly ferment, a process that releases a lot of gas and induces conditions such as flatulence and cramping.

These 2 processes happen to most people when they eat FODMAP foods, but not everyone is susceptible to this. Of course, emotions and stress can also exacerbate this occurrence as they can change the composition of the gut flora while inhibiting the body’s ability to process certain high FODMAP foods, leading to excessive fermentation.

What to Eat on a Low FODMAP Diet

First of all, we need to know which of the common foods are high in FODMAP. If you have frequent flatulence, diarrhea, or chronic constipation, here are some of the foods that we should try to avoid:

  • Fruits: apples, apricots, cherries, dates, figs, pears, peaches, watermelon, mangoes, etc.
  • Sweeteners: fructose, honey, high fructose corn syrup, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, etc.
  • Dairy products: milk, ice cream, most yogurts, sour cream, etc.
  • Vegetables: asparagus, broccoli, beet, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, fennel, mushrooms, okra, onions, peas, green onions, etc.
  • Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans, soybeans, etc.
  • Wheat: bread, pasta, most breakfast cereals, tortillas, pancakes, cookies, etc.
  • Other grains: barley and rye
  • Beverages: beer, fortified wines, soft drinks with high fructose corn syrup, soy milk, fruit juices, etc.
Avoid these high FODMAP foods and consume some low FODMAP foods

Avoid these high FODMAP foods and consume some low FODMAP foods:

  • All meats, and eggs, unless they have added high FODMAP ingredients such as wheat or high fructose corn syrup.
  • All healthy fats (such as coconut oil\olive oil)
  • Most seasonings
  • Most nuts, such as almonds, cashews, pine nuts, sesame seeds (be careful to eat fewer pistachios, which are high in FODMAP)
  • Fruits: bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, lemons, limes, mandarins, melons (except watermelon), oranges, passionfruit, raspberries, strawberries, etc. (but it is still not recommended to eat a lot of fruits, eat in moderation)
  • Sweeteners: stevia and most natural sweeteners, but some sweeteners have unhealthy risks, public reply to sugar substitutes, get related articles recommended.
  • Dairy: lactose-free dairy products and hard cheeses
  • Vegetables: peppers, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, ginger, lettuce, leeks, potatoes, radishes, spinach, scallions, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, yams, and zucchini. (certain vegetables, in moderation, e.g., potatoes, yams, squash)
  • Grains: oats, oat bran, rice bran, gluten-free pasta such as rice, corn, quinoa, etc.
  • Beverages: water, coffee, tea, etc.

How the Low FODMAP Diet Works

The low FODMAP diet can be done in 3 stage:

Stage 1: Strict restriction phase, lasting 3-8 weeks

During this phase, all high-FODMAP foods should be strictly avoided. Some people may feel an improvement in their symptoms in the first week, while others may take about eight weeks. If significant relief and improvement in symptoms is felt, it is time to move on to the next phase.

How the Low FODMAP Diet Works

Stage 2: Re-addition Period

In this phase, it is important to slowly re-add high FODMAP foods, and doing so serves 2 purposes:

→ Determine exactly what types of FODMAP foods you can tolerate, realizing that individuals are not intolerant to all FODMAP foods

→ Determine the amount of FODMAP you can tolerate

At this stage, you can determine tolerance to that particular food by adding different high FODMAP foods one by one (one at a time) for 3 days at a time while sticking to a low FODMAP diet. If you find that a particular food wreaks havoc on digestion, then it may be necessary to permanently avoid that food.

Stage 3: Individualize your diet

This phase is called a “modified low FODMAP diet” because you still adhere to the low FODMAP diet. However, it is possible to eat some high FODMAP foods based on the ratings in Stage 2, which also increases the variety and choice of diets, as too much restriction can take a lot of the fun out of life. So, this stage is very important, it’s long-term and will create a very solid foundation for you to build a healthy gut system that works for you.

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