Treating IBS symptons with low FODMAP foods

Pre-pregnancy with Vega there I often used to struggle with IBS-type symptoms. It was never diagnosed and I never really got to the bottom of it. It seemed to sort itself out for a while, but recently I’ve been aware that some foods are really not agreeing with me – tummy ache and bloating are my signs. I’m sure a lot of it is in part down to my poor diet for the past year – sheer exhaustion often sees me making poor food choices.

I’ve been doing some investigations into what could be upsetting my stomach and came across FODMAP foods, not a term I’d heard of before. FODMAP stands for “Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides and Polyols” – basically short-chain carbohydrates that some people can not digest. They’re what are responsible for the gas, stomach cramps, bloating, and other IBS symptoms.

Some common FODMAPs are Fructose {found in fruits, vegetables and added sugars}, Lactose {found in dairy products}, Fructans {Found gluten grains like wheat, spelt, rye and barley}, Galactans {found in legumes} and Polyols {found in some fruits and vegetables, and often used as sweeteners}.Eating low FODMAP foods can help to lessen IBS symptoms, but figuring out what is OK to eat seems to be a little bit of a minefield! MOMA have just put together this great infographic on low FODMAP foods which makes it really clear what foods are classed as low FODMAP foods.

It will be interesting to see how much of a differnece some small chages to my diet will make!

collaborative post, all words and thoughts are my own