What is the Low FODMAP Diet?

I've been putting off writing this monster of a post because, well...it's a monster!

As you may have gathered from my About page, or other little snippets from posts, I suffer from a chronic illness; IBS. Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Yes, it's embarrassing and awkward to discuss. But most of all, it's really really really hard to get to the root of what causes the problems. That's exactly what a syndrome is: something with lots of symptoms for which no doctor can find a cause.So yeah, pretty sucky right?! I've been ill on and off since I was about 15, and I've tried every medicine under the sun. Doesn't work! Until recently...

I had heard of the Low FODMAP diet before, but I'd never undertaken it properly. It's complicated, and involved the exclusion of a LOT of foods from your diet (onions and garlic, what?!). I already ate a fairly restricted diet, but going on Low FODMAP would really cut out a lot of things. But when symptoms got so bad again, I was desperate and tracked down a dietician in my local area who knew about the diet.

The Low FODMAP Diet involved the exclusion of particular sugars from the diet. That's what "FODMAPS" are: different types of sugar. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-saccharides Disaccharides Mono-Saccharides & Polyols.Woah there! Oligowhatanides?! I know, I said the same thing. Each one the aforementioned are the sugars which a university in Australia, The Monash University, discovered had a strong link to IBS sufferers and malabsorption by the small intestine.

Let me break it down for you a little bit (no pun intended!)(get it, get it?)(IBS jokes... my intestines can't break food down.)(Oh my god I'm digging a hole). Here are some examples of food that can be poorly absorbed:

Fructose: found in some fruits, honey and high fructose corn syrup.Lactose: found in milk and milk prodcutsSugar polyols such as sorbitol and mannitol: found in some fruits, vegetables and added as artificial sweetenersOligo-saccharides, Fructans, Fructo-Oligosaccharides: found in wheat, rye, onion and garlicGalacto-oligosaccharides: found in legumes and chickpeas

Ok, ok, so that's a lot of big words to take in. What's the next step?

Well first and foremost find a registered dietician who knows about the Low FODMAP diet. This is a complicated process, and no one should attempt it on their own, because you could end up lacking in many essential nutrients. It's so important to seek professional help. They will also ensure that you have been tested and can rule out any other health issues such as Coeliac Disease.

Next, get to grips with the foods you can and cannot eat. This may seem really scary, but trust me, it's not as bad as it seems! It's important to focus on the foods that you CAN eat, rather than staring at the list of foods you can't and feeling crappy about it. However I do recommend having some way of checking what you can and can't eat at all times. There are loads of printable lists online, or you can splurge on the Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App. It's expensive, but I recommend it. They update it frequently with foods that they test, and has the biggest library ever of "can and can't" eats.

Then it's about cutting out those foods you can't eat, and seeing how you feel. For me, within about a week I had noticed a huge improvement in my symptoms. In fact, in the two months or so that I've been on phase one of the diet (more on that later), I've had practically no symptoms at all. Before you know it, you'll have gotten to grips with the diet.

After about 8 to 12 weeks, you'll be able to start the reintroduction process. The idea of this diet is not to spend forever on it. The elimination phase is put in place to cleans your body of the inflammation and extreme symptoms experienced by IBS, as well as get used to the diet. Then, after the 8 or so weeks, you begin to reintroduce foods one at a time, and note down your reactions. I've not even begun this myself, but trust me, I'm excited to! What will I be testing out first? Onion and garlic, of course! It's a lengthy process, but surely it's worth it to get to grips, once and for all, with what triggers symptoms.

Might I go as far as saying that the Low FODMAP diet has changed my life? I think it's still early days, but so far, yes. I've not felt better in years, and I strongly believe that anyone who suffers from IBS should seek out help, and get started on this diet. What have you got to lose?

Stay tuned for more posts about the Low FODMAP Diet :) Please let me know if there is anything else you'd like to know!