A few FODMAP updates

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My colleague Patsy Catsos attended the most recent Monash University seminar on the low FODMAP diet and is on her way back to the States as we speak!  To say I am excited to speak with Patsy on her return would be an understatement.

I LOVE learning more about FODMAPs.  I know it might sound silly to some people, but it’s such an interesting diet and to be involved with the diet as its evolving has been so very frustrating  I mean, exciting! 🙂

So, I was able to catch some news from the ‘twitter feed’ from the Monash seminar and this is what I have learned but I will get better confirmation when I speak to Patsy.  So FODMAPers…here’s the latest.

New News:

  • Camomile and fennel tea have fructans–boo! BUT, tolerance may vary.
  • Low FODMAP tea options: peppermint, white, black and green
  • Instant coffee is high FODMAP (fructans)
  • Cocoa is a source of FODMAPs–boo
  • Carob found to be very high in fructans
  • I think chocolate itself is okay–yay!  Of course, not milk chocolate because of the lactose
  • Hypnosis is therapeutic and they are undertaking a study looking at hypnotherapy with the low FODMAP diet (my clients already know this works!)
  • Low FODMAP diet promising to reduce infantile colic–more to come on that via study

Of course, this info was accessed off twitter from fellow dietitians reporting.  If anything changes or updates, I will be sure to post.

Enjoy the weekend.

 

 

35 replies on “A few FODMAP updates“

    • katescarlata

      Hi Nancy, Regular coffee seems okay in moderate portion 1–2 cups. I will be receiving more info when I chat with Patsy on her return but from what I gather it’s an issue with instant only. Of course, tolerance to FODMAPs varies–so it’s a trial and error.

  • Jackie

    Surprised to hear that instant coffee is a no-no. When we go to Australia, that is all we are able to drink (try to find brewed coffee!!!), and I have the least amount of trouble there. Maybe because they do not have high fructose corn syrup added to everything …and we seem to eat more fresh food, as we travel in a camper van.

    Thanks so much for keeping us u-to-date! Can’t wait to hear that the Low Fodmaps app is available for Android.

    • Christine Butler

      Interesting the coffee note, as i too can not tolerate instant coffee but am able to drink brewed and “real” coffee (although I am surprised that you could only get instant in Australia! you must have stopped off at a lot of roadhouses in the outback! :0) ) Us city folk wouldn’t drink the stuff! We tend to drink mainly Expressos and brewed coffee is generally made in your home) I can’t wait to start on the FODMAP diet to concur my tummy issues too…..

    • Natty

      I’ve also had more trouble with foods since moving to the US from Australia but I never had a problem with finding a good coffee in Melbourne. As Christine said, were you mainly stopping in roadside cafes? Where in Oz were you travelling?

      Next time you travel, you could take one of those individual coffee brewing mugs and just buy the ground beans at the supermarket?

      • Jackie

        We have traveled from Sidney to Cooktown to Camooweal and back (two different trips)….by camper van. Hardly ever stopped at cafes for coffee..bought the instant in the market. Never saw ground beans in the supermarkets. I will have to look for those next time we are over.

        I think one of the biggest problems for packaged foods in the US is the use of corn syrup solids and HFCS…it seems to be in everything! Trader Joes carries NOTHING with HFCS in it!!

      • Natty

        I love Trader Joe’s! Lucky there’s one down the road a bit 🙂 Good luck with your coffee bean search next time you’re there. My MIL likes the Safeway/Woolworths brand coffee beans (Select), says they’re good, even though they’re a supermarket brand.

  • Elaine

    I am shocked to hear that there are any fodmaps in instanat coffee! I hope I haven’t missed something along the way but feel sure I was told by my dietician (UK) that it was fine. Hence I drink plenty of it (de-caff, I don’t know if that makes any difference?) I am hoping that dropping it now might alleviate some of those final unexplained symptoms. Wonderful news if so!! So many thanks to Kate and Patsy once again.

  • Jena

    Hi Kate, thanks so much for the update. I need a little clarification from the above, cocoa is FODMAP but chocolate is ok if it’s not milk chocolate…i usually do 60 cacoa or higher when i need a chocolate fix and if i keep it in moderation (don’t eat the whole bar) i haven;t noticed any symptoms but is what I am eating technically a fodmap? I usually do ghiradelli 60% dark chocolate or sea salt sioreee

    • katescarlata

      Jena and others. First of all, if you eat chocolate and cocoa and seem to tolerate it–then no need to modify your diet. I believe it’s cocoa powder NOT chocolate which can be made of cocoa butter and sugar–different altogether. I would think it might be that cocoa has fructans as cocoa powder does have quite a bit of fiber. More to come on this as I learn more. Hang tight!

  • Mary

    Hi Kate, I am also curious about cocoa. Is it high in fructans or another FODMAP? I eat chocolate quite a bit….usually dark chocolate which is high in cocoa. Thank you so much! I learn so much from your website.

  • Amy

    Kate,

    I would also love some clarification on the cocoa vs. chocolate issue. My son definitley has problems drinking hot cocoa, but I’m unsure about how he does with chocolate – seems OK sometimes, not others.
    Thanks!
    Amy

  • Gloria

    Hi Kate,
    I am new to the FodMap diet. My doctor and nutritionist put me on it a few weeks ago. I am also on a Celiac diet. Do you know if Coconut products are low FodMap? Despite maintaining both the strict Celiac diet with the low-FodMap diet, my stomach continues to be very bloated through the day. I bloat severely every-time I eat. I read somewhere that coconut milk can help sooth the stomach when it is in pain. Do you think that coconut sugar and coconut flour would be low- fodmaps? Thank You so much!!!

    • katescarlata

      Gloria, I don’t think coconut sugar will be low FODMAP but I can’t say for sure, as I don’t believe it has been tested yet. Coconut flour is so rich in fiber, I wonder if that too may be a source of FODMAPs. But I don’t think it has been tested either.
      Shredded coconut and coconut milk are low FODMAP though so you could try them. Severe bloating makes me wonder if perhaps you may have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. have you been tested for that?

  • Lolli

    Hi Kate. First of all, I would like to join so many others in thanking you for being a pioneer in bringing the Low FODMAP Diet to us in the U.S.A.! We owe you a debt of gratitude.

    I was recently diagnosed with I.B.S. and diverticulosis. My gastroenterologist gave me a copy of your list foods in the high and low FODMAP categories so that I could try the diet. I immediately felt relief within the first few days. It is amazing!

    As of late, I have had some friends jump on the juicing bandwagon, drinking freshly made fruit and veggie juices in place of meals. They keep encouraging me to try it. I know that we are only supposed to have 1 serving at a time of a fruit or veggie. My worry is that even if I juiced from only the allowable low FODMAP fruits & veggies, since there would be so many together in 1 glass of the juice, would it create a problem as in a FODMAP overload?

    I thank you in advance for your time,

    Lolli.

    • katescarlata

      Lolli, I would not do the juicing at this point in the diet. Perhaps after you you do the ‘challenge’ phase of the diet you might try to see how you tolerate some ‘serious’ fruit and veggie juices….but you are right it’s too much of a potential FODMAPs load.

      I have trouble with some FODMAPs myself and I can do some juicing … but my tolerance is very variable and I can’t drink a huge amount.

  • Lauren

    Hi Kate,

    Are cacao nibs and powder the same as cocoa powder from an absorption standpoint? I’m wondering if cacao in all forms would be similarly off-limits on FODMAPs….

    Thanks,
    Lauren

  • Kat

    Hi there, how can chocolate be ok when cocoa is not? Is that because chocolate is made from the fat (cocoa butter) and cocoa from other stuff?

    • katescarlata

      Kat, we don’t really know for sure if chocolate will be low FODMAP or not. We are just hoping and praying! It hasn’t been tested yet to my knowledge…BUT, yes because it has ingredients (cocoa butter for one) beyond cocoa perhaps….some low fiber chocolates might make the low FODMAP cut off and be allowed in small amounts.

  • Bebba

    I would like to receive new posts by email. Am midway through an 8-week low FODMAPs diet and simultaneously at the end of a 14-day stretch of Rimaxifin. Things are much better now, but I won’t know until I begin the reintroduction of FODMAPs whether to credit the antibiotic or the diet. Ever since childhood, when asked, “What is your favorite food?” I’ve always answered “Hot buttered toast”, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for bread, as even the expensive gluten-free “breads” are far from being like the real thing. Sigh.
    Also, what are the best ways to keep fiber in your diet?

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