6 signs you may have FODMAP intolerance.

by Mamamia Team March 8, 2016

Image: iStock.

For many years, unexplained tummy cramps, constipation, diarrhoea and digestive issues were put into a broad category known as ‘ irritable bowel syndrome ’. Sufferers knew that some foods caused more distress than others, yet doctors and dieticians could not quite put their finger on it.

Gluten and wheat were frequently blamed as were dairy foods but often eliminating these foods did not completely solve the issues. That is, until Australian dietitian Dr Sue Shepherd paved the way with her discoveries about the role of FODMAPs in digestive health for sufferers who are sensitive to them.

So, what on earth are these FODMAPs and who should avoid them? (Watch Magdalena Roze make her favourite healing tea, Kombucha. Post continues after video)

The acronym FODMAP refers to a group of sugars and sugar-related molecules found in a number of common foods that we eat. These FODMAP’s or Fermentable Oligosaccharides (fructans and Galacto-oligosaccharides(GOS), Disaccharide (lactose), Monosaccharide (fructose in excess of glucose) and Polyols (eg. sorbitol, mannitol) are relatively poorly absorbed in the small intestine, leaving individuals sensitive to them experiencing excessive gas, bloating, abdominal pain and even nausea.

Over time, these symptoms can lead to fatigue, lethargy and poor concentration. (Post continues after gallery)

The Gluten Museum.

Image via The Gluten Museum on tumblr.

One of the reasons that FODMAP intolerance can be difficult to identify is that different individuals have different tolerance levels to these sugars and the amounts of these sugars that individuals react to are wide and varying. For example, some people can tolerate some onion and garlic while others cannot have any. Some individuals can tolerate wheat, others none at all.

As such, developing dietary plans to support a low FODMAP style of eating can be a case of trial and error. Particularly for individuals who have dealt with gut discomfort for a number of years, it can take some time to let the gut recover and tolerate a number of FODMAP’s at all.