I have been doing quite a bit of reading over the weekend which initially started with a post from Mileposts concerning food allergies and the FODMAP diet. What has got me so excited about this is that it is something that comes and goes, flares and settles because of the tolerance our digestion has at any given time. We overwhelm it, it responds unhappily. We have balance, our digestive tract is happy. I also read another great post by Chris Kressler about common foods harming the digestion of some people some of the time and how the FODMAP diet can help.
I have never been a dieter nor a sucker for bouncing around with the diet of the month. I have always tried to eat for health with moderation in mind, denying myself nothing and going overboard on nothing. Sometimes my eating involves carbs, sometimes not. Sometimes it is Paleo based, sometimes vegetarian based. I try to listen to my body and eat for what it is telling me. For the past couple of years I have been failing miserably at this as what my body is happy with one day, it is terribly unhappy with the next. There has been no rhyme or reason. I haven't known what to do. Keeping a food journal has proved nothing except inconsistencies.
However, I have made a very conscious decision to try and eliminate as much sugar as possible from my eating. I have been a strong fruit person and this has been a great opportunity to cultivate a love for veggies. I have also enjoyed carbs because as an athletic person, I believed this is what fueled me. I have also been reducing my carbohydrate intake and can still pump out strong workouts without trouble. I have chosen to reduce sugar and carb consumption because of the increase of inflammation associated with a high sugar diet.
So, now I am about to undertake another adjustment to my eating philosophy. Learn more, do better, change occurs. Here's hoping!
I have printed out a couple of Low FODMAP diet food lists and it is apparent to me that the veggies are actually the main adjustment I need to make. fodmap-intolerances (1)
I consume many of the high FODMAP foods daily in terms of the veggies like asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower as especially beets and garlic. I have been juicing these regularly. What is going to happen with my juicing right now I am not sure about. It appears that juicing the offending foods still is a problem so I will adapt my juicing recipes to try and get the juicing benefits without the problematic veggie. I will also need to change my yogurt to the lactose free option (which I have been buying but not eating as my daughter is the one who needs it) and the coconut. I am very sad about this right now as I LOVE coconut and it will be hard to go without it for a couple weeks. However, most info states that a couple weeks is all that it takes to see significant changes and if this is indeed what is happening- then I will re-adjust my plan. The good news is that once foods from all the FODMAP groups is eliminated for a while, they can be reintroduced as not all groups offend everyone.
Dr. Allison Siebecker, an expert in this field has this to say.
The science of FODMAPs starts in the name: Fermentable Oliogosaccharides DisaccharidesMonosaccharides And Polyols. For many reasons these carbohydrates are easily fermented and the byproducts of this cause digestive pain. But as we’ve discussed before this is very individual and the quantity consumed is very important.
This next information is from the following IBS site.
FODMAPs are types of sugars and fiber, found in wheat-based and other foods:
| Fructans and Galactins | Polyols |
|---|---|
| Fructose Lactose Fructooligosaccharides Galactooligosaccharides | Sorbitol Mannitol Xylitol Maltitol |
There is a cumulative effect of these foods, of their osmotic (water moving) and fermentative (bacteria feeding) actions, on IBS symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, altered bowel movements and lethargy. Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms could result from many different (and independent) reasons including low absorptive capacity of the small intestinal epithelium, increased sensitivity of the bowel, rapid transit through the small bowel, and bacterial overgrowth in the distal small bowel.
This means that you may eat some of the problem foods listed in the tables and still fill fine. It's not about the foods eaten in isolation, it's about hundreds of food components that are adding up. To follow the right diet, you need to identify your individual sensitivities and dietary combinations.
I am disclaiming any diagnosis as an expert as I am not trained in these areas. I am only providing what I feel is very valuable information for myself -onto others who may also be needing it. How do you know what to look for if you don't know? My eyes opened because of one person's blog post a week ago and I hope that I may be of help to someone who just maybe doesn't know. Symptoms and issues may be different but the planting of an idea, a spark of information can yield a great hunger for learning and then healing.
Happy Eating!
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