The FODMAP diet for IBS
What are FODMAPs?
FODMAP is a collective name for a number of carbohydrate groups. These cannot be absorbed properly by the body. For some people this causes many complaints, such as: pain in the abdomen, a bloated feeling, flatulence or an abnormal stool pattern. By avoiding these carbohydrates, your complaints can decrease.
What foods are they in?
FODMAPs are found in very diverse foods. They are not clearly indicated on a label. Not all of them give complaints to everyone, and sometimes only when it’s eaten in a curtain amount. This also makes this diet a complex diet that should preferably always be done under the supervision of a dietician.
How does the FODMAP diet work?
To find out which group of fodmaps you may suffer from, this must be tested. This is done by avoiding the foods from 1 or more fodmap groups for a certain period of time (often a number of weeks). We call this the elimination phase. Then the foods from these fodmap groups are added back to the diet 1 by 1. This way we can test when the complaints arise. We call this the reintroduction phase. This can also take several weeks.
In the meantime, we keep a close eye on the complaints. This way we can determine whether and which fodmaps are causing the complaints so they can be avoided in the future.
Purpose of the diet