Healthy living
Suffer with IBS, bloating or discomfort? Avoiding some types of sugar could help. Here’s what you need to know…
Tame those tummy troubles
SO WHAT’S NEW?
whether it’s bread or ice cream, almost everyone who has suffered with IBS could name their ‘trigger’ foods. But now doctors have found that one specific set of sugars found in many foods could be directly responsible for this painful condition. they’re called Fodmaps – a group of six sugars found in over 50 foods. For most of us, they are harmless but if you have digestive troubles like ibs or bloating they can cause problems. ‘the sugars in Fodmaps can’t be digested by the body,’ explains Professor Peter Whorwell, author of Take Control Of Your IBS (Vermilion, £12.99). ‘they enter the colon and the bacteria that live there then use them as food. they then produce chemicals that irritate the gut lining and make gas, causing symptoms like bloating, discomfort and diarrhoea.’ While avoiding Fodmaps isn’t the only way to tackle ibs, in trials it has been found to reduce symptoms by up to 76%, especially for those suffering bloating, wind and diarrhoea. Here are our four steps to giving it a try.
STEP 1 Do your homework
avoiding Fodmap-containing foods takes some research. It’s not as simple as saying ‘don’t eat nuts’ or ‘give up carbs’ as within each type of food some contain Fodmaps, others don’t. For example, bananas are great, while apples are a no-go. also, because there are six different types of sugar, there are a lot of foods on the supermarket shelves that contain them, including...
anything with wheat: Bread, pasta, couscous, cakes and biscuits.
DAIRY: milk, ice cream, many cheeses and yogurt. nuts: Pistachios and cashews. Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, beans.
Vegetables: artichokes, cauliflower, leeks, onions, garlic, mushrooms.
Fruit: apples, apricots, blackberries, cherries, mangoes, peaches, pears, plums, prunes and watermelon.
sweeteners: honey, agave nectar, sorbitol and xylitol. and this isn’t even the full list – just some you’re most likely to encounter.
next, avoid Fodmaps for four weeks. why? ‘If your symptoms disappear during this time there’s a chance at least one Fodmap food or type of sugar is behind your symptoms,’ says Professor whorwell. ‘If nothing changes, there is another cause to your symptoms and staying on the diet for longer won’t help, so don’t carry on.’
STEP 3 Add foods back in
this may sound odd, especially if you’re feeling better. ‘a low-fodmap diet isn’t recommended long term as it cuts out so many foods,’ says christine Bailey, author of The Gut Health Diet Plan (£12.99, nourish). ‘By restricting all the foods in the plan, you also avoid foods that healthy bacteria in the gut need.’ instead, slowly start adding in Fodmap foods one at a time and see if symptoms return. if they do, you may need to avoid that food totally or only eat small amounts. if nothing happens, that’s not a problem food for you and you can eat it again.
STEP 4 Ask for advice
If only one or two Fodmap foods set you off, you can probably work out how to replace them. But if you have to give up a lot of foods which could put you at risk of nutritional deficiencies or still can’t work out which foods trigger your symptoms, see a dietitian. ask your GP for a referral or visit kcl.ac.uk/fodmaps to see one privately – sessions are around £45.
WHERE TO GET HELP
For a complete list of Fodmap foods, try: the APP: the Foodmaestro app (itunes/ google Play, £3.99 a year) identifies foods to avoid and can scan barcodes to see which processed foods are Fodmap free. the Book: not a fan of apps? read The Complete LOW-FODMAP Diet by sue shepherd and Peter gibson (ebury, £16.99) which gives a full list of foods.