While the low FODMAP diet is highly effective for managing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, it can be challenging to follow and may have negative side effects. The low FODMAP diet can be highly restrictive, leading to nutritional imbalances, disturbances to the gut microbiota, disordered eating behaviors and social isolation.

Before you get frustrated trying to follow the low FODMAP diet's three phases, know that there are resources and best practices for making the process easier. Once you know or suspect which foods trigger symptoms, digestive enzymes like FODZYME® enable those following a low FODMAP diet to enjoy high FODMAP foods again. Read on to learn more.

The Restrictive Nature of a Low FODMAP Diet

The low FODMAP diet is the most clinically proven dietary protocol for the management of IBS symptoms, with up to 86% of IBS patients experience symptom relief on the elimination diet. When patients with IBS commence a low FODMAP diet for the management of IBS symptoms, it doesn’t take long to recognize how restrictive the diet is.

The phases of the low FODMAP elimination diet

During the elimination (first) phase, you'll want to limit your intake of all foods high in FODMAPs. This strict reduction is designed to see how your symptoms respond to cutting back on FODMAPs. In this phase, reducing fermentable carbohydrates, like oligosaccharides, and short chain carbohydrates, like excess fructose and lactose, can help assess whether reducing FODMAPs alters symptoms. If you feel better cutting back on all FODMAPs, this is a strong sign that FODMAP intolerance is driving your symptoms and means you'll want to move on to phase II, the reintroduction phase, followed by the personalization phase.

Finding Low-FODMAP Food Options

Following the three phases of the low FODMAP diet involves significant dietary change and can be highly complex and time-consuming. When transitioning to a low FODMAP diet, many traditional dietary advice strategies, like just 'eat more fiber,' no longer apply. Common foods that form a balanced diet suddenly appear on the 'restrict’ list, making the prospect of consuming an enjoyable meal a perceivably impossible pursuit.

The strict low FODMAP elimination diet regimen makes grocery shopping and eating out very overwhelming, bringing on feelings of disappointment, stress, anxiety and sometimes even food fears.

Grocery shopping challenges on a low-FODMAP diet

Grocery shopping when following a low FODMAP diet can be a major challenge. FODMAPs are prevalent in lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and dairy products.

Initially it can feel like the food choices are close to zero, but with planning and portion control there are often a good number of foods you can include. Use a reliable FODMAP app or resources to build a grocery list that includes low FODMAP foods you like.

The Social & Lifestyle Challenges of a Low FODMAP Diet

On top of meal planning challenges, dining out at restaurants and eating with friends and family can be challenging on a strict low FODMAP diet. The low FODMAP diet limits common foods like pizza, pasta, many types of sandwiches and other typical restaurant dishes.

Finding suitable dishes on the menu can be rare and often you'll need to ask for modifications. When eating at a friend or family member's house, it can feel uncomfortable to request recipe adjustments ahead of time. Date nights can be particularly hard when you're limiting FODMAPs. Unfortunately, if you're in the elimination phase or challenge phase of the diet these modifications and special requests are very important.

Even once you've identified your triggers and are in the personalization phase of the low FODMAP diet the prospect of sharing food or eating spontaneously can feel like a far away dream. These lifestyle restrictions can impair quality of life and contribute to increased anxiety around certain foods, especially during the elimination and challenge phase of the diet.

However, successful transition from elimination to maintenance can often mean significant symptom relief, without an overly restrictive diet.

Why Some People Struggle to See Results on a Low FODMAP Diet

Not everyone sees instant relief on a low FODMAP diet, which can be frustrating given the diet's promises. Many factors can lead to less-than-amazing results on a low FODMAP diet.

For some, FODMAPs may be just part of the problem when it comes to what's impacting your digestive system. Underlying gastrointestinal disorders, such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) or functional bowel disorders, may also be exacerbating digestive symptoms despite a reduced FODMAP intake.

FODMAPs and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

With functional gastrointestinal disorders, stress, an altered gut-brain connection, impaired motility, inadequate fiber intake and a wide range of other factors may all contribute to digestive issues. While FODMAPs are often part of the picture when it comes to digestive symptoms, they are rarely the only culprit.

Furthermore, diet and lifestyle factors may be impairing success on the low FODMAP diet. Chewing gum with hidden FODMAPs in the form of sugar alcohols, like sorbitol or xylitol, can lead to diarrhea and abdominal pain. These polyols are poorly absorbed and draw water into the small and large intestine, hindering symptom improvement. These polyols ferment rapidly in the colon, leading to gas, bloating, and other symptoms related to osmosis and bacterial fermentation. These are just some nuances of navigating sweeteners on a low FODMAP diet.

Other behaviors like too little or too much exercise, eating very quickly, or poor meal spacing can also lead to symptoms, even when you're limiting your FODMAP intake.

Fiber and the low FODMAP diet

It's also important to maintain a diverse diet with various food groups, even while following the low FODMAP diet. Diversifying your food intake is important to support a healthy gut microbiome and feed the beneficial bacteria in the digestive system.

In particular, eating enough prebiotic fiber, found in foods like garlic, onion and beans, feeds butyrate producing bacteria. Butyrate is an important short-chain fatty acid that supports digestive function. A lack of dietary diversity may reduce populations of butyrate producing bacteria, which are essential for colon health and bowel regularity. One of the major nutritional risks of a low FODMAP diet is following an overly restrictive diet that may starve the gut bacteria of these important fibers.

Low FODMAP Diet Pitfalls to Avoid

There are common mistakes to avoid when following a low FODMAP diet. Make sure you're not falling into any of these traps:

  • Avoiding ALL foods with FODMAPs: The low FODMAP diet is about reducing foods high in FODMAPs; not cutting out every single food that has FODMAPs. Unlike with food allergies, which trigger symptoms with even the smallest level of exposure, FODMAPs just trigger gastrointestinal symptoms in IBS patients when consumed in excess.
  • Getting stuck in the elimination phase: It's important to go through all three phases of the low FODMAP diet: elimination, reintroduction and personalization. It's tempting to stay in the elimination phase if you start feeling better after cutting back on FODMAPs but it's vital that you go on to challenge foods and learn what you can add back in.
  • Trying to do it all on your own: The low FODMAP diet is highly complex and best undertaken with the support of a registered dietitian. A dietitian will provide detailed guidance as you undergo dietary change of this complexity, which ensures your quality of life is minimally impacted.

Think of the low FODMAP diet as a tool to learn which FODMAP categories and portions you can tolerate. Research shows that those who follow a low FODMAP diet are at increased risk for disordered eating and do not always achieve nutritional adequacy. If a strict low FODMAP diet does not sound right for you, consider a simplified or FODMAP gentle diet.

Overcoming FODMAP Challenges with FODZYME®

Research reveals lower quality of life in IBS patients compared to the general population. Dietary restrictions can play a significant role in creating anxiety around unfamiliar foods and eating scenarios.

Digestive enzymes are an incredibly helpful tool to promote tolerance to high FODMAP foods and reduce the need for a restrictive diet. By helping to hydrolyze short chain carbohydrates like fructan, galacto-oligosaccharides (galactans/GOS) and lactose, FODZYME® supports tolerance to these fermentable oligosaccharides and disaccharides. From chili and cheese to chocolate chip cookies and ice cream, using digestive enzymes with high FODMAP foods can allow for greater enjoyment of many foods for IBS sufferers.

How FODZYME® Works

FODZYME® comes in powder form and breaks down FODMAPs directly when mixed with or sprinkled on high-FODMAP foods, before they reach the large intestine. The reason FODZYME has stepped away from capsules is that powder, in its simple form, is much more effective: it incorporates with food immediately for the enzymes to get to work instantly.

The enzyme blend contains a unique formulation of fructan hydrolase, lactase and alpha-galactosidase, that breaks down fructans (found in foods like garlic, onion and wheat), lactose (found in cheese, buttermilk and other dairy products) and galactans/GOS (in legumes and nuts) into their individual constituents during a meal.

The enzymes are derived from microorganisms that have been used in beverages and foods for thousands of years and are safe for human consumption. In an in-vitro study, FODZYME® demonstrated that it was able to work effectively in the temperature and gastric pH of the stomach, providing assurance that the enzymes remain active in the digestive tract and are not degraded or destroyed in an acidic stomach environment (with ~90% of the inulin degraded within 30 minutes).

Bringing Back Food Freedom with FODZYME®

FODZYME® can help you bring the foods you love back into your diet and help you start cooking recipes with high FODMAP ingredients again. It’s very easily incorporated into the FODMAP diet as it may assist in liberalizing the range of foods, otherwise eliminated as a strategy to reduce FODMAP-induced symptoms.

That’s right, you can now eat a meal containing garlic and onion when you sprinkle FODZYME® on your food before eating! Even these high FODMAP foods, rich in fermentable carbohydrates, can be tolerated with enzymatic support. One dose is recommended for most meals, but if you're eating for more than 30 minutes, you can add another one halfway through your meal.

The effective, targeted approach has already shown efficacy in preliminary studies, demonstrating reduced gas production, diarrhea, and flatulence.

Reclaiming diet flexibility and improving quality of life are possible, even for those whose digestive issues seem to arise with even the smallest portions of FODMAPs.

Try FODZYME® today and start enjoying food without fear.