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Going Low-Fodmap

A member of my household has been told by a doctor to go on a low-fodmat diet. It’s a less extreme version of going Gluten-Free for Celiac disease, which is becoming increasingly common. So I’m going to support her by going along for the diet change as much as I can!

From what I understand, people on need to be on low-fodmap diets to prevent severe irritation to the intestines. In some cases it’s so bad that certain sugars need to be avoided as if they were poison. The biggest difficulty is that these sugars are the main components of staple foods like bread, corn, pastas, pizza and certain fruits and vegetables. Trace amounts of these foods appear in almost everything, which makes adhering to a low-fodmat or gluten-free diet particularly tricky.

There are gluten-free and low-fodmap guides we are trying to follow, but they’re pretty contradictory. Some obvious ones are out, but some resources are contradictory: Some say corn and broccoli are unacceptable, while others say a small amount is okay.

The process has had us clear out our pantry and donate it to the foodbank. That means shopping! Fortunately, because gluten-free and low-fodmap diets are becoming increasingly common, so is finding foods. Most grocery stores carry some products like bread marketed as gluten-free. Our local Whole Foods Market have a whole gluten-free section featuring bread, pasta, cookies, crackers, brownies and cereal.

Unfortunately, because they aren’t high-volume items, they’re pretty expensive. A typical 700g loaf of whole grain bread will cost between $1.50-$2.99. A comparable loaf of gluten-free bread costs at least $6! Gluten-free cereals, cookies and dough are similarly marked-up.

But, we have found some low-fodmap surprises. Some products have always been gluten-free or low-fodmat by accident, and therefore don’t have the price inflation from low volume or “branding” premium. To my surprise, Cheerios are low-fodmap and in every cereal aisle. They used to be called CheeriOATS after all. And we found out some oatmeal cookies that were in our pantry which we bought on sale are also gluten-free. And rice is gluten-free, so this dietary staple and its derivatives like rice noodles are good too.

The next challenge we foresee is eating out. However, since it’s becoming increasingly common, restaurants are getting savvy about being gluten-free. Many have options or substitutions available if you ask. McDonalds has even started to brag that their fries are gluten-free. Looking forward to the Walt Disney World Dopey Challenge, I was surprised that Disney World has a comprehensive gluten-free menu at all of its parks and resorts.

I won’t be completely gluten-free, but at home I’ll be accommodating and see how this goes. If it’s inherited maybe it’s something I’ll have to get used to later in life!