Low FODMAP diet

[viv]

So, the nutritionist has put me on the low FODMAP diet as expected.

For the next 6 weeks I'll be eating gluten-free, lactose-free, and avoiding certain fruit and veg including onion, garlic, apples and cherries.

After that, it's all reintroduced to see whether I have problems tolerating any of it.

Has anyone ever been on this? How did you get on? Any tips?

Or anyone who has been on a medically restricted diet?

[kraken]

As part of other half's stomach problems we've done all sorts of dietary elimination.

Gluten free - tesco does a pretty good 'free from' range, including bread. The coffee - walnut cakes are a nice treat when you get fed up not being allowed cakes.

Lactose free - there is a vegan range of cheese and spread, vitalite, which is pretty good but pricey. The Swedish Glace vanilla soy ice cream is pretty nice. Tesco's free from does vanilla/strawberry ice cream cones which are both gluten and dairy free and genuinely nice. There are lots of lactose free cheeses, vegan websites are a good guide as they're lactose free by default. Almond milk is a good substitute for baking, mashed potatoes and pancakes, and Oatly is an oat based cream which works well in cooking.

Good luck, dietary restrictions suck when it's not voluntary --eventually we narrowed other half down to no lactose or tomato (!) which sucks as we're both vegetarian and both were staples. Also means no pizza which I think is the worst when all you want is a quick takeaway...

[poppy]

good luck - we cater for gluten free it can be difficult at times. the worst part is getting bread that is nice and a good size for sandwich/toast. Be careful of cross contamination and 'hidden' gluten - a lot of things you would expect to naturally be gluten free do have wheat in them.

There is an iphone app for coeliacs which gives a list of ingredients - good when out to check if something is okay or not. Somethings like whiskey is okay because of the distilling process - so now beer is of the menu whiskey isn't.

[sophie]

A good friend went on this diet, and it changed her life. She finds eating out not too much of a problem, but eating at friends can be problematic. She finds it a bit frustrating as it doesn't follow her personal philosophy (eating local and all that)..no apples, figs or blackberries from her garden..but all the oranges and bananas she can buy. Small trade off in order to be better.

[viv]

Thanks all, really useful stuff. Very pleased to hear good things have come of it
I suspect my issues will turn out to be apples (including cider), some ingredient in bread (whether gluten, yeast or something else, I've no idea), and maybe something I have a lot because of my daily symptoms. I'm really hoping it's not lactose.

Interestingly, most cheeses are fine on this - something to do with the fermentation process of the cheese. I don't pretend to understand the science.

I've got one loaf of gluten free bread to try, but at 3 x the price of normal bread, I won't be eating huge amounts of it. Same for the pasta at 2 x the price. I'm going to try not to do too many substitute products, as this isn't forever. Gluten free pizza bases aren't too expensive so I may end up with that at some point! Same for tacos. Although chilli without any sort of beans in it will be odd - pulses, lentils, legumes etc are all off the menu for now as well.

[HalcyonDaze]

Clipper did this for a while. There are loads of blogs that have some good recipes that follow the site. What I found difficult was the lack of herbs and spices and garlic (and it turns out garlic is one of the things Clipper does well to avoid, so I still miss it) It did seem fairly bland. Which is why I turned to the blogs to find different sauces etc to spice things up!

[sprite]

if you're allowed bananas, there is a sort of 'soft serve' ice cream you can make, and if you add cocoa powder (is that legal on fodmap?) it becomes chocolate ice cream. it's good enough to fool people who don't know what they're eating.

[whortleberry]

My sympathies. I cater for gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free and low fruit. It can be a bit restrictive but hang in there - if you feel better it's worth it!

[Queen]

Jan 10, 2016 16:12:42 GMT -5 viv said:

Interestingly, most cheeses are fine on this - something to do with the fermentation process of the cheese. I don't pretend to understand the science.

Most of the lactose in milk goes into the whey and is drained off, cheese is made with the remaining curd. As the cheese ages the lactose is broken down to lactic acid, so in hard cheeses, particularly ones that are well ripened there are only trace amounts of lactose. These may be OK for people who are lactose-intolerant depending on the level of their intolerance.

Fresh cheeses, such as mozzarella, ricotta, cottage cheese, and cheese spreads may have more whey in them in step one, or have milk added during the manufacture process, and also have less chance for the lactose to be broken down. So they're not possible for people with lactose-intolerance.

Friend who is generally lactose intolerant can have cheese on Pasta for example, but not cottage cheese type products.

[lolasf]

You've probably already seen it, but this app is recommended frequently in a food group I belong to on FB: www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/gastro/fodmap/iphone-app.html

[crazycat]

Another gluten free household here!

My advice is similar to Poppy's. Depending on how strict you need to be you need to take contamination into consideration i.e. cooked chips are gluten free as they are just potatoes but if they are fried in the same oil as the crumbed or battered fish or chicken then they are contaminated and should not be eaten. I think those with gluten intolerance may be ok with that but my husband is coeliac and that sort of thing can make him very sick.

In our house we have separate butters, I use a spoon to get any chutneys, jams, peanut butter, out of a jar and then spread it with my knife separately to avoid contamination. We also have two toasters.

[viv]

Thank you everyone, lots of interesting points to consider.

I'm not treating this as coeliac, so won't worry about cross-contamination. Navy Boy is eating normal bread but has gluten free pasta with me to save on cooking. He can have beans and peas etc, but will mostly stick to whatever I'm cooking.

So far, my guts are incredibly different. I can't believe the improvement already.

My scales say I've lost 8lbz since Monday, but I think I need new scales. I have,However ,lost an inch off my waist - no doubt that's bloating reducing.

[sprite]

an inch is an inch!
it sounds like a fair bit of work to go through so it's good to hear that you are feeling better.

[viv]

3 inches gone, and people commenting on weightloss and looking radiant.

True story.

However, I fell off the wagon last night due to lack of planning. Despite asking Navy Boy to get food in for me coming home from a week away, there was chuff all in the house. Chinese food ordered in and a few naughty ciders. I picked food that should have had little in it to be an issue, but didn't check diligently.

My stomach has hated me since about the second glass of cider.

How did I live with these symptoms for so long?! It's awful.

Obviously, I'm back on it this morning as of breakfast, and it's reassured me that I'm doing a good thing with great results.

[whortleberry]

Great news on the improvements in you health! A shame to fall off the wagon, but at least you know cider's a definite trigger now.

[sprite]

is it cruel to say, cider is no real loss?

the improvements sound great, and if falling off the wagon now and then reminds how much better you feel on it, then it's not wasted.

[princessofpenguins]

Yay for you! But have they figured out what causes our problems? It seems like you´re correct about the apples?