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Fodmap diet anyone?

Just wondering if anyone on here has tried the fodmap diet, either to treat undiagnosed kids/ ibs, or crohns colitis symptoms? I was researching ibs diets for kids, as my daughters pedi gi, basically said her symptoms are ibs. We go and see him again in 3 weeks and I'm thinking of trying the diet for 2 months. Anyone tried it before? It's gluten free, lactose free, but unlike SCD and Palio, in that it also eliminates certain veg like avacados peas, and certain fruits. Even yoghurt. It's supposed to treat ibs, and help with crohns and colitis symptoms. If her gi says to try it, I will, but I'm thinking this is going to be hard for a 9 y old. Hoping some of you have some expiriences with it....
 
This is the fodmap diet-

ELIMINATING FODMAPs



FRUITS TO AVOID:

Excess Fructose fruit:
Apple
Mango
Nashi fruit
Pear
Persimmon
Rambutan
Watermelon

Excess Fructan fruit:
Persimmon
Rambutan
Watermelon

Excess Polyol fruit:
Apple
Apricot
Avocado
Blackberries
Cherries
Longon
Lychee
Nashi Fruit
Nectarine
Peach
Pear
Plum
Prune
Watermelon

SUITABLE FRUITS:
Banana
Blueberries – buy organic
Boysenberry – buy organic
Cantaloupe
Star fruit
Cranberry – buy organic
Durian
Grapes – buy organic
Grapefruit
Honeydew melon
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Mandarin
Orange
Passion fruit
Paw paw
Pineapple
Raspberry – buy organic
Rhubarb
Strawberry – buy organic
Tangelo

Suitable dried fruits (some people are ok with dried fruits, others are not):
Banana chips
Cranberries (often are coated in sugar – only eat if not sweetened)
Currants
Paw paw
Pineapple (often are coated in sugar – only eat if not sweetened)
Sultanas
Raisins (may not be suitable for everyone…)

Special notes on fruit:
Limit intake of suitable fruits to one serve per meal.
e.g. One whole banana or orange.
Third to half a glass of suitable juice.
Small handful of berries or grapes.
Small amount of suitable dried fruit (e.g. 10 sultanas).



VEGETABLES TO AVOID:

Excess Fructose vegetables:
Sugar snap peas

Excess Fructan vegetables:
Artichokes (Globe & Jerusalem)
Asparagus
Beet
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Chicory
Dandelion leaves
Fennel
Garlic
Leek
Legumes
Okra
Onion (brown, white, & Spanish)
Peas
Radicchio lettuce
Shallot
Spring onion (white section).

Excess Polyol vegetables:
Avocado
Cauliflower
Mushrooms
Snow peas



SUITABLE VEGETABLES:
Alfalfa
Bamboo shoots
Bean shoots
Beans (green)
Bok choy
Broccoli (may not be suitable for everyone…)
Capsicum
Carrot
Celery
Chives
Choy sum
Corn (raw corn may bother some people)
Cucumber
Endive
Eggplant (this may be troublesome for some; assess individual tolerance)
Ginger
Lettuce (may be ok or not)
Marrow
Olives
Parsnip

Parsley
Potato
Pumpkin
Silverbeet
Spring onion (green section)
Spinach
Squash (this may be troublesome for some; asses individual tolerance)
Swede
Sweet potato
Taro
Tomato (cherry tomatoes often are moldy – try to avoid)
Turnip
Yam
Zucchini (this may be troublesome for some; asses individual tolerance)

Special notes on vegetables:
Onion is one of the greatest contributors to IBS. Strict avoidance is recommended.
Avoid:
• Onion (brown, white & Spanish), Onion powder, White section of spring onion.
• Leeks, Shallots, Garlic.
There is undeclared onion hidden in many processed foods including, chicken salt, vegetable salt, vegetable powder, dehydrated vegetables, stocks, gravies, soups, marinades, & sauces.
Alternatives:
• Chives
• Green part of spring onion
• Asafoetida powder (* contains gluten).
• Fresh & dried ginger, coriander, basil, lemongrass, chili, mint, parsley, marjoram, oregano, thyme, rosemary & others.



PROBLEM WHEAT & Rye products:

Bread (white, wholemeal, multigrain, sourdough, pita, & many rye)
Pasta & noodles (regular, two minute, spelt, egg noodles, hokkien & udon)
Breakfast cereals (containing wheat, excess dried fruit &/or fruit juice).
Savoury biscuits (wheat based)
Cakes & baked goods (wheat based)
Sweet biscuits (wheat based)
Pastry & breadcrumbs (wheat flour made)
Others (semolina, couscous, bulger)

ALTERNATIVES to WHEAT Grains:
Rice
Corn (may bother some people)
Potato
Amaranth
Tapioca
Quinoa
Millet
Sorgum
Buckwheat
Arrowroot
Sago

ALTERNATIVES to WHEAT Products:
Gluten free bread, 100% spelt bread, wheat free rye.
Gluten free pasta, rice noodles, wheat free buckwheat noodles.
Porridge, wheat free muesli, rice bubbles, corn flakes, & gluten free cereals.
Corn thins, rice cakes & crackers, gluten free crackers, ryvitas, & rye cruskits.
Gluten free cakes, flourless cakes.
Gluten free biscuits.
Gluten free pastry mixes, & bread crumbs, polenta, cornflake crumbs.
Buckwheat, polenta, millet, sorghum, sago, tapioca, rice, & corn flours.



Special notes on Wheat:
• Wheat free Rye is tolerable for most (assess individually).
• Small amounts of wheat, such as breadcrumbs, may be tolerable (assess individually).
• Those with diagnosed Coeliac disease should eliminate gluten from their diet.
• Gluten free foods do not contain wheat, rye oats & barley.
o A low FODMAP diet allows oats & barley.
• Trace amounts of wheat ingredients such as soy sauce should not be a problem.
• Many wheat derived products such as wheat starch, wheat thickeners, wheat maltodextrin, wheat dextrin, wheat dextrose, wheat glucose, & wheat color caramel are fructan free glucose chains & should be safe to eat.



OTHER FODMAPs FOODS (containing, FRUCTOSE &/or Fructans) to AVOID:
• Honey
• Corn syrups
• Corn syrup solids
• Fruisana
• Chickory
• Dandelion tea
• Inulin
• Artificial sweeteners (see GOS)
• Sugar free or low carb sweets, mints, gums, & dairy desserts.
• Baked beans, lentils, & chick peas

Alternatives:
• Golden syrup
• Treacle
• Molasses
• Maple syrup
• White, brown, raw & castor sugar (sucrose) eaten in moderation.
• Tea, coffee, & herbal teas
• Nuts & seeds (moderation)
• Oat bran
• Barley bran.
• Psyllium.
• Rice bran.
• Suitable sweeteners (nutrasweet, sucralose, aspartame, stevia, saccharine, tic tacs, minties, regular gum).


Special comments:
• Limit alcohol intake.
• Avoid alcohol which is high in indigestible carbohydrate, such as beer.
• Clear spirits such as Vodka & Gin with water/soda flavored with fresh suitable fruit in moderation is preferable.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat in moderation.
• Chew your food well.
• Limit processed foods (hidden FODMAPs & irritants).
• Limit or avoid processed meats ((hidden FODMAPs & irritants).
• Fresh fruit, vegetables, & whole meats/fish are best.

After 2 months- you can try introducing certain foods to see if you can tolerate them, one by one. Strict isn't it?
 
I've tried it...although I was eating mushrooms on and off, I also did a SIBO diet. I haven't gotten any relief. Although I'm pretty sure that after 10+ years of this, countless tests, etc....that my body is just beyodn repair. The only thing that EVER helped was zelnorm and that was pulled from the market like 8 years ago.
I am going to go see a ND in 3 weeks...maybe he will help.
I don't really know what it will take at this point, I just think my intestines are beyond repair
 
My ten year old daughter tried it before Christmas for 7 weeks. It seemed so hard at first, but eventually settled into a routine. She has also been given ibs diagnosis and this diet is supposed to work for 75% of people. Unfortunately she wasn't one of them. They say you can see a difference within 2 weeks and although we stuck to it religiously nothing changed. I am not sorry we tried it though because it actually felt good to at least be doing something and from what I've read, it does work well for many people.
 
Thank you, I'll see if her gi thinks its worth a try. It's the only ibs diet I could find, and if it could help 75% of people with ibs, that sounds pretty good, just hard. :/
 

Catherine

Moderator
Irene

I got much better on the diet, but Sarah got worse. She was dx with crohn 2months later.

My dx is still ibs.:soledance:
 
Location
Canada
My son did this diet for about 4 weeks. He was also given the IBS diagnosis in addition to Crohn's. The diet was pretty tough for him to do but he managed. It didn't help much but it was worth a try. Onions were the hard thing to totally eliminate, although my son would probably tell you giving up bread was the hardest.

FWIW my son's IBS symptoms greatly reduced when he started taking a good probiotic and high doses of vitamin B2.
 
That's what I stress about- that lll do an ibs diet but what if its crohns or colitis. I'll try it and ask for an MRI if symptoms persist- but yes- onions and garlic I use in everything. And jas loves bread and cereal. :/
 
Hello Irene3, :bigwave:

I had a my terminal ileum and ileocecal valve removed in April 2012. I thought that after 3 surgergies, in 13 months, this would end my constant pain, but within 3 months the pain returned. It was a little higher than my orginal pain, and it was almost as constant. I tried the SCD, which gave me more pain.

Then after 7 months, a MRI and much suffering, my gastro doc said, "did I tell you that you may have SIBO". WHAT??? Why wasn't I told this when I had the surgery??? So, I went, studied up and decided to go on the FODMAPS diet. Hurray, 6 weeks later I have been improving and I am almost pain free!!! I also stopped taking my probiotics, which made a HUGE difference for me (it kinda makes sense since I have too much flora). I may start taking it again when I am feeling better for awhile.

I would encourage anyone with this same problem to try this....

Thanks for the post, it helps to know that I'm not the only one this has worked for. :thumright:

:dance::dance::dance::dance:
 
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Hi Irene, I was diagnosed with CD midway through last year & was half heartedly following the Low Fodmap diet hoping that it would create a happier digestive tract. Whilst my symptoms of bloating & abdominal pain all but vanished, I was still having diarrhoea at times so wondered if it was diet rather than CD related.
I tossed up about having the breath tests done but as not all fodmaps can be tested, I bought 'Food Intolerance Management Plan' by Drs Sue Shepherd & Peter Gibson & am now 1 week into my diet. So far, so good & I've made a few of the recipes from the book. I think one of the most difficult aspects is accepting that with CD there are certain foods which may be irritant in addition to fodmaps eg: salads, seeds, nuts etc
Given how young your daughter is, I think you are wise to accept her specialist's recommendations as it is important not to limit her diet unless certain foods may be problematic. Keep us all updated please.
 
That's what I stress about- that lll do an ibs diet but what if its crohns or colitis. I'll try it and ask for an MRI if symptoms persist- but yes- onions and garlic I use in everything. And jas loves bread and cereal. :/
I am using garlic infused olive oil, chives & spring onion tops a lot! As far as cereal goes, I have porridge for breakfast with Zymil milk. The bread is another story. I'm just finishing a loaf of Dovedale Rice Chia Bread which is a far cry from my favourite organic sourdough & certainly not sandwich friendly. I picked up a loaf of Countrylife White to try next - it looks more like conventional bread & the packaging boasts that it's 'great for sandwiches'. There is also a banana bread, sorry but I can't recall the brand, which is more like banana cake which got scoffed in our household untoasted.
 
Thanks for the replies and advice. I've just taken her to the pediatric gastro, and she has ibs diagnosis after blood tests and calprotectan. He is sending her for a fructose malnutrition breath test, which we now wait 2 months to have done, then to a pediatric dietician, based on those results, we'll be starting low fodmap diet together. It's good to know it helps some with crohns too, but I'll have to see if her symptoms improve, before I feel completely confident it's only ibs. After having that diagnosis for years my self, with bloods and stools not showing a thing until my bowel recsection, needles to tell you all with crohns, I'm still slightly sceptical. But hopefully that's all it is. Will post update if diet varies for those with fructose malabsorption. I'm yet to research this (planing on doing so thoroughly, and asking the dietician a lot of questions), and we'll see how well it workes. Fingers crossed :)
 

Catherine

Moderator
Hi Irene

I don't remember the wait being two months, Sarah had both fructose and lactose done. If remember correctly it was $80 a test (these tests were done in December 2011).
 
Glad to know I am not the only one who is skeptical about IBS diagnosis. I have so much trouble believing it after dd had a small bowel abscess and now has constant tummy pain.
 
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