What Is the FODMAP Diet?
4. How does the low FODMAP diet work?
As you may have noticed, the low FODMAP diet is an elimination diet. As such, it has three steps. First, the patient must substitute high FODMAP foods for low FODMAP alternatives for a period of two to six weeks. This will reduce the patient’s symptoms and can help regulate intestinal flora. Next, over eight to twelve weeks, the patient must slowly reintroduce one FODMAP group at a time (one food at a time) over three days, while continuing on their low FODMAP diet. Moreover, in this phase, the patient must increase the serving size of said foods each day and monitor tolerance. This elimination process is known as “FODMAP challenges”, and their goal is to identify which FODMAPs trigger symptoms.
Finally, once the patient has identified the high FODMAP foods that trigger their symptoms and the ones they do tolerate (this can vary according to serving size), they can avoid or limit certain high FODMAP foods long-term while enjoying others worry-free.
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