FOD-MAP Your Way to a Healthy Gut
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When our gut is unhappy, the rest of our body is unhappy. Poor gut health can cause sugar cravings, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and painful digestive issues. We need a balance of bacteria to maintain healthy gut flora and keep our digestive system on track.
A healthy gut helps clear toxins, fight disease, boost mood, and provide energy from food. However, sometimes food sensitivities or chronic gastrointestinal disorders get in the way.
Experts recommend following a low FODMAP diet for anyone experiencing gastrointestinal distress from certain foods or conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (no wonder we shorten it to FODMAP), short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) that the small intestine absorbs poorly. Some people experience digestive distress after eating them. Symptoms include cramping and diarrhea.This diet reduces difficult-to-digest carbohydrates to help identify food triggers and decrease uncomfortable gastrointestinal symptoms. Here is everything you need to know.
- Sean S Bety/ Unsplash
Sean S Bety/ Unsplash 2Benefits of a low FODMAP Diet
The low FODMAP Diet is a short-term diet meant to eliminate these carbohydrates to discover which foods reduce symptoms. It has three phases: the elimination phase, the reintroduction phase, and the maintenance phase, which is fully customized based on the foods your body is most reactive to.
- Gorrin Bel/ Unsplash
Gorrin Bel/ Unsplash 3What To Eat
Every person has different food sensitivities, so there is no perfect list to follow. It is best to consult a healthcare provider and keep a food journal.
During the elimination stage of the diet, you should avoid foods high in FODMAPS, such as onions, garlic, beans, lentils, wheat products, lactose, high amounts of fructose, and artificial sweeteners.
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What To Avoid
Foods low in FODMAPS include plain-cooked meats, tofu, eggs, grapes, strawberries, and pineapples.
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