As an IBS dietitian I am always looking for ways to help my patients out with the low FODMAP diet. On Instagram @AndreaHardyRD, I talk all about how to read labels at the grocery stores including a list of common high FODMAP ingredients to watch for!
Picture this: 🖼️
You’re in the grocery store. You’re trying to follow a low FODMAP diet. You’ve been there for an hour, clogging up the aisles, label reading, and you’re only half done and you’re missing half your grocery list! 😩
If you’re following the low FODMAP diet, you’re likely using a food list or the Monash or Spoonful app to help guide you to low FODMAP choices – which is great. Except when it comes to ingredients that aren’t tested or listed on the apps!
Let’s go through some label reading basics to get you more comfortable.
✅Ingredient lists:
Ingredient lists are required to list ingredients in order of highest⬆️ to lowest⬇️ amount. That means that when a label says: milk, sugar, strawberries – milk is present in the highest quantity and strawberries are present in the lowest quantity.
If a FODMAP-containing ingredient is one of the last ingredients on the label, especially when it’s below things like baking soda, salt, etc. – it might be present in very small amounts and therefore tolerated well. This isn’t a guarantee of low FODMAP status, but it allows you to make an executive decision! 💡
The first option is to try your best to avoid foods that have high FODMAP ingredients if you’re in the elimination and reintroduction phase.
The second option is to take a more liberal approach no matter which phase of the low FODMAP diet you’re in. Try a small amount of the food and take note of any symptoms that you feel.
⚠️Here are some common high FODMAP ingredients to look out for:
– Agave syrup
– All-purpose flour
– Chicory
– Dry milk solids
– Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS)
– Fruit juice concentrate
– Honey
– Inulin
– Mannitol
– Sorbitol
– Texturized vegetable protein
– Xylitol
For an extensive list of high FODMAP and low FODMAP ‘tricky’ ingredients, download @ignite.nutrition.inc’s free eBook “Getting Started on the Low FODMAP Diet” – link in bio!
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