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11 September 2021

FODMAPs Reintroduction

Welcome! If you have found this blog, it’s because you know all about low FODMAPs and you are ready to start the food reintroduction phase! If you’d like a refresher on what FODMAPs is, please read this article first.
Ideally you’ve been on the low FODMAP diet for 2-6 weeks and your digestion symptoms have subsided. In this time you have also completed some underlying digestive work, such as:

If you still have digestive symptoms after 6 weeks on the low FODMAP diet, please get in touch here. You will need to speak to a professional for further investigations before beginning the reintroduction phase.
Since the FODMAP diet is a short term symptom relief tool, we need to systematically bring back in the foods you’ve been avoiding. These foods are fermentable fibres, and an integral fuel source for our beneficial bacteria.
So let’s get started…

Reintroduction phase

The goal of the FODMAP reintroduction phase is to find out what FODMAPs you tolerate, which trigger your gut symptoms, and which foods you need to enjoy in smaller amounts.
Here are the steps to follow to complete your FODMAP reintroduction:

  • Only complete one challenge food at a time.
  • Remain on the low FODMAP diet while completing each challenge food.
  • Ensure your symptoms are well controlled before beginning each challenge food.
  • Only complete the challenge using the foods given below. A challenge food is designed to contain only one FODMAP sugar to give you clear results.
  • Complete each challenge over a 3 day period:
  • Day 1, include the challenge food in a low serve
  • Day 2, include the challenge food in a moderate serve
  • Day 3, include the challenge food in a high serve
  • Record the challenge foods eaten and symptom responses in a food & symptoms diary. A little bit of bloating or gas is a normal reaction. This is classified as a mild gut reaction, and doesn’t mean you have failed the challenge.
  • Don’t add the FODMAP groups that you didn’t react to back into your diet until you have finished the entire reintroduction phase.
  • Take a 2-3 day break between challenges, or until symptoms settle. Continue with your low FODMAP diet throughout.
  • Allow 6-8 weeks to complete the entire reintroduction process.
Challenge 1: Fructose

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Honey: 1 tsp honey, 2 tsp honey, 1 Tbs honey
  • Mango: (medium sized) ¼ mango, ½ mango, 1 mango
Challenge 2: Mannitol

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Portobello Mushroom: ¼ mushroom, ½ mushroom, 1 mushroom
  • Sweet Potato: ¾ cup (100g), 1 cup (150g), 1.5 cups (200g)
  • Cauliflower: 2 florets (20g), 4 florets (40g), 8 florets (70g)
Challenge 3: Sorbitol

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Blackberries: 3 blackberries, 6 blackberries, 12 blackberries
  • Avocado: (small size) ¼ avocado, ½ avocado, ¾ avocado
Challenge 4: Lactose

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Cow’s milk: ¼ cup (60ml), ½ cup (125ml), 1 cup (250ml)
  • Yoghurt: ½ tub (85 g), 1 tub (170 g) and 1 cup (200 g)
Challenge 5: Grain (Fructan) Challenge

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Wholegrain wheat bread: 1 slice, 1.5 slices, 2 slices
  • Wheat pasta: (cooked weight) ⅔ cup (100g), 1 cup (150g), 1.5 cups (220g)
Challenge 6: Garlic (Fructan) Challenge

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Garlic: ¼ clove, ½ clove, 1 clove
Challenge 7: Onion (Fructan) Challenge

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Leek: (Medium size) ¼ leek, ⅓ leek, ½ leek of the white and green sections
  • Onion: (Red or white) 1 Tbs onion, 2 Tbs onion, ½ onion
Challenge 8: Fruit/Vegetable (Fructan) Challenge

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Brussels sprouts: 3 sprouts, 4 sprouts, 5 sprouts
  • Grapefruit: (medium size) ½ grapefruit, 1 grapefruit, 1.5 grapefruit
  • Raisins: 1.5 Tbs (20g), 2 Tbs (30g), 3 Tbs (40g)
Challenge 9: Galactans/GOS (oligosaccharide) Challenge

Choose 1 challenge food, testing the following amounts on day 1, 2 and 3:

  • Chickpeas: (canned, rinsed) ¼ cup, ½ cup, 1 cup
  • Almonds: 15 almonds, 20 almonds, 25 almonds

As you can see it takes patience and a level of tracking to do the FODMAPs reintroduction, but it’s entirely worth it as the long term goal of any digestive condition is to be able to tolerate all foods, with the exception of true allergies.

If you would like to do the reintroduction process with guidance, you can book in a session with Brooke here.

AuthorBrooke Schiller, BHSc Nat & Nut, BComBrooke is a qualified naturopath with a focus on digestive health, hormones, and adrenal conditions.
Learn more about Brooke here

Book a session with Brooke here

References

https://www.monashfodmap.com/blog/practical-tips-fodmap-reintroduction/

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