FODMAP: Lactose

lactose structure (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So with my experiment with low FODMAP diet, I’ve added back Lactose. I had a full glass of milk and

no ill effects. Kinda nice to know I’m not quite so limited.

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I messed up FODMAP

Fiber One 90 Calorie Lemon Bar Cinnamon Coffee Cake (Photo credit: theimpulsivebuy)

So after over 2 weeks I decided to try to attempt to add a bit of things back. I’ve seen some people who can have limited amounts of FODMAP items as long as it is small portions. So after all this time of no problems I decided to try to add something back. My first meal of the day was low FODMAP. No problems there. The problem came from when I was at work. I had a relatively low FODMAP meal (a few wheat crackers, but that was it) and then I ate a lemon bar. Which was quite tasty going down. However within the hour I was regretting this. First was gas and then by the time I got home, the abdominal cramps and I had to spend a while in the bathroom. The worst part of this problem? I didn’t even think about it was made with gluten and fructose. It was small so I thought I could get away with the taste. However it got its revenge on me and I should remember it.

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FODMAP on the Road: Wendy’s

English: A Wendy’s Restaurant in , USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today’s adventures in FODMAP takes me to Wendy’s to explore their menu.

Ok:

• Apple Pecan Salad – no apples


• Asian Cashew Chicken Salad


• Baked Potato


• BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad – may need to avoid ranch dressing because of lactose


• Applewood Bacon


• Hamburger Patty


• Ultimate Chicken Grill Fillet


• Water

Not wise:

• Dressings containing High Fructose Corn Syrup


• Frosty – lactose and HFCS


• Sodas – HFCS


• Buns – gluten


• Milk – lactose


• BBQ Nuggets Sauce – HFCS


• Honey Mustard Sauce – HFCS


• Sweet and Sour Nuggets Sauce – HFCS

Related articles

• FODMAP on the Road: Zaxby’s


• FODMAP on the Road: Burger King


• FODMAP on the Road: McDonalds

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FODMAP on the Road: Five Guys

English: Complimentary peanuts at a Five Guys restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My list for what I can eat at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Overall It’s a pretty good choice. I just get mine to go and have gluten free bread and a drink in the car.

Ok:

Meats in bowl – no bun

fries

No:

buns

onions

mushrooms

Sodas

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FODMAP on the Road: Burger King

Current “blue crescent” logo (July 1, 1999–present) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I went to Burger King and checked out their menu to see what could be FODMAP friendly.

FODMAP OK:

• French Fries


• Hamburger patties


• Garden Fresh Salad (don’t eat the Apples)


• Side Salad


• Quaker Oatmeal – both Original and Maple & Brown Sugar


• Chicken without the buns – breaded depends on your level of sensitivity


• Coffee Plain


• Iced Tea


• Smoothie – Strawberry Banana

Cannot have:

• Buns


• Biscuits


• Breakfast Muffins


• Pancakes


• Croissan’wich


• Sodas

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FODMAP on the Road: Chipotle

Restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill in Chicago (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I looked at them menu in Chipotle when I went for dinner the other day and decided I was in FODMAP diet heaven. Anything on the menu was very easily adaptable to FODMAP.

The list of things to avoid:

• Beans – any of them


• Flour tortilla – just ask for the corn tortilla instead and carry on


• Cheese and sour cream – I seem to get by ok if I just use very small amounts of these.


• Guacamole – which is ok by me because I don’t like Avocados anyway


• Sodas – High Fructose Corn Syrup is the culprit here.

That’s it. Chips are made with corn as is the hard tacos so they are gluten-free. So pick what you want here!!!

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Introducing the FODMAP diet

Low-FODMAP foods can eat (Photo credit: gumption)

I have been living with a problem for the last 12 years or longer. I have Irritable Bowel syndrome. I got the diagnosis in 2004 after my first colonoscopy (and in my first year as a nurse). The best treatment at the time was fiber. I either had to eat a high fiber diet or take additional supplements. Matters improved somewhat, but I still had episodes of the constipation and diarrhea cycle. I was getting worse in January of 2013 so I saw a gastroenterologist for another scope. Had a polyp removed that time, but nothing new. Most physicians who have been around a while assume that I know as much as they do (granted we have to shoot them down frequently as residents because at that point we do), but I don’t always keep up on the latest with specialties that don’t usually see the ICU. My family practice doc just usually spouts off the current screening recommendations for me and lets me decide what gets ordered or ignored. So food intolerance that does not progress to anaphylaxis is usually off my radar.

For some reason, I started searching for information on IBS treatment last week. I was wondering if I had lactose intolerance. Then I discovered fructose malabsorption. This sounded more like when I would have my IBS flair ups.

I came across some information out of Australia for IBS treatment with diet adjustments. It is called the low FODMAP diet. It was developed at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia in 2005. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols. Now I have a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and I barely can pronounce the name. Not only that but I currently work in a teaching hospital with a medical school attached and I cannot find any patient education sheets on this diet.

Fermentable = the process which gut bacteria degrade undigested carbohydrate to produce gases (hydrogen, methane & carbon dioxide)

Oligo-saccharides = Fructo-oligosaccharides of wheat, rye, garlic and onions. Galacto-oligosaccharides of beans and legumes.

Di-saccharides = Lactose found in milk, soft cheese and yogurt

Mono-saccharides = Fructose (in excess of glucose) found in honey, apples and high fructose corn syrup

Polyols = Sugar polyols (e.g. Sorbitol, mannitol) found in some fruit and vegetables and used as artificial sweeteners

When I was in New Hampshire this winter, a coworker had gluten intolerance so I decided to try reducing my gluten intake. It sort of worked. But I moved and did not keep it up. I had also done better in Vermont. What I think happened there was I was eating a lot of fresh farm produce and fewer high fructose foods. I thought Vermont should have “Peace, Love & eat local organic food” for their motto. I think I was getting pieces of the FODMAP diet without realizing it, but the lack of full knowledge prevented me from putting things together.

So now that I have discovered the diet, I might cover a bit of the challenge of adjusting my diet and discovering what I can and cannot tolerate.

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