FODMAP DIET

I was diagnosed in my early teens with IBS and back then I suffered greatly with diarrhoea associated greatly with lactose. I have been able to manage my condition since then with medication and diet changes. However over the last few years my symptoms have gotten much worse and my diarrhoea has been replaced with severe abdominal pain, bloating and constipation. I heard briefly about the FODMAP diet and would very much like to try it, but I am finding it very difficult to find a copy of the diet as I know it was created in Australia and I am now living in the UK. If anyone has a copy that they could email to me it would be greatly appreciated.

IBS symptoms may be triggered and exacerbated by high FODMAP foods in your diet. *FODMAPs is an acronym for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. These are molecules found in food that can be poorly absorbed in the digestive tract by some people - they travel into the large intestine where they become food for bacteria in the bowel and there they ferment, often triggering or exacerbating IBS symptoms such as bloating, cramps, diarrhorea, etc.
*A FODMAP friendly (or Low FODMAP) diet will not cure IBS - it aims to reduce the symptoms of IBS, making it more manageable and life much pleasanter. *High FODMAP foods have a cumulative effect within your digestive system - it is often a 'build-up' of poorly digested FODMAP foods over a period of time that will trigger or exacerbate IBS symptoms. It also means that it is the quantity, combination, and 'spacing' of high FODMAP foods in your diet, rather than a specific food, that will cause problems. Furthermore, the physical effects (IBS symptoms) of eating problem food/s may not show up immediately after a particular meal - it may take days or weeks. In this case people often think it was, for example, the garlic or onion they had that night that caused bloating and cramps, when in fact it may have been the asparagus, mushroom and snow pea pasta, followed by apple pie that they ate 2 nights previously that actually triggered the symptoms. *A low FM diet is more about understanding and controlling the quantity, combination, and 'spacing' of high FM foods in your diet, rather than the total elimination of specific foods. *Reducing meal sizes, alcohol, fatty foods and caffeine in your diet are all likely to help reduce IBS symptoms. *Cutting food into smaller pieces, chewing well and eating slowly may also help. *Stress, anxiety and poor sleep are likely contributors to IBS symptoms.
I highly recommend you make an appointment with a reputable FODMAP aware dietitian for a personal assessment eg. Shepherd Works if you live in Melbourne or Adelaide (Australia). If you live in another state or overseas, I would suggest you contact Shepherd Works or Box Hill hospital - hopefully they can recommend a reputable dietitian or dietary practice near you. We are lucky enough to live close to Shepherd Works, Monash University & Box Hill Hospital (in Australia), the world leaders in this research.
My daughter (22) is having great success on the low FODMAP diet - she had IBS symptoms for a number of years and they were steadily getting worse to the point of being debilitating. She is now about 8 weeks into the FODMAP program and her IBS symptoms have significantly reduced. For more info go to www.facebook/glutenfreeguerrillas then click on Discussions - the topic FODMAP diet posted by Valda Davis should appear. This should be a good starting point for you to find out more about FODMAPs and IBS.

For those of you interested in Fructose Malabsorption, food intollerances and the FODMAPs diet, the new Dr Sue Shepherd and Professor Peter Gibson book - 'Food Intolerance Management Plan' is in the shops in Australia (also available for purchase online) . There is a website with information about the book, including a few excerpts from the book. http://www.foodintolerancemanagementplan.com.au/food_intolerance_plan_management.html

There are 2 products on the market that seem to be getting positive results in reducing IBS symptoms in people with Fructose Malabsorption and/or Lactose intolerance. The first is FRUCTOSIN (this is fairly new and I believe made in Austria). The other one is OLIGASE (may be German, definitely European). There is an American equivalent to Oligase called DIGEST SPECTRUM. The only evidence I have seen has been anecdotal, but a lot of people are saying these products work - there may be info about clinical trials on the manufacturers' websites. In Australia people are trying these products in conjunction with the FODMAP diet - so far results have been promising.