Low-FODMAP swaps for common bloating triggers

A swap is smaller than a diet, and that's the point. Instead of cutting out everything that might cause bloating, you trade one likely trigger for a lower-risk option, keep the rest of your eating the same, and see what happens.

Below are five swaps built around FODMAPs, a group of fermentable carbohydrates, with what the research says about each one.

Why FODMAPs are the place to start

FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates that can be poorly absorbed in the small intestine. They include lactose, fructose in excess of glucose, fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and the sugar alcohols sorbitol and mannitol (Muir et al., 2009).

A network meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials with 944 people with IBS ranked a low-FODMAP diet first for overall symptoms, abdominal pain, and bloating or distension. For bloating, it beat standard dietary advice (Black et al., 2022). The authors also noted that most trials were run in specialist clinics and didn't study the later step of bringing foods back.

You don't need the full diet to learn something from it. Targeted swaps let you test the biggest FODMAP sources one at a time.

Swap 1: Onion and garlic for herbs, spices and citrus

When researchers measured fructans in 60 vegetables, the highest amounts were in garlic, artichoke, shallots, leek bulb and onions, ranging from 1.2 to 17.4 grams per 100 grams of fresh vegetable (Muir et al., 2007). Because onion and garlic go into so many sauces, soups and seasoning blends, it's easy to eat them several times a day without noticing.

• Instead of: onion-based sauces, garlic bread, soups that start with a chopped onion
• Try: fresh herbs, ginger, cumin, paprika, lemon or lime zest, a splash of vinegar
• Watch for: onion powder and garlic powder in packaged seasonings, broths and dressings

Swap 2: Couscous and muesli for rice and plain oats

Grain foods were measured in a separate lab analysis of 55 common products. Fructans were the most common FODMAP in cereal grain foods. Per portion, couscous contained 1.12 grams and rice none, dark rye bread 0.6 grams and spelt bread 0.07 grams, and a wheat-free muesli 0.96 grams compared with 0.11 grams in plain oats (Biesiekierski et al., 2011).

Two lessons from those numbers: "wheat-free" doesn't automatically mean low in fructans, and the specific product matters. Recipes and brands vary, so treat any single number as a guide rather than a guarantee.

• Instead of: couscous, or a muesli with lots of add-ins
• Try: rice, or plain rolled oats with a topping you've already tested
• For bread: if sandwiches seem to bother you, test a different loaf for two weeks, such as spelt bread

Swap 3: A big serving of apple, pear or mango for a smaller one

In an analysis of 41 fruits, apple, pear, mango, clingstone peach and watermelon all contained more fructose than glucose, which is what makes fructose a FODMAP. Sorbitol, another FODMAP, turned up in 15 fruits (Muir et al., 2009).

You don't have to give these fruits up. The simpler swap is the dose: one portion with a meal instead of a smoothie that blends two or three of them. Then see whether the smaller amount sits better.

• Instead of: a large mixed-fruit smoothie
• Try: one piece or one cup of fruit, eaten with a meal

Swap 4: Regular milk for lactose-free milk, or just less of it

Lactose gets a lot of blame, and sometimes more than it deserves. In a double-blind trial, 30 people who described themselves as severely lactose intolerant drank 240 ml (8 ounces) of either regular milk or lactose-hydrolyzed milk with breakfast every day for a week. Symptoms were minimal with both, and there was no significant difference in bloating, pain, diarrhea or gas between them, even though 21 of the 30 had lactose malabsorption on testing (Suarez et al., 1995).

The researchers concluded that when lactose is limited to about one cup of milk a day or less, symptoms are likely to be negligible. That gives you two reasonable swaps:

• Instead of: several milky coffees and a large bowl of cereal with milk
• Try: lactose-free milk for the bigger servings, or keep regular milk to about a cup a day

If dairy seems to cause trouble even in small amounts, look at the rest of the meal too. It may not be the milk.

Swap 5: Inulin-fortified bars for simpler snacks

Inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are types of fructan (Biesiekierski et al., 2011), and they're often added to bars, drinks and fiber products marketed for gut health. For a gut that bloats easily, they can add up quickly. Here's why inulin can make bloating worse.

• Instead of: bars or drinks listing inulin, chicory root, FOS or oligofructose
• Try: a snack without added fibers, such as a hard-boiled egg
• If you use a fiber supplement: check that label as well. Gentle Fiber, for example, uses partially hydrolyzed guar gum and contains no inulin.

How to run a swap so it tells you something

1. Pick one swap, based on the food you eat most often.
2. Keep everything else the same for two weeks.
3. Rate your afternoon bloating from 0 to 10 at the same time each day.
4. Bring the original food back for a few days and compare.

If several swaps help, ask your doctor or a dietitian about a structured low-FODMAP trial. And if bloating is new and happens most days, or comes with blood in your stool, weight loss you can't explain or symptoms that wake you at night, see a doctor before experimenting with food. More on when bloating needs a medical check.

Sources

1. Black CJ, Staudacher HM, Ford AC. Efficacy of a low FODMAP diet in irritable bowel syndrome: systematic review and network meta-analysis. Gut. 2022;71(6):1117-1126. PMID 34376515
2. Muir JG, Rose R, Rosella O, et al. Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). J Agric Food Chem. 2009;57(2):554-65. PMID 19123815
3. Muir JG, Shepherd SJ, Rosella O, Rose R, Barrett JS, Gibson PR. Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. J Agric Food Chem. 2007;55(16):6619-27. PMID 17625872
4. Biesiekierski JR, Rosella O, Rose R, et al. Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosacharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2011;24(2):154-76. PMID 21332832
5. Suarez FL, Savaiano DA, Levitt MD. A comparison of symptoms after the consumption of milk or lactose-hydrolyzed milk by people with self-reported severe lactose intolerance. N Engl J Med. 1995;333(1):1-4. PMID 7776987

This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. If you're considering a full low-FODMAP diet, or if you have a medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian first.