For many of you reading this, you may be confused as to what FODMAP is. Well, it is an acronym for Fermentable Oggliosaccarades Disaccharides Monosaccharides and Polyols. These “ingredients” are found in most foods. And people don’t usually think twice before eating the bag of chips or that bowl of fruit in their house. However, I have learned that my stomach doesn’t like most foods.
My entire life I have lived with stomach problems. Just recently I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This is something that cannot be cured, so I have to find ways around it. One of the suggestions from my doctor was a low FODMAP diet. A high FODMAP diet is what usually causes stomach problems while a low one allows your stomach a break from harsh foods.
The concept of the diet is for me to give my stomach a break for a while so it can get back into working order. This diet though isn’t something that I’m supposed to be on forever though. I completely change my diet for about four weeks and then slowly reintroduce certain foods to see which irritate my stomach so I know for the future. At the time when my doctor told me about the diet, I disregarded it. I thought I knew how to take care of my stomach.
However, after multiple trips to the bathroom after eating some questionable chicken parm and pasta from the dining hall I was done. I started doing some intense research on what I would have to do to start this low FODMAP diet. After reading up on it, I realized it wouldn’t be easy.
Although my school’s dining hall has plenty options, most of them don’t agree with the diet. It’s difficult to try and plan my meals around the appropriate foods. I have to look at the daily menus and then think what I can get from each station that will allow me to still stay on track.
Will I go completely head in with this diet? Probably not because I’m still at school and my options are limited. I wrote this article while eating Goldfish and as I looked at the ingredients I realized how much of a non-friendly FODMAP food they were.
I still have a month left of school, so I’m going to try to eat some of the “good” foods from the low FODMAP list. However, if I have to eat pizza one day then I eat pizza. Maybe when I go home for the summer I will go more in depth. Summer is always the worst time for my stomach (so much ice cream). At home I can customize what I want to eat and have the freedom to make my meals.
This most definitely isn’t going to be easy. But it’s really worth a shot. Anything that I can try and do to help myself and my health is a win. Hopefully this will work and my stomach can go back into working order.