Dr Jane Varney - Research Dietitian, 03 December 2014
Achieving an adequate fibre intake can be a challenge for
people following a low FODMAP diet as the diet excludes many high fibre foods. These include certain types of legumes and pulses, some types of grains and cereals
and some types of fruits and vegetables. Despite this difficulty, a fibre
intake of 25-30g per day is recommended for people with IBS. This
recommendation is consistent with the recommended fibre intake for the general
population. So how might you boost your fibre intake while following a low
FODMAP diet? Here are some ideas:
Snack on low FODMAP fruit
such as bananas, raspberries, rhubarb, kiwifruit, mandarin, strawberries,
passionfruit and oranges.
Include low FODMAP vegetables with your meals, for example carrot (skin on), green beans, potato (skin on), corn, silverbeet and eggplant (skin on).
Check food labels when buying low FODMAP bread and cereal products. Compare products in the per 100g column to find higher fibre options. Some examples include quinoa flakes, brown rice, gluten free multigrain bread, rice bran, oat bran, sourdough spelt bread and porridge (oats).
Add canned lentils/ canned chick peas to a casserole/salad. A ‘green’ or low FODMAP serve is considered ¼ cup of canned chickpeas or ½ cup of canned lentils. Rinse the canned lentils/chickpeas well before use to help reduce the FODMAP content.
Snack on almonds. A ‘green’ or low FODMAP serve of almonds is considered 10 nuts.
Add oat bran or rice bran to your breakfast cereal. A ‘green’ or low FODMAP serve of oat or rice bran is considered 2 tablespoons.
Talk to your pharmacist about trying a fibre supplement made from sterculia. Stericulia is considered less ‘gas forming’ than other fibre supplements and may help to treat constipation in people with IBS. This said, few well designed studies have been conducted to measure the efficacy of this fibre supplement.
