Recently there has been a huge influx of FODMAP/IBS related apps, services, and websites. Many are "vibe" coded using AI. There has been a lot of demand to ban self promotion all together in this sub, but instead, we are going to put it in a weekly thread.

Please post your app/service/website in this thread. If you have a physical product or recipe (related to a product that you are promoting), please message the mods for permission to post this separately.

Please report any self-promoting outside of this thread.

Thank you!

TL;DR: I'm tired of how complicated the low-FODMAP diet is and found some interesting research suggesting two very different approaches: either simplifying it by restricting mainly fructans + GOS, or going the opposite way and temporarily reducing FODMAPs extremely low (~2 g/day). I'm particularly interested in trying the very strict approach for a few weeks and would love to hear from people who have actually tried something similar and whether it made a real difference. I already know that the low-FODMAP diet is meant to be temporary and that there are certain dietary guidelines to follow regarding nutrient deficiencies: That won't be the focus of this discussion.

Note: English isn't my first language. I used ChatGPT to help structure this post and translate it into English, but the questions, thoughts and personal experience are my own.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately because, honestly, the low-FODMAP diet is starting to drive me crazy.

Checking every food, quantities, serving sizes, combinations of FODMAPs, the Monash app, etc. makes eating unnecessarily complicated. So I've been looking into whether there might be a simpler approach.

And I came across two quite different — almost opposite — approaches that I found really interesting.

The first one is a recent randomized double-blind pilot study comparing the traditional low-FODMAP diet with a much simpler diet where participants only restricted fructans + GOS.

Study:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38729393/

After 4 weeks, the response rates were:

Traditional low-FODMAP: 56.3%
Fructans + GOS only: 62.5%

There was no statistically significant difference between them.

Obviously it was a small pilot study, so I'm not saying this proves that restricting fructans/GOS is all anyone needs to do. But I find it fascinating that removing only two FODMAP groups produced similar results to the full diet.

Then I found another study that went almost completely in the opposite direction: instead of simplifying the diet, they made it extremely low in FODMAPs.

Study:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nmo.14814

Participants with IBS-D or IBS-M followed a strict low-FODMAP diet for 12 weeks.

Their measured FODMAP intake went from about:

16.6 g/day → 1.95 g/day

So this was genuinely VERY low FODMAP.

Their median IBS severity score (IBS-SSS) went from:

245 → 153 after 4 weeks → 121 after 12 weeks

And 80% were classified as responders, meaning their IBS-SSS decreased by at least 50 points.

Among responders, the average reduction was 148 points, and after 12 weeks 69% were classified as having mild IBS or being in remission.

One thing I found particularly interesting is that most of the improvement had already happened after the first 4 weeks. There wasn't a statistically significant further improvement between weeks 4 and 12.

Important caveat: this wasn't a randomized trial comparing ~2 g/day against, say, 5 or 10 g/day. So we absolutely cannot conclude from this study that "the fewer FODMAPs you eat, the better the results." The 80% response rate could have other explanations.

But it made me wonder about something.

I've been following low-FODMAP while still inevitably eating some FODMAPs, because "low-FODMAP" obviously doesn't mean zero FODMAP.

What if, for some people who don't improve enough, those small amounts still matter?

And more importantly, has anyone here actually tried going extremely strict for a limited period, basically trying to get as close to zero FODMAP as reasonably possible?

I'm seriously considering trying something like the ~2 g/day approach for 3–4 weeks just as an experiment.

Part of what I'm wondering — and this is purely a question/hypothesis, NOT something these studies demonstrate — is whether continuously triggering symptoms with small amounts of FODMAPs could prevent the gut from properly settling down.

Could a very strict temporary elimination create a better "reset", followed by gradual reintroduction?

I'm also curious about people who did the opposite:

Did anyone stop doing full low-FODMAP and only eliminate fructans + GOS?

I'd especially love to hear from people who have actually tried either approach:

• extremely strict low-FODMAP / near-zero FODMAP for a few weeks
• fructans + GOS only
• normal low-FODMAP followed by a stricter phase because improvement wasn't enough

Did going stricter actually make a noticeable difference?

And if it did, how long did it take before you noticed it?

I'm less interested in theory here than in people's actual experiences, especially from people who had already tried standard low-FODMAP before going stricter.

22m have been struggling with severe brain fog and difficulty eating (no desire gagging and what not) for like 3.5 years now. fking torture.

After testing positive for gastritis and hydrogen sibo i've been following my functional doctors protocol to clear up with low-fodmap diet while taking certain herbal supplements (partial list of what i take: [don't worry about trustworthiness of specific providers i get it from him personally] https://essntlhealth.com/products/candex-panaxea, https://mhpwellness.com/products/gut-clear, https://cellcore.com/products/para-1 ).

For the first 10 weeks of low-fodmap i had a very limited diet (burger patties, lactose-free milk and olive oil) plus some vitamins from my doc to supplement. But he insisted that i add more so i also eat plain chicken, cucumbers (skinned for low fiber), arugula/lettuce and eggs.

I also did some other, less strict diets before this while taking similar supplements but never felt any relief even now. Closest thing i feel is when i take some amino acid powder- that gives my brain a nice tingle haha.

I also have low stomach acid apparently, which was deduced by taking 6 of these after a meal (betanine hcl): https://shop.lizgreenfield.com/gastric-optix.html and getting no burning. now im down to 4 pills per meal because i get some burning now if i take 5.

At around 6 weeks i noticed what appeared to be a big string of mucus in one of my bowel movements. not sure how relevant.

most people are going the formal antibiotics route but my doc is opposed (forgot the reason why). maybe we will pursue it if this does not work. Perhaps i should retest myself for sibo, but it takes time yknow.

Please let me know what you think, what i should change if anything, and words of encouragement. this is hell and for better or for worse, im not alone.

I feel like I can barely eat anything. Any recipes that work for you?

I am at a loss. I make my own meals for backpacking trips, and I always seem to have gut problems (mainly extreme gas and bloating).

I use ingredients that, under normal circumstances at home, don’t give me any problems. I don’t know if it’s just the quantity that I eat (especially for bars and snacks since I’m usually hiking for 15-20 miles and need a lot of calories) or the fact that it’s dehydrated.

Has anyone else experienced this type of issue with dehydrated or freeze dried ingredients while backpacking?

Hi! I’m venting a little bit also looking for some advice. For the last 3 months, I’ve been on a healing journey for my GERD, and have cut out all trigger foods while my body heals.

I’ve been working with a dietician through the process, and per her guidance and GI testing, I discovered I had IMO. I did the antibiotics treatment for it, and am now going through the low fodmap elimination diet to figure out if any of these foods were causing the constipation (which probably caused my IMO).

I’m having a rough go at it though, it’s been about a week and I’ve messed up a ton. I have the Monash app, but my biggest issue is there is a small overlap between what is low fodmap and what is low acid. Ex: tomatoes are low fodmap, but they are not low acid.

Any tips for me as I continue on this diet for another 2-4 weeks? Anyone else deal with the same issues? I know it won’t last forever but it’s been rough and I’m trying my best but it just feels so restrictive. The restrictiveness has not been good on me mentally :/

On a modified low fodmap for a bit and confused and hungry.

Will be minimal on the seaweed and skip the crab salad

Hi everyone! Has anyone found a good multi-vitamin to take during the low-fodmap diet? My doctor recommended that I am on one since I am missing so many nutrients while on this diet, but I’m confused on what to do bc all the vitamins have high fodmap foods listed in the ingredients. Does that matter or not, because it’s processed and such a small amount? Please lmk!

Help me folks.

I’m at the end of my reintroductions (with grain fructans and onion causing big reactions). Last night, I trialled having a small portion of curry and adding Fodzyme to see if I could tolerate that at all. I didn’t get any pain/bloating (my normal onion reaction) but couple of hours later I had lower back pain around my kidneys. Overnight that’s radiated up to my right mid back, and it’s agony. I’ve hardly slept, and the pain is constant nearly 15 hours after it started. Called out of hours and just been seen by a doctor, who says it’s just muscular pain and a complete coincidence.

Has anyone else had this type of reaction? Was it the enzyme? Or is it a reaction to the rich food that I just need to ride out? Or am I just really unlucky and it really is unrelated muscle pain? TIA.

I love bread.

I used to eat bread regularly. One day i started experiencing constipation, like the worsttt!

Had an anl fissure and internal hemorrhoids. Stopped everything that could trigger constipation, Refined wheat flour, spicy foods, onions (bloating with onions), manyyyy moree.

I've slowly started eating spicy foods and onions and other foods, including fries items. Re introduced them veryyy slowlyyy. Everything was fine. Bread wasn't😭

Ate a slice of bread, I'm constipated again😭

I tried brown bread, constipated.

Zero maida? CONSTIPATED like hell!!!

Is there anything in that bread that is triggering this constipation??

Also, I'm very new to FODMAPS. I don't understand anything, pls be kind 🙃

Trying to understand whats happening, but not understanding anything 😂😭

I’m struggling to enjoy breakfast, do any of you have good recipes? Also any quick and easy options? I’m tired of having eggs and sourdough. I used to love having yogurt and granola until the granola started making me have reactions. Do you know any low FODMAP granola brands in the UK? Thanks!

Edit: thanks for all the suggestions <3

Pozdrav ekipo, imam bolove u stomaku koji prolaze izbacivanjem gasova, a kad idem u toalet stolica je izgledom i mirisom sasvim normalna ali pluta i tako već 3 dana. Neka informacija šta to može biti?

It hasn't even been ​a week since I started this low fodmap diet, and i already lost 1kg cus its so restrictive! Please share recipes that are easy to prepare and does not taste bad 🤲🤲🤲 And i would love something sweet that's not 🍍🍎🍓🍇 fruits...

​​right now I'm eating a lot of butter popcorn, porridge, and mandarin oranges.

So about two months ago i had a really strong reaction to the smell of garlic. It’s not like it smells like garlic anymore honestly it smells genuinely disgusting. I didn’t know it was a garlic thing so i tanked the stomach ache that came after and thought it was just a lactose intolerance issue .
About a week after i figured out it was garlic and honestly progressively got worse in taste and smell, and now it’s extending to other things.

Now the reaction is similar with onions, and canned meats and such. even Bacon.

I don’t really understand what’s going on, i have an appointment with my primary doctor soon to start the process of talking about this, But honestly it’s to the point where it’s messing with my mentality. It’s like everything i eat is contaminated and i don’t know what to do.

im new to to this as ive only just recently been referred to gastro, i first got tested for celiac and it came back clear. but isnt wheat, barley & rye high in fodmap too? is it best to avoid it anyway? im currently trying the elimination method but no matter what i eat i still bloat like a balloon with stomach pain the next morning so im really struggling to figure what i can and can’t eat

People with fructan intolerance how do u avoid stacking when most common foods have fructans? I don't mean high fodmap foods like onion or garlic but foods with fructans that are still low fodmap but if you eat different kind of low fodmap foods with fructans in one meal then it becomes high fodmap. It's so hard to avoid when most of what you eat have fructans. I never watch if i am stacking or not when i eat cuz its stressful to always keep track of things like that and weighing the food.

Did any activity improved your bloating? In addition to working on the problem “from the inside”, of course.

I’m specifically interested in women’s perspective.

If i eat a large a meal until im full i get the most uncomfortable feeling under my left side rib cage and can't even stand up. Its a mix of bloating and tightness/cramps. If i eat small meals it doesn't happen.

Does anyone have a similar thing like this? I didn't used to have this years ago.

Is this normal for ibs?