THE FODMAPS DIET

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

Definition. The word FODMAPS stands for fermentable oligo- di- and mono-saccharides and polyols.

The FODMAPS diet eliminates several groups of foods that contain these chemicals because they can cause bloating, gas, distention, irritable bowel syndrome, and other abdominal symptoms in some people.

WHY DOES IT WORK?

The reasons some people cannot digest FODMAPS are usually low digestive enzymes, inflammation in the intestines, improper bowel flora, parasites, a “leaky gut”, or an intestinal infection - or some combination of these factors.

In our experience, if you follow a development program, beginning in a few months your digestive problems will disappear and your food sensitivities will go away so that you won’t need the FODMAPS diet.

Below are the main differences between the diets used in the development program and the FODMAPS diet.

THE LOW FODMAPS DIET VS. THE DEVELOPMENT DIET

Some of the restrictions and suggestions in the low FODMAPS diet fit very nicely with development principles, but other do not. Here is a brief summary of the differences:

1. Fruit: The development program does not allow any fruit because it is too yin. FODMAPS allows quite a few fruits.

2. Vegetables: Both diets permit quite a few vegetables. However, development allows more vegetables to be eaten such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, garlic, onions and perhaps a few others.

We consider the FODMAP diet very harmful in this area because for rapid development, all members of the onion family of vegetables are extremely helpful and needed.

Also, for development, the vegetables must be cooked for several reasons. It makes the vegetables much more yang in macrobiotic terminology, and it allows one to absorb many more minerals from the vegetables.

The low FODMAPS diet allows raw vegetables, which we find are mostly wasted because human beings cannot extract enough nutrition from them. They also irritate the intestines, making food sensitivity worse.

Also, FODMAPS allows vegetables such as peppers, potatoes and eggplant. These are not permitted on the development program because they are too yin and somewhat toxic. They are nightshade vegetables that are really fruits in the botanical sense.

3. Dairy products. The development program allows and highly recommends eight ounces weekly of soft goat cheese or plain goat yogurt.

FODMAPS does not allow any dairy products. This is a problem because goat dairy contains some chemicals needed for rapid development.

4. Sweeteners. FODMAPS allows sucrose, glucose, golden syrup, maple syrup, molasses and most artificial sweeteners. The development diet does not allow sweeteners, in general, because they are all very yin and they all upset blood sugar and have other problems.

5. Legumes. FODMAP does not allow legumes, such as lentils and other beans. The development diet allows beans once or twice weekly, only, as an occasional food.

The main problem with the low FODMAPS diet, from our perspective, is that it contains too many yin foods including fruits, raw vegetables, nightshade vegetables, and most sweeteners.

Also, the FODMAPS diet does not allow onions and certain other vegetables that we find are essential for rapid development.

WHAT TO DO

We suggest that if you are sensitive to FODMAPS, then follow the FODMAPS diet, but also follow a development program. Try your best to combine the two, as best you can.

In almost all instances, the sensitivity to FODMAPS will slowly go away by following the entire development program. Reintroduce onions, in particular, as soon as you can. Read Food For Daily Use for many more dietary suggestions.

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