Reading food labels for low-FODMAP eating is a science in itself. Ingredient lists may have unfamiliar words, and quantity of each ingredient is not specifically disclosed. However, you can follow some basic principles to ensure you are not accidentally eating high-FODMAP additives and are sticking to a low-FODMAP diet.
Dr. Rachel’s Top 5 Tips for Low-FODMAP Label Reading:
- Always Read the Labels:
- Just because you think something should be low in FODMAPs, does not mean it is. Ingredients can vary among similar foods (for example, some cornflakes have fruit juices, others do not). Products also change over time in their configurations, or vary between countries. Take a minute to read the label and make certain before you eat!
- Ingredient Placement:
- Ingredients are listed in order of weight. So, the item listed first has the highest weight in the product, and the last item may only be a tiny fraction of the product. That can be helpful, for example, in a food that lists onion powder as the last ingredient. The actual amount of onion powder could be so small that you tolerate it, even though it wouldn’t necessarily seem low-FODMAP. Tricky, right? Also if an item is less than 2% of the product, it is likely to be tolerated (but do test for your personal experience)
- Carry a Food App (preferable) or a FODMAP Food List:
- The FODMAP diet is not intuitive for anyone. It also is not static (it is always evolving). Just because oranges may be low in FODMAPs, does not mean grapefruit is. Green bell peppers and red bell peppers are also different. Check your food item against Monash or FODMAP Friendly apps to be most correct in your assumptions.
- Don’t go Rogue:
- Some ingredients may not be on any approved low-FODMAP lists. They may not have been tested, or reported. If you haven’t heard of it, can’t find out what it is, then don’t eat it. Sometimes a simple Google search can help. Personally, I recently was about to eat something containing ‘yacon syrup’. I thought this is probably low-FODMAP since I hadn’t heard of it! Turns out, it is a fructo-oligosaccharide (or FOS)- truly havoc for my gut. Glad I checked online first!
- Exercise Caution with ‘Flavorings’
- This is a real pet peeve of mine. Natural flavorings may contain ingredients that are less than a percentage of the product, and that DOES NOT REQUIRE THEM TO BE DISCLOSED. Assume that in a savory product there is onion and garlic in the natural ingredients. For a sweet product, it also could contain triggers for your gut. Test those items for your personal tolerance before ingesting a large amount.
Here is a list of low-FODMAP and high-FODMAP label additives to help you accomplish your low-FODMAP diet goals! You can download the PDF for low-FODMAP food lists and low-FODMAP label reading and our amazing “Happy Gut Guide” here.
Also…Check out over 500 low FODMAP recipes right here on the blog!
Be healthy and happy,
Rachel Pauls, MD
Dr. Rachel’s FODMAP label reading 101- how to know what is safe to eat:
Low-FODMAP additives: these are all low-FODMAP!
- Almond extract
- Apple cider vinegar
- Asafoetida (this is a spice that can impart onion/garlic type flavors to food)
- Aspartame
- Balsamic vinegar (less than 1 TB)
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Brown sugar
- Buckwheat
- Cane sugar
- Cane juice
- Cane juice crystals
- Carageenan
- Cellulose
- Citric acid
- Cocoa (limit to 8 g or 2 tsp)
- Confectioners sugar
- Corn starch
- Corn syrup (not high fructose variety)
- Glucose
- Guar gum
- Icing sugar
- Locust bean gum
- Malt extract
- Maltose
- Maple syrup
- Miso paste
- Modified food starch
- Pectin
- Potato starch
- Resistant starch
- Rice flour
- Rice protein
- Rice wine vinegar
- Saccharin
- Stevia
- Sucralose
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- Soybean oil
- Soy lecithin
- Soy sauce
- Tapioca starch
- Tapioca flour
- Vanilla extract
- Wasabi
- Wheat dextrin
- Wheat starch
- Whey protein isolate (low lactose variety)
- Xanthan gum
High FODMAP additives: (avoid these)
- Agave syrup
- Amaranth (over ¼ cup)
- Barley
- Chicken salt (often contains onion and garlic)
- Chickpea flour
- Chicory Root Fiber
- Coconut treacle
- Crystalline fructose
- Dehydrated vegetables (onion, garlic, etc)
- Dry milk solids
- Dried fruits
- Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS)
- Fructose and fructose solids
- Fructose-glucose syrup
- Fructans
- Fruit juice concentrate- includes apple juice, pear juice, and other juices
- Garlic powder
- Gluco-oligosaccharides (GOS)
- Glucose-fructose syrup
- Glycerin/Glycerol (check vitamins and supplements)
- Golden syrup
- High fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
- Inulin
- Isoglucose
- Isomalt
- Kamut
- Lactitol
- Lactulose
- Maltitol
- Mannitol
- Milk solids
- Molasses
- Natural flavors (in savory foods often contain onion and garlic)
- Onion powder
- Onion extract
- Polydextrose
- Rye
- Sorbitol
- Soybeans
- Soybutter
- Soy protein
- Spice mixtures (check ingredients for onion, garlic)
- Sugar free mints/gum/cough drops (often contain sorbitol or other polyol)
- Xylitol
- Yacon syrup
Also, know that these lists are evolving, as we test more products and understand interactions better. So keep updating, and remember to enjoy eating!
