In a video published on Instagram, Jeanne Dietician (@Nutrition.Heureuse) recalls an often forgotten idea: in the case of bloating, gas or pain after a meal, the problem is not always a specific food, but sometimes the total amount of FODMAPs swallowed at the same time.
Why FODMAPs can make your stomach bloat
THE FODMAP includes certain fermentable carbohydratessuch as lactose, fructose, fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and certain polyols. In its video, the nutrition.heureuse account cites for example lactose in milk and certain dairy products, fructans in onions or wheat, galacto-oligosaccharides in legumes, or even polyols present in certain fruits, vegetables and sweeteners.
The mechanism is quite simple to understand. In some people, some of these carbohydrates are poorly absorbed or undigested in the small intestine. It then continues its journey to the colon, where intestinal bacteria ferment it. This fermentation can lead to more gas and more water in the intestinewhich increases the volume of intestinal contents and can cause distension.
This distension is not felt in the same way in everyone. Some people are not very sensitive to it, others much more, especially in cases of irritable bowel syndrome. This can explain pain, gas, bloating or transit problems after certain meals. To better understand this mechanism, you can also read our article on FODMAP fermentation can cause gas, distension and pain.
Another important nuance, recalled by the dietician: FODMAPs are not the enemy. Some have prebiotic effects and help nourish the microbiota. In other words, FODMAPs are not foods to demonize. In sensitive people, on the other hand, their fermentation can trigger symptoms when an individual threshold is exceeded.
The real trap: accumulation in the same meal
The specialist insists on the notion of dose. She explains that a small portion of a food rich in FODMAP can be tolerated very well, while a larger portion, or the combination of several sources of FODMAP in the same meal, can cause discomfort.
This can be summarized as follows: it is not always the food alone that poses a problem, but the total load of the meal. For example, a person can tolerate a small quantity of a fermentable food, but less well a meal that combines several FODMAP families. This does not prove that this food is “forbidden”: rather it suggests that the quantity or combination is worth observing.
In practice, the objective is therefore not to eliminate as many foods as possible. It is rather to identify the portions and FODMAP families that you toleratein order to keep your diet as varied as possible. To move in this direction, a few reflexes can help to reason without falling into systematic avoidance:
- Observe if symptoms appear especially after meals that combine several fermentable foods;
- Test smaller portions rather than permanently eliminating a food;
- Avoid, if you are sensitive, having several fermentable foods at the same meal;
- Do not prolong a very restrictive eviction alone, which can unnecessarily impoverish the diet.
In people with irritable bowel syndrome, a low FODMAP diet may reduce some symptoms. But the recommendations present it as a temporary trial, followed by a gradual reintroduction, then personalization. In other words, the low FODMAP diet is not intended to become a definitive exclusion. In this context, it is preferable to consider a controlled low FODMAP diet in case of irritable bowel.
Finally, bloating is not always the result of a simple dietary adjustment. Medical advice is necessary in the event of persistent symptoms, significant pain, blood in the stools, weight loss, fever, anemia or marked fatigue, nocturnal pain, or if the disorders appear recently after the age of 50.