Have you ever heard of the acronym “FODMAP” before?
FODMAP’s are a group of small chain carbohydrates composed of sugar and fiber that are abundant in everyday foods. However, they can cause some malabsorption problems in the GI tract for some people. FODMAP is actually an acronym to describe the types of small chain carbohydrates that contribute to this GI distress. It stands for:
F- Fermentable
O- Oligosacchrides (Fructans and Galacto-oligosacchrides-GOS)
D- Disacchrides (Lactose, Milk, Sugar)
M- Monosacchrides (Excess Fructose)
A- And (Ok…. this isn’t a carb type, but it’s a handy vowel to connect the rest!)
P- Polyols (Sugar alcohols, such as mannitol and sorbitol)
As I mentioned above, FODMAPS can be found in a wealth of foods that we consume regularly, such as milk, ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, apples, watermelon, asparagus, dried fruit, honey, pistachios, cauliflower, mushrooms, blackberries, garlic and onion to name a few. Kate Scarlata, an RDN and gut health expert has a much more comprehensive list of FODMAP containing foods here. Kate’s website is a wealth of FODMAP information that we love!
For those who experience GI distress, identifying what triggers their symptoms can be a long and frustrating process.
While many things can cause GI distress, including stress, lack of sleep, under fueling, or anxiety, sometimes, certain foods are the culprit of consistent GI issues. This is where FODMAPs come into play.
The FODMAP diet is a short term elimination diet, targeted at identifying your dietary triggers. For this reason, it is not a long-term eating plan and should be approached with guidance from a qualified Dietitian in order to methodically eliminate and re-integrate certain foods to assess your tolerance. Once your specific individual triggers have been identified, you can work on reintroducing other foods to test tolerance.
For most people, you may only need to eliminate or reduce certain FODMAPs, not all. This is especially important because many FODMAPS are carbohydrate containing foods (which athletes need a lot of!). If you are experiencing GI issues, we recommend keeping a detailed food journal to identify any symptoms you experience. This will be a crucial step as it can be hard to remember exact symptoms and specific times / meals of the day without a log.
GI symptoms reported by athletes
According to a 2019 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, it has been reported that 30-50% of athletes mention GI issues as one of the most common causes of performance issues in endurance events. This often leads to athletes eliminating foods from their diet that they believe cause GI issues (Wiffin, 2019). One of the most common approaches reported for food-group elimination is a gluten free diet. However, there is little evidence that removal of gluten has any performance benefits for non-coeliac athletes and it has been suggested that gluten may not be a specific trigger of GI symptoms once dietary intake of FODMAPs are reduced (Wiffin, 2019).
GI Symptoms commonly reported include bloating, abdominal pain, flatulence, belching, nausea, diarrhea, defecation, urge to defecate and constipation. According to this study, short term adherence to a diet consisting of low FODMAP foods significantly improved exercise related GI symptoms for 69% of the participants (Wiffin, 2019). Additionally, in 2018, a study found that athletes on a short term low FODMAP diet had reduced GI symptoms and symptom severity, which suggests that athletes may benefit from utilizing FODMAPs to address gastrointestinal distress with training (Lis, 2018). While FODMAPS very well may be the cause of your GI issues as an athlete, it is not always food intolerances that cause GI issues. It can be very easy to blame foods as the cause, as we eat everyday! But, keep in mind, correlation does not equal causation!
NOTE: Under- eating is the #1 most common issue I see in working with athletes that have GI issues. If you are under-fueling, starting an elimination diet will likely exacerbate your issues.
Furthermore, unnecessary dietary restriction without appropriate food substitutions can compromise your gut microbiome and lead to inadequate prebiotic and nutrient intake (AKA poor gut health), compounding GI issues (Fell, 2017).
The FODMAP diet can be a helpful tool for identifying food triggers that cause excess GI distress for athletes.
Working with a Sports RD can help you to identify potential causes of GI issues before eliminating foods, to ensure you are supporting your performance. We hope this helps demystify FODMAPs for you!
Works Cited:
Fell, J., Lis, D., Kitic, C., Ahuja, K., & Stellingwerff, T. (2017). Fodmap removal in athletes: An online survey of specific food avoidance and associated symptoms in athletes. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2016.12.024
Lis, D. M., Stellingwerff, T., Kitic, C. M., Fell, J. W., & Ahuja, K. D. (2018). Low Fodmap:A Preliminary Strategy to Reduce Gastrointestinal Distress in Athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 50(1), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000001419
Wiffin, M., Smith, L., Antonio, J., Johnstone, J., Beasley, L., & Roberts, J. (2019). Effect of a short-term low fermentable oligosaccharide, disaccharide, monosaccharide and Polyol (FODMAP) diet on exercise-related gastrointestinal symptoms. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-019-0268-9
