Life Before FODMAPs
When I lived in Virginia, my only worry was finding imported Italian products. I never gave a thought to fiber or low fodmap. I never connected my IBS issues to certain foods because my flares were so random.
Back then, my biggest worry was finding imported Italian tomatoes, olive oil, basil, Italian bread (like the bread from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx), great veal, fresh ricotta, parmesan reggiano cheese, Gorgonzola cheese, imported Italian pasta and good wine.
Ignorance is NOT Bliss
Everything on that list spells colon disaster. Yet twice a year my parents loaded up Dad’s Cadillac (yep folks it was the mid- 1970’s and the Cadillac was still the dream car), and drove 7 1/2 hours from NY to Virginia.
They packed the trunk with a case of imported Italian plum tomatoes, an enormous can of Filippo Berio olive oil, huge wedges of Parmesan and Gorgonzola cheese, fresh mozzarella, and enough meat to fill my freezer for several months. My children rushed out to the car helping Grandma and Grandpa bring in a giant metal food locker they tried to open mid-air. It never occurred to us that they were bringing me a guaranteed IBS attack.
Now We Know About FODMAPs
Don’t Panic. In spite of dangerous FODMAPs and insoluble fiber in food, it is still possible to make the Italian food we love and not rush to the loo every time we eat it. I can’t live without pasta, homemade sauces like tomato and pesto, risotto, meatballs, Parmigiana Reggiano cheese and so much more.
Faced with this dilemma, I started ibskitchn.com, devoted to changing foods I love that don’t love me back. It is my goal to revamp that above family food list for IBS safety – well maybe not the Gorgonzola (lol) – and still make almost the same Italian foods I love.
Here is a list of steps I take to change an Italian or Southern recipe to low fodmap:
• I check my family’s favorite Italian recipes and my in-law’s favorite Southern ones for fodmaps and insoluble fiber. Both those elements cause IBS flares.
• I reduce amounts of fodmaps to tolerable amounts using the Monash University fodmap App.
•I often substitute soluble fiber ingredients for the more dangerous insoluble fiber.
•I use helpforibs.com ‘s cheat sheet of insoluble and soluble fiber as a guide. For example: soluble zucchini for insoluble broccoli.
• I give advice to readers who are lactose intolerant or sensitive to wheat. Use lactose free milk or alternative milk such as almond/coconut; use lactose free cheese, yogurt or ricotta; use gluten free pasta and GF or sour dough bread as well as safe alternative grains. The Monash University App lists low fodmap, safe grains. However, it does not discuss the problems caused by insoluble fiber grains, so check out the helpforibs.com cheat sheet for that information.
Yes, it is beyond annoying to have so many sources to check for fodmaps and insoluble fiber, but your gut will thank you when you start to feel much better and less fearful about your food choices.
Keeping up with what foods are low fodmap or contain insoluble fiber is not an easy task, but it is well worth it, knowing that safe foods prevent IBS attacks much more than unsafe ones.
This blog is devoted to keeping Italian and Southern foods in the IBS repertoire for those of us who love them. We are determined to vanquish FODMAPs, insoluble fibers and anything else that gets between us and the foods we love.
