It's the FODMAP Life
I have lived with irritable bowel syndrome for decades. I was recently trying to figure out why I waited so long to address it. For many years, I only had an ob-gyn, no GP. Maybe that’s why. Also the symptoms seemed like something you just have to suffer through, gas and bloating being the worst. I guess it didn’t seem serious enough. I self-treated for YEARS using every nutritional supplement on the market. I did colon cleanses. I went to a naturopath for acupuncture; she gave me wicked strong herbs for SIBO , which I may or may not have actually had. Finally, I saw an actual GI specialist. After running tests to rule out any sinister causes (hello, my first colonoscopy), he officially diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome and handed me a sheet of paper listing the basics of a restrictive diet called “ low-FODMAP .” FODMAP is an acronym that stands for “fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols”—classes of starch found in many commo...