Diet Tips:Thank you for purchasing our low FODMAP diet app

By Dr Jaci Barrett

It's a New Year and time for us to reflect on 2015. We wanted to take an opportunity to thank those of you that have purchased our Monash University low FODMAP Diet app. It’s not a free app, and for many the price is significant, so thank you for investing in us.

The proceeds from the sale of the app go toward many of our projects. Research funding is scarce, competitive, and difficult to source, especially when the area of research is new. Some of our projects funded by app sales include:

• Testing of foods for their FODMAP content and expansion of our food database  Including local Australian and international foods

• The purchase of laboratory equipment, kits and chemicals

• Research studies and clinical trials we conduct: 

- Assessing the fermentability (gas-producing ability) of fibre supplements

- Manipulating the diet of breastfeeding mothers to relieve the symptoms of infantile colic

- Investigating the neurobehavioral effects of gluten in non-celiac gluten sensitivity

- Alterations in zonulin as a potential biomarker of gastrointestinal dysfunction

- Can cooking times reduce the FODMAP content of legumes?

- Investigating a new diet therapy to reduce symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome


We'll be posting more detailed reviews about some of these studies in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

We get many emails of support and gratitude from patients with IBS using the diet and app with much success. We hear life changing stories. But without your support and the worldwide interest in what we do, these projects would not be possible and the success of the diet would be limited.


So a big thanks to you from all of us in the Monash University, Translational Nutrition Science Group!

           

           

Diet Tips:Five things we love about the Monash University Low FODMAP app

By Shirley Webber (Research Dietitian)

As someone struggling with lactose and fructose malabsorption I have been making use of the Monash University low FODMAP booklets and app for many years. I’ve enjoyed many different aspects of the app but my top 5 favourites would have to be:

1.       The guide section 

I am forever scrolling around in this section of the app, especially when I’m at the shops thinking of what new food I should include in my recipes. The comprehensive guide lists all the foods that have been tested for FODMAP levels with recommended serving sizes to ensure serves are low in FODMAPs. This means that I can know when trialling a new recipe or preparing foods for friends that I should stick within these serves to avoid triggering any symptoms.

Another helpful thing about the app is when I'm travelling in countries where I do not speak the language, I show the restaurant staff a picture of foods I tend to avoid and signal that it is not good for me. That way, I've been able to avoid symptoms while travelling.

2.       The shopping list function 

If I don’t make a list I inevitably end up leaving without getting the main things I actually went to the shops to get. Therefore, I absolutely need a shopping list! I enjoy browsing through recipe books and adding ingredients to my shopping list as I go. By adding these foods to my shopping list I know I absolutely have to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.

3.       The Diary 

I have recently become very ill and had no idea what the cause was that aggravated my IBS symptoms. I decided that I would keep track of what I was eating as well as the symptoms I was having until my symptoms resolved. During this time, I found the diary section very helpful to keep track of my diet and symptoms. Having this function handy on my phone meant that my diet history was accurate and I could get the most out of analysing my diet and symptoms. It is also very easy to print the results out and share these with your dietitian.

4.       Flags 

There are now flags added to the app to highlight the countries where foods have been sourced from and tested for FODMAP levels. This helps those of you who do not live in Australia to know which foods we have found to have varying FODMAP levels, and also for those who are travelling in the countries where we've tested foods. You can now look out for some of these other tested foods on your travels and avoid IBS symptoms while away from home. Stay tuned for more flags being added to the app.

5.       Filters! 
Filters are my best friend on this app. I absolutely love that I can filter the level of my intolerance as well as the particular FODMAPs that I have issues with to have them greyed out and help me with selecting ingredients for my meals.

These are a few of my favourite things, but stay tuned for some very exciting changes being made to the app which will be introduced in the next update. 

           

Diet Tips:Low FODMAP German Potato Pancakes (Kartoffelpuffer)

By Alana Scott, low FODMAP cook from A Little Bit Yummy

 

German potato pancakes (called Kartoffelpuffer or Reibekuchen) make a hearty low FODMAP breakfast option, especially when you pair them with bacon, scrambled eggs and baby spinach. These savoury pancakes also pair beautifully with sweet toppings. In Germany, potato pancakes are often served with stewed apple (but this is high FODMAP), so instead I like serving them with a low FODMAP blueberry sauce.



 

German Potato Pancakes (Kartoffelpuffer)           ............................................................................................   Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes                .............................................................................................   INGREDIENTS 700g starchy potatoes 2 small eggs 30g (¾ cup) green spring onion tips (finely chopped) 1 tbsp gluten free all purpose flour 1 tsp salt ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 - 3 tbsp oil for frying   SERVING SUGGESTIONS Bacon Scrambled eggs Baby spinach Lactose free sour cream or low FODMAP mayonnaise Blueberry sauce: 120g blueberries (fresh or frozen) & 1 tbsp brown sugar (heat in a small saucepan until soft & then blend until smooth).   METHOD Finely chop the green spring onion tips. Place to one side. Peel, wash and grate the potatoes. If you have a food processor you can use the finely shred blade to speed up this process. Once shredded, take a handful of potato and give it a couple of good squeezes to remove excess water. Place in a large bowl. Repeat until all the potato has been squeezed. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Place the eggs, green spring onion tips, gluten-free all purpose flour, salt, and black pepper in the large bowl. Mix through the potato. (Do not prepare the potato in advance as this will cause it to go brown and soggy!) Place a large non-stick frypan on to heat over medium-high heat, add ½ a tablespoon of cooking oil.   Once hot, begin frying the pancakes immediately. Place a couple of tablespoons of mixture into your hands, shape into a flat pancake and place in the frypan, then flatten again with a spatula. If the mixture is too wet, squeeze out the excess liquid as you form the patties. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown. I normally cook mine in two batches. While the potato pancakes cook, make your side dishes.  Serve the potato pancakes hot or at room temperature with your preferred side dishes.                                .............................................................................................   Buying tips: Make sure the bacon does not contain honey or high FODMAP sweeteners. Buy lactose free sour cream if you want to use sour cream.  Notes on making the blueberry sauce: Place a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the blueberries and brown sugar. Allow to heat for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally (if the blueberries look like they might burn add a tablespoon of water and turn down the heat). Once the mixture starts to bubble remove from heat. Allow to cool for a few minutes before blending.

Diet Tips:Rice Milks Revisited: Moving from red to green rating in app

By Dr Jane Muir 

Everyone was very disappointed when our rating for rice milk was red = high FODMAP!

We have had many requests to conduct further testing of rice milks from different countries.  Our team has just completed testing rice milks from Australia, United Kingdom and the United States.

Remember that the analysis of all FODMAPs in food is a complex and time-consuming process undertaken by the laboratory team here at Monash.  Some foods (particularly processed foods) present technical challenges.  Rice milk is one of these challenging foods. 

Currently, rice milk has been given a red rating in the app.  This was due to the presence of very high level of oligosaccharides (Oligos) that our team detected in the rice milk samples. As we discussed in our last rice milk blog – this high level of Oligos are due to the enzymatic breakdown of the rice flour starch to release glucose (this is how rice milk is made).  As you can see from the diagram below, rice starch is a large and complex carbohydrate - made up of chains of glucose (these can be very long - thousands of glucose units long). The enzymes used to make rice milk sometimes fail to completely break down the rice starch and as a result some small oligos are left behind.  The key point here is that these types of starch-derived oligos are digestible, unlike the Oligos- fructans and GOS. So these are not really FODMAPs!

Our laboratory team has discovered that these starch-derived oligos get mixed up with the FODMAP - GOS-oligos during the laboratory analysis. This means it has been difficult to know how much of these oligos are starch-derived and therefore well tolerated, and how much is GOS, a FODMAP, poorly tolerated. The team has recently established a new technique to answer this question. As a result of their hard work, they have discovered that there is little GOS in rice milk and indeed these Oligos are probably starch-derived and therefore well tolerated. All rice milks have been re-tested using this new method.

We have now reviewed the rating for rice milk and will be modifying this accordingly.  We have given a safe (low level greenrating) for 200 ml of rice milk per sitting.  The results for the Australian, UK and US will be in the app very soon. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused - but this is science in action! and part of the ongoing research and refinement of the Monash University Low FODMAP diet.

Be careful:  There are still some fructans present in some rice milks and therefore we do not recommend very high quantities of rice milk in one sitting.

So will this problem of starch-derived Oligos affect other food ratings in the app?  We have reviewed other foods in the app and we have not found any other foods which have been affected by this technical issue.

 

 

Diet Tips:Low FODMAP German recipe: Cucumber salad

 

Cucumber salad                ............................................................................................. INGREDIENTS 1 English cucumber ½ cup of fresh chives 1 tub of lactose free yoghurt 2 Tbsp. White vinegar METHOD Thinly slice the English cucumber (Optional step to reduce to water in the salad: spread the sliced cucumber out on a flat tray and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes. Toss the cucumber and repeat with sprinkling salt and leaving it to sit for 20 minutes. Pour off any fluid and using paper towel squeeze out excess water from the cucumber.) Place cucumbers in a salad bowls and add the small tub of lactose free yoghurt. Finely chop up the chives and mix in with the cucumber and yoghurt. Add 2 Tbsp of white vinegar and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Gurke Salat                ............................................................................................. ZUTATEN 1 Gurke ½ Tasse Schnitlauch 1 Dose Lactosefrei Joghurt 2 EL. Essig RICHTUNGEN In dünne Scheiben schneiden Gurke (Schritt zum Wasser in den Salat zu reduzieren: verbreiten Sie die Gurke in Scheiben geschnitten auf einer ebenen Tablett und mit Salz bestreuen. Lassen Sie sich für 20 Minuten. Werfen Sie die Gurke und wiederholen Sie mit Salz bestreuen und lassen es für 20 Minuten zu sitzen. Gießen Sie jede Flüssigkeit und mit ein Papiertuch quetschen überschüssiges Wasser aus dem Gurken.) Legen Sie Gurken in einem Salatschüsseln und fügen Sie die kleine Wanne von laktosefreie Joghurt. Den Schnittlauch fein hacken und mischen mit der Gurke und Joghurt. Fügen Sie 2 Esslöffel Weißweinessig und mischen.

 

Diet Tips:It's Time To Refresh Your App!

It's Time To Refresh Your App! 

We will be releasing an app update soon, meaning that new food data will be available for your Monash Low FODMAP Diet App. In order to make sure that you receive this new data immediately, you will need to manually 'refresh' your app. Otherwise, your app will refresh itself automatically, however this may not occur for several weeks. Refreshing your app is really simple, just make sure that you have a secure Internet connection, offline mode is not active and follow these two steps: 

Step 1: In the guide section of your app, select "Settings" in the top left hand corner of the screen. 

Step 2: Scroll down the "Settings" page until you find the "Clear Cache" option. Select "Clear Cache" and your app will automatically begin to download any new data available from our server. 

           

Diet Tips:Have you seen what’s new in the Monash Low FODMAP Diet App?

By Shirley Webber, Research Dietitian 

Food Guide

You may have noticed that we have re-ordered categories in the Food Guide section and added two new categories: Nutritional Drinksand Snacks, Bars and Cookies. Foods listed in the new, Snacks, Bars and Cookies category were previously listed in the Breads and Cereals category, but we separated these to make it easier to find specific foods.

New Flags

We are now testing food products sourced from all over the world. Have a look in this section to see if foods from your country have been tested or alternatively, consult this section when you travel to find country specific information about the FODMAP content of local food. Providing users with country specific information about FODMAP food composition is important because of international differences in food supply and in food processing techniques that may affect FODMAP content. Filters in the food guide enable app users to only display foods relevant in their country. 

More Detail about Serving Sizes

We are now giving app users more information about the serving size at which green serves of fruit and vegetables become amber serves. This allows users to determine the upper limit serving size that would still be considered low in FODMAPs. Examples of fruit and vegetables with more serving size information include aubergine, red cabbage, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, cumquats and green kiwi fruit.

Nutritional Guidelines:

Consistent with our goal to encourage app users to follow a healthy, well balanced diet that is consistent with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, we have updated the guide section with reminders to eat 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables each day. When you click into a food in the fruit and vegetable categories you will see a reminder that you can eat multiple serves of ‘green’ foods in one sitting and that you should eat at least 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables each day.

A dietitian can provide advice on how to incorporate these recommendations into your low FODMAP diet. Our blog also includes many healthy, low FODMAP recipe ideas and the following pages may give you ideas on how to incorporate more fruit and vegetables in your diet: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/and http://gofor2and5.com.au/.

The Monash FODMAP Team welcomes feedback on your experiences using the app and where possible, we take this into consideration when planning app updates.