What the heck are FODMAPs?

It's still not the term that came up in the media, but I feel that this trend is coming, so I'll tell you exactly what it is and where does it come from, so when the term comes out you know exactly what it is and don't jump on another's "diet" without wondering if you were supposed to.

First of all: what the heck does FODMAP mean?

The term FODMAP was coined to describe a collection of short chain carbohydrates that are fermentable and poorly absorbed in the gut.

F - Fermentable O - Oligosaccharides: Including fructan and galactooligosaccharides D - Dissaccharides: Including lactose and sucrose M - Monosaccharides: Including fructose And and P - Polyols: Including sorbitol and mannitol

And how did it all begin?

The low FODMAP diet was developed by researchers at the Monash University, in Australia. It was structured to treat and ameliorate the symptoms of patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a functional disorder characterized by chronic abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in the absence of a structural or organic cause.

The underlying and long-term pathophysiological mechanisms of IBS are still unclear, but it is suggested that because the FODMAPs are poorly absorbed by the small intestine and are osmotically active, they lead to greater absorption of fluid in the small intestine, leading to distention of the intestine, leading to altered intestinal motility, visceral hypersensitivity, and interruption of mucosal permeability. In addition, FODMAPs are rapidly fermented by colonic microbiota, leading to colon distension with gas production, promoting pain associated with swelling. See the illustrative video of this explanation at the end of the post.

Scientific evidence shows that adopting therapy through a low-dose FODMAP diet can reduce symptoms by 80%, which aims to exclude FODMAP-rich foods from the diet and gradually reintroduce them according to tolerance of the patient - always with the direction and follow-up of a nutritionist!

It is important to know that not all elements of FODMAPs exacerbate abdominal symptoms in patients with IBS. The presence and degree of abdominal symptoms in an individual depends on the degree of malabsorption experienced by the individual, so treatment should be done with the advice of a nutritionist.

In addition to FODMAP therapy, other resources have been studied to serve as adjunctive therapies to alleviate symptoms, such as soluble fibers and probiotics.

It is worth mentioning that the adoption of the low diet in FODMAPs can bring nutritional and colonic microbiota damages and is not advised to healthy individuals, much less without the supervision and guidance of an experienced nutritionist (got it???).

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MONASH UNIVERSITY (Australia). About us. Disponível em: <http://www.monash.edu/about>. Acesso em: 02 nov. 2016.

FEDERAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE GASTROENTEROLOGIA (Brasil). Síndrome do Intestino Irritável (SII): A SII é uma desordem funcional do intestino. Disponível em: <http://www.fbg.org.br/Conteudo/197/0/Síndrome-do-Intestino-Irritável-(SII)->. Acesso em: 02 nov. 2016.

GEARRY, Richard et al. Efficacy of the low FODMAP diet for treating irritable bowel syndrome: the evidence to date. Clinical And Experimental Gastroenterology, [s.l.], p.131-142, jun. 2016. Dove Medical Press Ltd.. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/ceg.s86798.

DUGUM, Mohannad; BARCO, Kathy; GARG, Samita. Managing irritable bowel syndrome:: The low-FODMAP diet. Cleveland Clinic Journal Of Medicine. Cleveland, p. 655-662. set. 2016. Disponível em: <http://www.ccjm.org/cme/cme/article/managing-irritable-bowel-syndrome-the-low-fodmap-diet/e75d3bb62cd1d15ab6dcd6bab2ecc0c3.html>. Acesso em: 02 nov. 2016.

VALEUR, Jørgen et al. Fecal Fermentation in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Influence of Dietary Restriction of Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. Digestion, [s.l.], v. 94, n. 1, p.50-56, 2016. S. Karger AG. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000448280.