Low FODMAP Cashews
Activating Cashews Lowers Their FODMAP Content Making Them Easier to Digest
FODMAP Update
Low FODMAP Cashews
Headline: Do You Really Need to Activate Your Nuts?
What You Need to Know:
Dried roasted cashews are high in FODMAPs, but the process of activation makes it possible for low FODMAP cashews to exist! Activating nuts such as cashews involves soaking them and then drying them which results in a softer texture and sweeter taste.
The process of activating cashews and other nuts has received lots of attention due to the belief that by soaking then drying nuts, you are decreasing ‘harmful’ phytates that bind to important minerals and make them hard for the body to absorb.
However, phytates are less of a problem than people claim and they actually have several health benefits such as anti-inflammatory properties.
Testing by Monash confirms that a serving of 10 activated cashews (15 g) is low in FODMAPs!
While regular cashews are high in FODMAPs, activated cashews are soaked which is thought to allow some of the water-soluble FODMAPs to leach out, therefore reducing their FODMAP content.
Related Links:
Low FODMAP Snacks to Pack On-the-go
Research Update
Infant Colic and FODMAPs
Headline: Mothers following a low FODMAP diet may be associated with reduction in infant colic symptoms
What You Need to Know:
A very small, preliminary study out of Monash University shows some improvements in infant colic symptoms while mothers followed the low FODMAP diet.
Mothers followed the low FODMAP diet for only 7 days and on average reported total crying time decreased by 52 minutes.
Although this decrease in crying time is not necessarily a direct result of avoiding FODMAPs, it is interesting that researchers are exploring a potential link between FODMAPs and symptoms of digestive distress in breastfed infants.
Results do not suggest that all breastfeeding mothers should be on a low FODMAP diet, rather the study offers some insight into how FODMAPs in a mother’s diet could potentially be transferred through breast milk to her infant.
Mothers with colicky babies should consider foods they or family members have had issues with growing up and limiting exposure to these while breastfeeding.
Related Links:
Pregnancy and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Media Update
Low FODMAP Isn’t Forever
Headline: How the Low FODMAP Diet Can Help Manage IBS
What You Need to Know:
The Low FODMAP Diet has helped many people better manage their digestive symptoms, but it is not a permanent dietary change.
The Low FODMAP Diet has only been around for a few years as an evidence-based approach to dealing with IBS and IBD, and although there is a growing body of research to support its effectiveness, we do not yet know the long-term effects of staying on this restrictive diet indefinitely.
We do know that following a strict low FODMAP diet for an extended period of time will result in missing out on certain carbohydrates (sugars) that are necessary for the good bacteria in our gut to thrive.
The Low FODMAP Diet is not forever. The diet should be implemented for just long enough to help identify specific food triggers at which point foods should be re-introduced so the diet is less restrictive and more balanced. The Low FODMAP Diet should be used as just one part of a larger toolkit of strategies for managing gas, bloating, distension, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain for the long-term.
Related Links:
How to Stick to a Low FODMAP Diet
Life After FODMAPs … What to do next?
The Best Way to Reduce Symptoms of IBS: The Low FODMAP Diet
The first step if you’re looking to improve irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or another digestive disorder or disease, is to understand more about the Low FODMAP diet and if it can help. Download my free eBook to help you better understand this diet and get started implementing simple steps to get rid of symptoms like gas, bloating, pain, diarrhea or constipation related to IBS. Click here to get a copy emailed to you right away.
