Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Coconut oil? I follow a low FODMAP diet for my IBS. Wondering why coconut oil is low FODMAP but not safe for ibs?

Hi - FODMAPS are specific types of short chain carbohydrates. That means that FODMAPS cannot ever be proteins (like gluten) or fats (like coconut oil). Carbs, fats, and proteins are all discrete elements.

The low FODMAP diet is a lot more about FODMAPS than it is about IBS, unfortunately. There are major IBS diet triggers that are not FODMAPS at all - fats, insoluble fibers, GI irritants and stimulants like coffee, alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, etc.

So, just because something is low FODMAP, or totally FODMAP free, does not make it safe for IBS. Coconut oil is a good example. It's a fat, so no FODMAPS at all, but all fats are powerful GI stimulants and thus likely triggers.

Go low fat, but not fat free, to help keep IBS stable. So use coconut oil as one of your fats, but in small quantities, and always with the soluble fiber foods that will gently keep your gut stable. Follow that rule for all of your fats, and choose the heart healthy options - olive, flax, fatty fish, nut oils, avocado, etc. Always with soluble fiber foods, always in small quantities.

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Heather

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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