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You may need gluten-free and low-FODMAP recipes if you have celiac disease and IBS and your provider is walking you through the low-FODMAP protocol. To make your life easier with this, we’ll briefly discuss both a gluten-free and low-FODMAP diet, what they are for, and share some recipes for you to try!
Before we dive into gluten-free and low-FODMAP recipes, let’s get on the same page on what a gluten-free diet is.
A gluten-free diet is a diet free of gluten-containing foods and items that may expose an individual to gluten by cross-contact. Gluten cross-contact occurs when particles of gluten from food items -barley, rye, uncertified gluten-free oats, and wheat- have transferred to another item through handling.
Certain individuals need a gluten-free diet due to an intolerance of gluten. These individuals have difficulties digesting gluten resulting in a host of symptoms commonly marked by bloating, gas, abdominal pain, random aches, diarrhea, constipation, and more.
Other individuals need a gluten-free diet due to Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is a chronic digestive and autoimmune disorder that is triggered by gluten. Individuals with Celiac Disease need to adhere to a lifelong gluten-free diet to properly manage the disease.
It is important to understand, celiac disease and gluten intolerance are completely separate conditions.
Additionally, before we get into gluten-free and low-FODMAP recipes, it’s important to be on the same page on what a low-FODMAP diet is.
A low-FODMAP diet is a short-term, restrictive diet that removes high FODMAP foods with the goal to improve digestion and identify foods that are causing digestive irritation.
FODMAP is an acronym standing for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. These sugars can be more challenging to digest but they are also important to maintaining a healthy gut microbiome with celiac.
A Low-FODMAP diet is typically used short-term, for two to six weeks, to calm the digestive tract and then reintroduce high FODMAP foods slowly, every three days, to identify foods that are causing GI distress and foods that are safe to consume without GI distress.
Before we move further, it’s also important not to mistake a low-FODMAP diet as a gluten or dairy-free diet. FODMAPs encompass types of short-chain sugars. You can still consume gluten or dairy products that have had these sugars removed or reduced.
Depending on the processing, barley, rye, wheat, and spelt tend to be higher in FODMAPs so some gluten-containing foods items would not be suitable for a low FODMAP diet. However, if these FODMAPs are reduced, products could still contain gluten but be low-FODMAP.
Basically, low-FODMAP does not mean gluten-free. And gluten-free does not mean low-FODMAP.
The same applies to dairy. Dairy-free does not necessarily mean low-FODMAP and low-FODMAP does not necessarily mean dairy-free. Dairy is a group of foods produced from the byproducts of cow’s milk and can be naturally low-FODMAP food. That said, if the dairy product contains high enough amounts of lactose, it would then be not considered low-FODMAP.
Of note, if you have celiac and are discussing a low-FODMAP diet with your dietitian, it’s important to consider more gentle approaches first. For example, lactose, which is a FODMAP, is commonly undigested properly by people with celiac. This is because lactose intolerance is common with celiac due to intestinal damage. So you may want to trial a less restrictive elimination diet with foods that are not commonly tolerated in the celiac population.
The bottom-line: if an individual needs to be gluten-free for reasons like Celiac Disease, or dairy-free for reasons like a milk allergy, then these food items should be excluded while also maintaining a low-FODMAP diet under the guidance of a dietitian. As a low-FOMAP diet does not inherently mean the diet will be dairy or gluten-free.
So how does a low-FODMAP diet relate to a gluten-free diet and celiac disease?
According to a research article published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2022, a low-FODMAP diet can reduce gastrointestinal symptoms related to Celiac Disease in individuals who have ongoing symptoms based on the findings from a randomized controlled trial.
These findings demonstrate how a moderately low-FODMAP diet can alleviate digestive distress in individuals with Celiac Disease. Perhaps this is due to the fact that IBS can commonly co-occur with celiac disease.
Alternatively, perhaps this is due to the fact that celiac disease has been shown to impact gastric motility, which may impact how FODMAPS ferment in the gut.
As always, discuss with your celiac dietitian if a low-FODMAP approach will be helpful for you. Remember, this is a temporary diet that requires a specific protocol to help identify your triggers. You want to make sure you are doing it right so you don’t get stuck in the elimination phase.
So when should people go both gluten-free and low-FODMAP? If you are intolerant to gluten and must avoid it due to Celiac Disease and are still experiencing digestive distress, you can discuss the suitability of this diet with your dietitian.
Again, this is a highly restrictive diet with a very strict protocol and must be done under the guidance of a dietitian to make sure it’s executed correctly. That said, this gluten-free elimination diet could pinpoint what foods are causing GI distress beyond gluten.
Your dietitian will know based on your health history, current symptoms, etc. if this diet is a good fit for you. Often, there are many other less restrictive approaches you can take depending on the circumstances.
Now to the main point, gluten-free and low-FODMAP recipes! When following a gluten-free and low-FODMAP diet, it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out what to eat.
First, a simple google search of “gluten-free and low-FODMAP recipes” can bring up a lot of options. And if you find recipes you do want to try, make your life easier by preparing them in bulk so you have meals to lean on throughout the week.
Additionally, using reputable resources and your dietitian, get to know the foods you can have really well. This is a restrictive diet so feeling comfortable and focusing on what you can have during it can be helpful.
And if you want some help, take a look at the example 5-day meal plan featuring gluten-free and low-FODMAP recipes for inspiration. You can prepare a few servings of each of these to store in the fridge to have delicious and nutritious foods that work with your low-FODMAP diet.
Day 1 of Recipes for a Gluten-Free and Low-FODMAP Diet
Day 2 of Gluten-Free Low-FODMAP Diet
Day 3 of Gluten-Free Low-FODMAP Diet
Day 4 of Gluten-Free Low-FODMAP Diet
Day 5 of Gluten-Free Low-FODMAP Diet
There are fantastic resources online now and in the form apps that help people sort through the chaos of starting something new.
Gluten-free and low-FODMAP recipes can feel difficult to find or make. That said, hopefully this post gives you hope and insights on how to survive.
A reminder: A low-FODMAP diet excludes foods high in fermentable short-chain sugars – oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols- that can cause gut irritation.
High FODMAP foods are extremely beneficial to gut health. I can not stress enough that you do this diet under the proper supervision of a dietitian, as doing this diet wrong can impact your gut microbiome negatively.
This is a short-term elimination diet with the goal of slowly reintroducing foods to see which ones are causing GI distress. Being on a low-FODMAP diet does not mean it is gluten- or dairy-free.
If being gluten- or dairy- free is necessary for you due to intolerances, sensitivities, allergies, or other immune responses, exclude these foods as well.
Use a low-FODMAP reference list to become familiar with foods that are safe to consume during this low-FODMAP elimination phase and batch prep these items to have on hand throughout the week. This will make adhering to this diet short-term easy and enjoyable.