We believe everyone following the low FODMAP diet should have the Monash University smart phone app, and the FODMAP Friendly smart phone app. This is because these are the two entities that are doing the lab testing, with reputable labs, and are considered primary resources.
They retest foods from time to time, and updates might show a different FODMAP content result. What does that mean? What if the food most recently tested shows a lower FODMAP content than what was listed before? Or what if it’s the opposite? This article explains what these updates mean, and how to apply the information to your diet.
Rule # 1
Rule # 1 is that the apps are meant to be used as guides, not absolutes. The more you learn about the low FODMAP diet the more you will recognize that nothing is black-and-white, and indeed there are many shades of gray.
Rule #2
Do not go into a tizzy when you see an app update and a food has a different FODMAP content than it did before. There is no need to panic. First of all, if you were tolerating the food before, there is nothing for you to change. Keep enjoying it!
Most people are especially concerned if a food all of a sudden is shown to have a higher FODMAP content. This is where the “guides, not absolutes” concept comes in. Keep reading.
What Are The App Entries?
The entries in the apps are simply lab test results that reflect the most recent batch of food that has been tested.
It is vitally important for you to understand that the grapes that you have in your kitchen today, or the broccoli that you buy next month at the supermarket literally cannot be the same as those tested.
Variation Is To Be Expected
Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have gone on record and said that they expect there to be variation in lab test results, especially with fresh agricultural products like vegetables, fruits, and grains.
Are The Most Recent App Entries The Most Correct?
No. All the lab testing done by Monash University and the FODMAP Friendly is accurate. One major restriction that both apps share is that they can only show one data set at a time. They show the most recent lab tests. This does not mean that tests that were done before are less accurate.
Which Testing Body Is More Conservative?
There is no definitive answer to this question. Some of the foods tested and reported on by Monash University have a more generous low FODMAP serving size, and the same is true about FODMAP Friendly.
Remember the app entries are simply reporting what was found for a particular batch of lab testing.
What If The Results Are Different In One App From The Other?
This is not a problem and is actually not contradictory. The results are simply lab results of a particular batch of food that was tested at that time. The batches of food tested at any given time by Monash University are not going to be the same as those tested by FODMAP Friendly.
Which App Is Better?
The Monash University smart phone app, and the FODMAP Friendly Smart phone app each have their pros and cons. Many people like FODMAP Friendly because they give you more detail, such as a maximum low FODMAP serving for every app entry.
Isn’t Monash University “The Gold Standard”?
Dr. Sue Shepherd was on the research team at Monash when they developed the low FODMAP diet. She left Monash University to start FODMAP Friendly. Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly conduct lab testing of products and both are considered reputable and accurate.
We think everyone should have both apps, because they each bring something to the table that the other does not. More information is power!
You can use any of the lab testing results as a starting point to begin your exploration of your personal relationship to FODMAPs.
What If A Recipe Is Based On Older Lab Testing Data?
This is not a problem. Let’s take strawberries is an example. Strawberries have been shown in lab testing to contain a range of FODMAPs from no FODMAPs at all, to containing enough that the serving size suggested was fairly small.
Let’s say you want to make a strawberry tart.
No one can tell you the FODMAP content of the strawberries that you buy for your baking project today. They might contain no FODMAPs at all, or they might be fairly high FODMAP. So, what do you do?
First of all, if you have always digested strawberries well, just keep using them and eating them as you always have. If you have had trouble digesting them, maybe use the lab test information that is more conservative.
You can use any of the lab testing results as a starting point to begin your exploration of your personal relationship to FODMAPs.
And remember, the strawberries you buy next month are going to be different.
What Should I Do When There Is An App Update?
- Don’t panic.
- Read the new information in the apps. Knowledge is power.
- Please read our article, When Low FODMAP Lab Test Results Differ.
- Read our article titled, Are Grapes Low FODMAP?, which will give you a great overview of why lab results can differ from test to test for many foods.
- If you have always digested a particular food well, there’s no need to change your approach to that food.
- If a current lab test is showing higher FODMAP content, and you have had trouble digesting that food, perhaps use that more conservative serving size as a jumping off point.
- If a current lab test shows lower FODMAP content, and you have had trouble digesting that food, perhaps the ingredients you buy are different varieties, or have been stored differently, affecting FODMAP content (the grapes article explains more).
- REMEMBER THAT THE APPS ARE GUIDES.
- IT IS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE FOOD THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR KITCHEN TODAY OR NEXT MONTH TO BE THE SAME AS WHAT WAS TESTED.
- This does not mean the app entries are useless. Any of the app entries, older or newer, give you a place to begin your exploration of your tolerance, or intolerance, to FODMAPs.
- And, last but not least, remember that your gastrointestinal tract is not static, neither are your FODMAP intolerances, or the FODMAP content of food. If you do not digest something well today, be sure to try it again down the line.
- Many people are able to expand their diet as time goes on.
- Read these articles for more info: Monash University Lab Testing Explained, FODMAP Friendly Lab Testing Explained, How To Use The Monash University Smartphone App, How To Use The FODMAP Friendly Smartphone App, FODMAP Content in Food Is Variable and When Low FODMAP Lab Test Results Differ.
