One in five people know the pain of irritable bowel syndrome. Here’s how to deal with the diagnosis and carry on cooking.
If you’ve ever felt the sting of dietary restrictions or the discomfort of irritable bowel syndrome, you know the struggle is real.
Chrissy Glentis understands the issues firsthand. Diagnosed almost 20 years ago with fructose malabsorption and lactose intolerance, Glentis initially struggled to figure out what she could eat without feeling unwell afterwards.
“I was fine at home, but there was nothing I could eat when I went out,” she says. “As I’m sure most of the low-FODMAP people in the world know, you just sit there and pick out the onion piece by piece.”
After her diagnosis, Glentis became determined to create recipes low in FODMAPs – a group of carbohydrates and sugars that, for about one in five Australians, aren’t fully digested. Instead, they ferment in the intestines, causing uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating and cramping.
“I was trying to recreate the dishes that I loved growing up eating, and just trying to keep the flavour as authentic as I could,” says Glentis.
Her interest, borne of necessity, grew into a Melbourne cafe (now closed) and a business, Foddies, that makes frozen meals free from dietary triggers, which are available in Coles supermarkets.
Her latest project is Always Delicious: Low-FODMAP Kitchen, a collection of more than 100 tried and tested low-FODMAP recipes. Many are also free from eggs, nuts, soy, and dairy, and all can be made gluten-free, if they aren’t already.
These days, when Glentis serves the low-FODMAP version of her yiayia’s moussaka at family gatherings, it gets resounding approval. “People love it even more because they’re able to eat without the bloat and without that heavy feeling.”
10 tips for low-FODMAP eaters
If you’re embarking on a low-FODMAP journey, here are Chrissy Glentis’s top tips.
- Embrace the diagnosis as a culinary adventure. Don’t view dietary restrictions as a burden, but rather as an opportunity to explore new ingredients and expand your cooking repertoire.
- Understand it gets easier: The initial overwhelm of adopting a low-FODMAP diet subsides as you become more familiar with suitable ingredients and cooking methods.
- Focus on recreating beloved dishes, which can be a motivating approach to low-FODMAP cooking.
- Experiment with new ingredients: Don’t be afraid to try different foods and flavour combinations that you might not have considered before.
- Look for alternatives to traditional cooking bases such as onion, garlic, and celery and actively seek low-FODMAP replacements.
- Utilise garlic-infused and onion-infused olive oils. Fructans are water-soluble, not oil-soluble, so you get the flavour without the high-FODMAP components of fresh onion and garlic.
- Be aware of hidden triggers. Even if a cuisine seems simpler for people on a low-FODMAP diet (such as rice-based Asian dishes), onion and garlic are ubiquitous, so remain vigilant.
- Be cautious with legumes. While some cultures avoid onions and garlic, they may heavily rely on high-FODMAP legumes.
- Be prepared to hunt for high-FODMAP ingredients, such as onions, in restaurant meals.
- Prioritise relaxation. Stress and anxiety can worsen IBS symptoms, so try to approach low-FODMAP cooking with a calm and positive mindset.
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