FODMAP

FODMAPs or fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols are short chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine and are prone to absorb water and ferment in the colon. They include short chain oligosaccharide polymers of fructose and galactooligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and maltitol. Most FODMAPs are naturally present in food and the human diet, but the polyols may be added artificially in commercially prepared foods and beverages. FODMAPs may cause digestive discomfort in some people. The reasons are hypersensitivity to luminal distension, and/or a proclivity to excess water retention and gas production and accumulation, but they do not cause intestinal inflammation. In fact, naturally occurring FODMAPs may help avert digestive discomfort for some people because they produce beneficial alterations in the gut flora.