Some of your favorite healthy bites may also be causing belly bloat — especially if you’re among the 15-20 percent who have difficulty digesting carbs known as Fermetable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols (or FODMAP). “They’re poorly absorbed, rapidly fermented in the gut, and increase water delivery into the bowel,” explains Kristi L. King, a senior pediatric dietitian at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. To see if you’re sensative, try a six- to eight-week elmination diet of FODMAP foods. “Most people see an improvement in symptoms within one to two weeks,” adds King.

The FODMAP-Free Diet

Avoid

  • High-lactose dairy (milk, ice cream, soft cheese)
  • Wheat, barley, rye
  • Soy products
  • Certain nuts, beans, and legumes (cashews, beans, lentils, pistachios)
  • Certain fruits (apples, blackberries, pears, watermelon, stone fruits)
  • Certain vegetables (artichokes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mushrooms)
  • High-fructose corn syrup
  • Sugar alcohols like sorbitol and xylitol

Choose

  • Lactose-free milk, hard cheese, Greek yogurt, plain kefir. 
  • Gluten-free grains (rice, quinoa, corn plus gluten-free pasta, bread, oatmeal, etc.)
  • Meat and meat alternatives (eggs; natural nut butters, including almond and peanut butter; beef; chicken; fish; pork)
  • Certain fruits (citrus, cantaloupe, bananas, blueberries, strawberries)
  • Certain vegetables (zucchini, squash, eggplant, carrots, green beans)
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