Think onions and garlic are your enemy? Please DON’T banish them long-term! Your gut microbes will thank you!
I know many of you with sensitive guts and IBS fear garlic and onion, but it really is possible for everyone* to include these gut-loving foods in your diet!
I’m yet to meet a gut that can’t reintroduce them – and I’ve got to know thousands of guts in my 11 years of being a dietitian.
How? Slow and steady wins the race to good gut health.
Even if you’ve been guided to try the low-FODMAP diet by a specialist dietitian to help your gut symptoms (and that’s the ONLY way you should be told to try it!), it’s never forever.
The restriction stage (where you avoid high-FODMAP foods temporarily, including garlic and onion) should only be done for a MAX 8 weeks.
It’s super important to go into the reintroduction stage, where you add FODMAP foods back in slowly and gradually to allow your gut to adapt.
FODMAP foods nourish your gut microbes, so reintroduction is an absolute MUST for the best long-term health outcomes. Not to mention your own happiness when you can enjoy the amazing flavours of onion and garlic again.
*Although very very rare (there are not even enough cases to derive a stat!), it is possible to be allergic to garlic and onion (think difficulty breathing, rashes etc), in which case complete avoidance is essential. Diagnosis can only be made by an expert allergist.
