What does Low FODMAP mean? Good question.
FODMAP is a term used to describe foods that can be digestively disruptive for a wide range of people. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), food sensitivities and just digestive disruption are becoming a norm for many of us with the highly processed, modified and sweetened food we eat. But certain foods are more likely to create digestive disruption than others and they can trigger:
- Gas and bloating
- Cramping
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Pain
Technically, FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (short-chain carbohydrates or sugars that are poorly absorbed by the small intestine).
So what does that mean? How our bodies react to what we eat can have a dramatic effect on our overall health.
Our neural, hormonal and immune systems receive messages from our intestinal tissue as it processes our food. Nutritious food supports those systems. Disruptive food can make it more difficult for those same systems to function properly.
Why does that matter for our gummies? Well there have been some trends in the candy and food world in the last few years to use dietary fibres and syrups, such as inulin and oligosaccharides, in products from granola bars, to yogurts, to gummies.
These sweeteners can lower the caloric count in the products a little bit and be labeled as containing fibre, but they are actually High FODMAP ingredients that can cause a lot of pain and digestive distress. Plainly, if you are eating a gummy that is supposed to contain healthy ingredients, but it creates digestive disruption, you won't be able to absorb those healthy ingredients.
Gut health is a priority for Mycelyum because we know that functional mushrooms can't support our immune systems with their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities if they that means:
- NO High FODMAP ingredients
- NO inulin
- NO oligosaccharides
- NO sugar alcohols
- NO artificial sweeteners
Next time you pop a couple of functional gummies in your mouth, check out the ingredients label to find out if your gummies are Low FODMAP or if their ingredients might be disrupting your body's absorption of the functional ingredients.