Understand your triggers. Find your food freedom.
A dietitian-guided low-FODMAP diet in three phases: reduce, reintroduce, then personalize. In person in Ottawa and Gatineau, or online anywhere in Ontario and Quebec.
Start with understanding
FODMAPs are carbohydrates that some people absorb poorly: fructans, GOS (galacto-oligosaccharides), lactose, excess fructose, and polyols such as sorbitol and mannitol. They draw water into the small intestine, then gut bacteria ferment them in the large intestine and produce gas. For most people that causes no trouble. In irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), where the gut is more sensitive, it can bring on bloating, pain, gas, and diarrhea or constipation.
The low-FODMAP diet is one of the best-studied dietary treatments for IBS. In clinical studies, about half to three quarters of people with IBS improve on it, and Canadian and American gastroenterology guidelines recommend it, ideally with a dietitian.
It is not a lifelong diet, and it isn’t for everyone. It is meant for people whose IBS has been diagnosed by a doctor. For people with a history of disordered eating, people who are underweight, and children, it needs extra care and close supervision.
Your path forward
The elimination phase is only the beginning. Most of the value comes from reintroduction, where you find out what you actually react to.
Phase 1 · 2 to 6 weeks
Swap high-FODMAP foods for lower-FODMAP choices across all five groups to see whether your symptoms settle. Portions matter: many foods are fine in a smaller serving.
Phase 2 · about 6 to 8 weeks
If your symptoms improved, you test one FODMAP group at a time, in increasing amounts over a few days, while the rest of your diet stays low in FODMAPs.
Phase 3 · long term
You bring back everything you tolerate and keep only the limits you need. The goal is the most varied diet you can enjoy, which also matters for your gut bacteria.
Food, made clearer
Each group is found in different foods, and most people react to only one or two of them.
Serving size changes the answer: a small serving of some foods is low in FODMAPs and a larger one is high. Values come from published laboratory testing, mostly by Monash University, whose app lists current serving sizes.
Support for your everyday
We use clinical software built for this diet, so your plan is based on your portions and your test results, not a generic food list.
Our recipes are rated for each FODMAP group at the serving you’ll actually eat, including what’s hidden in sauces and packaged ingredients. A recipe we can’t assess yet is marked unknown, never low.
Where a recipe can be adapted, such as hummus without garlic, we use its low-FODMAP version. You also get a low-FODMAP grocery list in English or French.
Your dietitian records each FODMAP group as removed, being tested, tolerated or causing symptoms. The recipes we suggest follow those results: a group you tolerate stops being restricted.
You log meals and symptoms in our patient portal. Your dietitian looks at them by FODMAP group and compares your symptoms before and during the elimination phase.
Putting it into practice
Two to six weeks is enough to know whether it helps. Staying strict longer adds no benefit and can reduce the variety of your gut bacteria.
Many foods are low in FODMAPs in a normal serving and high in a large one. Several small servings in the same meal can also add up.
Look for onion and garlic powder, inulin or chicory root, honey, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, and sweeteners ending in -itol.
Oats, quinoa, brown rice, potatoes with the skin, kiwifruit, carrots and chia seeds are lower-FODMAP sources of fibre.
A few lines a day about what you ate and how you felt make the reintroduction results much clearer.
If your symptoms haven’t improved after the elimination phase, this diet probably isn’t the answer. We look at other approaches, such as fibre, meal routine or gut-directed therapies.
WORKING WITH YOUR DIETITIAN
We check that the diagnosis is in place, review your symptoms, medications and usual diet, and decide together whether this diet is the right next step.
We set up the elimination phase with meals you like, then plan each reintroduction test: which food, how much, and over how many days.
We turn your results into a personal plan with the foods and portions that work for you, and check in when your symptoms or routine change.
You can, but guidance makes a difference. Guidelines recommend doing it with a dietitian, because it is easy to stay too strict for too long, and reintroduction is where most people need help.
Usually two to three months in total: two to six weeks of elimination, then about six to eight weeks of reintroduction, depending on how quickly you can test each group.
No. The diet limits fructans, which are found in wheat, rye and barley. Gluten is a protein, not a FODMAP. Small amounts of wheat are often fine, and spelt sourdough bread is low in FODMAPs in a normal serving.
It can be adapted, but only with close supervision by a dietitian, since nutritional needs are higher. Tell us if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you are asking for a child.
Some people with these conditions have IBS-like symptoms that respond to a low-FODMAP approach. We work with your doctor to decide whether it fits, and keep the restrictions as short as possible.
Many private insurance plans cover services from a Registered Dietitian. We provide receipts for you to submit. Check your plan for coverage details.
Yes. Online appointments by secure video are available anywhere in Ontario and Quebec. You log your meals and symptoms in our patient portal, and we go over them together at each visit.
This page is general information, not individual advice. Your needs depend on your diagnosis, your health and your goals.
We see you in person at our Ottawa and Gatineau clinics or by secure video anywhere in Ontario and Quebec, in English or French. With your consent, we share your plan with your family doctor or gastroenterologist.
Let’s take the next step
Start with a free initial consultation, in person in Ottawa or Gatineau, or online anywhere in Ontario and Quebec.
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