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How To Do A Low FODMAP Gluten Challenge

Last updated on Jun 16th, 2020 Authored by Joanna Baker (APD)     Reviewed by Audrey Inouye (RD)
How to do a Low FODMAP gluten challenge

If you’ve been battling with a dodgy belly then you might have removed gluten from your diet before getting tested for coeliac disease. In this article, we’re going to discuss how to get an accurate test for coeliac disease by doing a low FODMAP gluten challenge.

Did you know that coeliac disease affects approximately 1-2% of people across the globe?

Despite this, gluten-containing foods have become some of the most commonly avoided foods by people wanting to manage their gut symptoms. While lots of people get an improvement in IBS symptoms when they remove gluten, more often than not, it’s actually the fructans in the wheat that are the issue and not the gluten.

This means if it is the fructans in wheat that are to blame for your symptoms, then you may find you get better results with a low FODMAP diet (and more food freedom) than you get with a gluten free diet.

 

 

What is the difference between fructans and gluten?

Wheat is a complex grain with many components. It contains a protein, known as Gluten, and a carbohydrate component known as Fructans. These are two very different molecules that are often in the same foods.

You can read more about the difference between FODMAPs and Gluten here.

By switching to a gluten free diet, you will also lower the amount of fructans that you are eating. Which leaves the question, is it the removal of gluten or the removal of fructans that is making you feel better?

We need to figure out which one is causing issues for you.

What’s more, you need to remember that not all gluten free foods are low in fructans. For example, onion, garlic, legumes and dried fruit are gluten free but they contain fructans. Similarly, many foods (hello soy sauce and sourdough bread) are not gluten free, but are low in FODMAPs.

This means that if you are on the wrong diet for you, then you could end up restricting foods unnecessarily and are likely to get unexplained symptom flares too.

 

What is the difference between coeliac disease & IBS?

Coeliac disease is a serious autoimmune condition where the body reacts abnormally to the gluten protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats, resulting in damage to the lining of the small intestine. This damage interferes with the absorption of nutrients resulting in digestive upset, iron deficiency, osteoporosis, fertility problems and if left untreated, even lymphoma. Currently, the only treatment for coeliac disease is a strict gluten free diet.

IBS affects approx. 20% of people globally and is far more common than Coeliac Disease. Up to 90% of people with IBS know that food is involved with triggering their symptoms and will modify their diet to help find relief. Although IBS does cause digestive symptoms, it does not cause damage to the intestine nor medical complications. Managing IBS is all about identifying the foods that trigger your symptoms and where your threshold for them is.

Once you know how much or how little of those foods you can eat, you can then find the right balance between managing your symptoms and what food you can enjoy. It’s okay if this balance is different on different days.

 

 

How do you know if you need to limit gluten or fructans?

Symptoms of IBS and coeliac disease can be identical, but managing them is very different. Knowing which approach is best for you is the key to getting maximum variety and minimal symptoms.

The first step is talking to your doctor and getting a proper diagnosis. Part of this process will be ruling out that you don’t have coeliac disease.

Testing For Coeliac Disease

Testing for coeliac disease is a two-step process:

  1. Blood test for coeliac antibodies tTg-IgA and DGP
  2. If the blood test is positive, the next step is to have a gastroscopy that looks at the small intestine to see if there is damage caused by coeliac disease.

The tricky part of testing for coeliac disease is that both the blood test and the gastroscopy look for antibodies produced and damage caused when someone with coeliac disease eats gluten. So, if you are already on a gluten free diet, you can get a false negative.

If you have already removed gluten from your diet, then you need to reintroduce gluten back into your diet to get an accurate coeliac disease testing result.

However, if you have had a significant improvement on a gluten free diet, then the thought of doing a gluten challenge can be scary.

 

 

Low FODMAP Gluten Challenge

The good news is that you can do a gluten challenge while still following a low FODMAP diet. In many cases introducing low FODMAP serves of wheat is very well tolerated and will give you an accurate result from the coeliac blood test while keeping your belly calm.

Requirements for a gluten challenge vary depending on which resource you look at, but most indicate that you need to eat about 3g of gluten per day for a 6 week period.

This works out to be about 2-4 slices of wheat bread per day or two serves of the foods in the list below. If this feels tricky for you, then work with your doctor and dietitian to create a personalized plan as they can modify the challenge to suit your individual needs.

Are you ready to take control of your gut symptoms?

YES I WANT TOO!

No thanks, my gut is perfect.

The foods in the following list each contain about 1.5g of gluten and equal a low FODMAP serve. To meet a gluten challenge, you need to include at least two serves of these foods per day for 6 weeks. Note that you can have multiple low FODMAP serves of the same food each day as long as you leave 3-4 hours before eating the next serving of the food.

Gluten challenge foods:

  • 1 slice of regular wheat bread
  • 1 slice of low FODMAP certified wheat breadg. Alpine Bread, Brumby’s, Bakers Delight lowFOD loaf, Cobbs LowFOD loaf
  • 2 slices of wheat or spelt sourdough bread
  • ½ cup regular wheat pasta
  • Approximately 30g of Lo-Fo pantry flour (you can turn this into baking)
  • 2g Bobs Red Mill Vital wheat gluten (can be added to a smoothie)

Final Thoughts

There is a lot of cross over between IBS and coeliac disease and symptoms can be identical. They both however are very different conditions with different trigger foods. Given the seriousness of coeliac disease, it’s important to know if you have it or not. If you have IBS and not coeliac disease, then avoiding gluten is unnecessarily over-restrictive and unlikely to give you the best results when managing symptoms.

So talk to your doctor about doing a gluten challenge and get an accurate coeliac disease test.

 

About The Writer

Joanna Baker is a dietitian who loves food. She specialises in helping people with IBS and food intolerances calm their gut and identify their symptom triggers so that they can learn to love food and life again.

Joanna is trained and experienced in low FODMAP, RPAH, histamine sensitivities, gluten, dairy sensitivities and more. If you’ve had enough and it’s time for professional guidance, you can find out more about Joanna and contact her via Everyday Nutrition

Author: Joanna Baker (APD)

Joanna is a foodie, an accredited practising dietitian and a registered nurse, who is passionate about digestive health. She now works exclusively in IBS and food intolerance in her Melbourne based private practice Everyday Nutrition. Joanna works alon... Read More

Professional Reviewer: Audrey Inouye (RD)

Audrey Inouye is a FODMAP trained registered dietitian in Canada. She began her career in public health by managing community outreach and peer support programs for diabetes and prenatal nutrition. Audrey later branched into private practice and founded I... Read More

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Feb 26

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End of summer veggies are the best and these roasted eggplants are call my name right now.

These are super simple too - roast the eggplant in oil, salt and pepper until golden and tender. Smother in golden sunshine tahini sauce and sprinkle with toasted seeds.

If you are low FODMAP the 1 small-medium eggplant = 4 servings.

Sunshine tahini dressing:
1 tsp garlic infused oil
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Place in a jar and shake until well combined.

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Feb 22

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I'm stuck at the office and I'm staving! Definitely didn't pack enough snacks today... if I could I'd be drinking this right now.

Give me a ❤️ if you want to be drinking this too. Say hello to my low FODMAP strawberry and rhubarb smoothie.

Strawberries and rhubarb make the best smoothie buddies. It might sound like an odd combo but the tanginess of the rhubarb pairs super well with the sweetness from the strawberries to create a refreshing and vibrant drink.

1 serve 👇

🍓140 g (1 cup)fresh or frozen strawberries
🍓60 g (1/4 cup)stewed rhubarb
🍓250 ml (1 cup) low FODMAP milk 
🍓2 tsp pure maple syrup (add to taste) 
🍓1/2 tsp vanilla essence
🍓6 ice cubes (use if you are using fresh strawberries)

METHOD
Slice the strawberries in half, be super careful doing this if they are frozen. Place all the ingredients in the blender. Add the ice cubes if your strawberries aren’t frozen.

Blend until smooth. Taste and add a little bit more sweetener if it’s too tangy. The tanginess will depend on your stewed rhubarb (ours wasn’t sweetened).

Pour into your favourite glass and enjoy! 

FYI this recipe is also in our premium recipe club.

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It’s brunch time! It’s also Valentine’s Day so I thought I’d treat my man to a cooked breakfast. Say hello to my Greek scrambled eggs.
 
Serves 2:

1 medium-sized ripe tomato (diced or grated)
1 tbsp fresh chives (finely chopped)
1 tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
2 tsp garlic infused oil
2 tsp olive oil 
3 eggs (beaten)
Salt and pepper

Fry the diced tomato in the garlic infused oil for 2 to 3 minutes until the liquid reduces. Then add the olive oil, chives and parsley to the pan along with the beaten eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Move the egg mixture gently around the pan for 1 to 2 minutes until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

Serve on toast of your choice (we used gluten free bread). Enjoy!

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Jan 29

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Who loves eating the rainbow for dinner? 🙌 I do! 

It's hot here at the moment which means rice paper rolls make a refreshing low FODMAP dinner option.

I love that you can prep all of the ingredients in advance so you don't have to slave over a hot stove in the evenings.

What's your go-to summer meal?

P.S. You can get the recipe on alittlebityummy.com or follow my profile link.
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I have exciting news! I’m incredibly honoured to announce that I’ve been nominated as a semi-finalist for the 2021 Young New Zealander Of The Year award.

It’s a privilege supporting people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and other gut issues and I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings.

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Jan 18

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You know what I miss? Berry Bliss Muesli. It's crunchy and delicious with little pops of strawberry... I'm making a coeliac friendly version of this very soon.

In the meantime give me a ❤️ if you want to try this gorgeous low FODMAP version. I make this for my mum and she absolutely adores it!

Recipe on alittlebityummy.com or follow my profile link.

I'd also love to know what your favourite breakfast is so let me know in the comments 👇
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Comments

  1. Vaughn says

    June 17, 2020 at 11:46 am

    Please explain what the hell a FODMAP is!! I find it annoying that you assume everyone knows these anagrammic terms.

    Reply
    • Alana ScottAlana Scott says

      June 22, 2020 at 3:22 am

      Hi Vaughn,

      We do have an article on this – take a look at this link: https://alittlebityummy.com/what-are-fodmaps/

      Reply
  2. Tony says

    June 17, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    Hi my name is Tony I am 64 years old, I have IBS for 2 year’s and have a lot of trouble bloating stomach, could you help me with FODMAP food and recipe

    Reply
    • Alana ScottAlana Scott says

      June 22, 2020 at 3:33 am

      Hi Tony,

      We are really sorry to hear that you are struggling. We can definitely guide you through the whole low FODMAP process through our FODMAP Wellness Club – have you checked out this resource yet? https://alittlebityummy.com/join-our-low-fodmap-club/

      Reply
  3. Nicola Calica-Myall says

    July 15, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    THANKS BE TO GOD THAT IVE FOUND YOU, HAVING RECENTLY BEEN PUT ON A LOW FODMAP AND GLUTEN FREE DIET
    IVE STRUGGLED TO FIND FOODS TO EAT AND ACTUALLY ENJOY.
    THEN I CAME ACROSS YOUR FANTASTIC SITE PACKED FULL OF TASTY RECIPES,INFORMATION RELATING TO MY HEALTH AND WELL IF I COULD TELL THE WHOLE WORLD ABOUT YOU… TRUST ME I WOULD.
    THANKS FOR THINKING OF OTHERS AND ANY SUPPORT I CAN GIVE PLEASE DO GET IN TOUCH!!

    Reply
    • Alana ScottAlana Scott says

      July 28, 2020 at 9:17 pm

      Hi Nicola,

      Yay! We are really happy to hear that you are enjoying the resources. Keep up the awesome work and feel free to tell your doctor about us so more people can get support.

      Reply
  4. Debi says

    December 7, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    I was on Low Fodmap for about 3 months and was doing the re-intro phase. Had re-intro’d about 4 things. I then had a diverticulitis flare and had to eat lots of foods that were High Fodmap, just to eat. Where do I start from to get back to where I was? I’m hoping not to have to go all the way back to elimination.

    Reply
    • Alana ScottAlana Scott says

      December 8, 2020 at 6:58 pm

      Hi Debi,

      Thanks for commenting. When you are ready to start your FODMAP challenges go back onto a strict low FODMAP diet for a few days (normally 3 or 4 days is enough) until your symptoms return to how they were when you were in the first phase of the diet. Then you can pick up your FODMAP challenges from where you stopped. You do not need to do another 3 weeks of the low FODMAP diet. Does that make sense?

      Reply

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