In summer there is always lots of beautiful fresh fruit begging us to eat it. However, not all fruits are our friends, as some have high levels of FODMAPs! I used to love sinking my teeth into a big juicy slice of watermelon…. But I could never work out why I ended up with a gut ache afterwards. Turns out watermelon contain high levels of oligosaccharides (fructans), fructose, and polyols, which means it is definitely a fruit to avoid while on the low FODMAP diet. Never fear though there are still lots of low FODMAP fruit you can enjoy this summer.
How much low FODMAP fruit can you have in one sitting?
Before you gorge yourself on huge amounts of ‘suitable’ fruit you need to remember that all fruit contains fructose, so limit the amount you eat in one go. According, to Dr. Sue Shepherd (one of the initial researchers of the low FODMAP diet) you should not eat more than one serve of ‘suitable’ fruits per meal or sitting (4). One serve normally equals about one metric cup of cut up fruit, or one whole piece of fruit, such as one medium banana or medium orange. You can enjoy as many serves of fruit per day as you like – but leave two to three hours between each serve (4).
What fruits are low FODMAP?
| Low FODMAP Fruit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | Serving Size | Fruit | Serving Size |
| Blueberries | 20 Berries | Lingonberry | Preliminary finding low FODMAP – no serving size suggestion yet |
| Bilberry | Preliminary finding low FODMAP – no serving size suggestion yet |
Mandarins | 1 medium |
| Cantaloupe, rock melon, honeydew melon | ½ cup | Orange | 1 medium |
| Common banana (unripe) | 1 medium sized | Passionfruit | 1 whole pulp |
| Cranberry | 130g fresh 13g dried (avoid large servings) | Pineapple | 1 cup (chopped) |
| Grapes | 1 cup | Raspberry | 10 berries |
| Kiwifruit | 2 small (peeled) | Strawberry | 10 medium |
(Table compiled from: Monash University 2015; Monash University Blog, 2015; Monash University App, 2017; Stanford Hospital, 2014)
Check out the Monash University Low FODMAP smartphone app for a more detailed breakdown of what fruits you can eat.
What fruits are high FODMAP?
| High FODMAP Fruit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Boysenberries | Mango | Plum |
| Apricot | Cherries | Peaches | Pomegranate |
| Banana (ripe) | Feijoa | Pear | Sea Buckthorn Berries (preliminary finding) |
| Blackberries | Figs | Plum | Tamarillo |
| Blackcurrents (preliminary finding) | Nectarines | Persimmon | Watermelon |
(Table compiled from: Monash University 2015; Monash University Blog, 2015; Monash University App, 2017; Stanford Hospital, 2014)
Final Thoughts
Need some ideas on how to enjoy low FODMAP summer fruit? Try our low FODMAP strawberry smoothie!
Is plum low fodmap? Ad plum?
Hi Ahmad,
Plums are high FODMAP so you need to avoid them in the first phase of the low FODMAP diet. You can try reintroducing them after you have finished testing your tolerance to the different FODMAP groups.