Presence of Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Monosaccharides, and Polyols (FODMAPs) in commonly eaten foods: extension of a database to indicate dietary FODMAP content and calculation of intake in the general population from food diary data

Background FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Monosaccharides And Polyols) are known for their health benefits but their fermentation may trigger gastrointestinal symptoms and a low-FODMAP diet is a commonly used intervention for functional gastrointestinal disorders. The use of direct measures of FODMAP is labor intensive and expensive and to facilitate the assessment of FODMAP intake in research and clinical work, a nutritional content database with good quality estimates on FODMAP values is needed. Further, the average intake of FODMAP in a general population would be a useful reference and knowledge of the most commonly eaten foods containing FODMAPs would facilitate clinical work utilizing FODMAP diet interventions. Methods A nutritional content database was extended with published FODMAP content data. The database was used to calculate FODMAP intake from four-day food diaries from 117 individuals from the general population in Sweden and the most common food items containing FODMAPs were identified. Results FODMAP content for 1060 food items was added to the database resulting in 1805 listed FODMAP values. Mean intake of total FODMAP in the diaries was 19 g (fructose: 15.2 g; fructan: 3.5 g; lactose: 14.1 g; galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) 0.43 g and polyols 1.3 g per day). Overall the most common eaten food items containing FODMAPs were rye and wheat based foods. Conclusion Intake of FODMAPs as calculated using the extended database were in line with previous studies supporting its use of the database in both research and clinical interventions. The lists of the most commonly eaten FODMAP food items are provided and may be used to facilitate FODMAP diet interventions.