Inulin

Inulin is notable for FODMAPs and oligosaccharides. Clear on histamine, tyramine, salicylate, sucrose, lactose, sorbitol, fructose, nickel, oxalates and gluten.

Yes — inulin is high in FODMAPs. Inulin is a chain of fructans added as fibre or prebiotic and is very high FODMAP, commonly causing gas and bloating even in small doses. Watch for it as 'inulin' or 'chicory root fibre' on labels of otherwise low-FODMAP products. For scale, in a whole diet rather than in a spoonful: a survey of more than 15,000 Americans put average intake at 2.6 g of inulin and 2.5 g of oligofructose a day - from 1.3 g in young children to 3.5 g in adult men - and found that wheat supplied about 70 per cent of it and onions about 25. Almost none of it came from an added ingredient. A product with inulin on the label therefore adds to a load that bread and onions have already built.

Yes — inulin is high in oligosaccharides. Inulin is this axis in purified form - a fructan chain sold as a fibre and added to yoghurts, bars and "gut health" drinks precisely because the colonic bacteria ferment it. The prebiotic claim on the front of the pack and the reason it sits here are the same sentence read from two ends. For scale, in a whole diet rather than in a spoonful: a survey of more than 15,000 Americans put average intake at 2.6 g of inulin and 2.5 g of oligofructose a day - from 1.3 g in young children to 3.5 g in adult men - and found that wheat supplied about 70 per cent of it and onions about 25. Almost none of it came from an added ingredient. A product with inulin on the label therefore adds to a load that bread and onions have already built. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.