Additives and FODMAPs: 337 foods rated

Cassia gum is a galactomannan from cassia seed, and if you have learned that FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates this level will look wrong. It is not: the criterion that matters is whether gut bacteria ferment it, not how long the chain is. Inulin runs to sixty sugar units and is still a FODMAP. These gums ferment, which is exactly why they thicken in the gut and produce gas. The criterion is fermentability rather than chain length, and that is Gibson and Shepherd's definition: a long chain that ferments slowly is not the problem; a short one that ferments fast in the proximal colon is.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Karaya gum is a dried tree exudate, and if you have learned that FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates this level will look wrong. It is not: the criterion that matters is whether gut bacteria ferment it, not how long the chain is. Inulin runs to sixty sugar units and is still a FODMAP. These gums ferment, which is exactly why they thicken in the gut and produce gas. The criterion is fermentability rather than chain length, and that is Gibson and Shepherd's definition: a long chain that ferments slowly is not the problem; a short one that ferments fast in the proximal colon is.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Konjac is glucomannan, a fibre that absorbs many times its weight in water - which is what makes it a thickener and a diet product at the same time. That swelling happens in the gut, and the bacteria ferment what is left. It is the clearest case among the FODMAPs of a fibre that helps and troubles by the same mechanism. The criterion is fermentability rather than chain length, and that is Gibson and Shepherd's definition: a long chain that ferments slowly is not the problem; a short one that ferments fast in the proximal colon is.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Polydextrose is a synthetic glucose polymer built deliberately so that human enzymes cannot break it down - which is the definition of a fermentable fibre. It is added to lower the sugar and raise the fibre on a label, and it does both, at the cost of everything it feeds in the colon. Chain length is not the criterion: inulin runs to about sixty units and still counts as a FODMAP, because it ferments.

• Biesiekierski J et al., J Hum Nutr Diet 24 (2011) 154-176 - inulin treated as a FODMAP whatever its length

Processed Eucheuma seaweed is the whole red alga milled rather than carrageenan extracted from it, so it keeps the fermentable fraction that extraction would have removed. That is the difference between this and refined carrageenan on this axis.

Tragacanth is a dried shrub exudate, and if you have learned that FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates this level will look wrong. It is not: the criterion that matters is whether gut bacteria ferment it, not how long the chain is. Inulin runs to sixty sugar units and is still a FODMAP. These gums ferment, which is exactly why they thicken in the gut and produce gas. The criterion is fermentability rather than chain length, and that is Gibson and Shepherd's definition: a long chain that ferments slowly is not the problem; a short one that ferments fast in the proximal colon is.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Acacia gum is arabinogalactan, and it is sold as a prebiotic fibre precisely because it ferments slowly and completely. Slowly is the useful word: it produces less gas per gram than inulin does, which is why it sits below the other gums here rather than beside them. The criterion is fermentability rather than chain length, and that is Gibson and Shepherd's definition: a long chain that ferments slowly is not the problem; a short one that ferments fast in the proximal colon is.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Glycerol is a polyol, the P of the acronym, and that is why it appears here at all. It is absorbed far more completely than sorbitol or mannitol, so little reaches the colon - moderate rather than high, and only at the doses used as a humectant in bars and soft-baked goods.

• Lenhart A. & Chey W.D., Adv Nutr 8 (2017) 587-596, systematic review of the effects of polyols
• Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annexes II and V, the authorised additives and their conditions of use

Soybean hemicellulose is fibre from the soy hull, and soy carries the raffinose-family sugars that make up this axis. Extraction keeps the fibre and much of what ferments with it, though the amount used as a stabiliser is small. The dependence on serving size comes from Gibson and Shepherd, who built this approach: what these carbohydrates do is deliver fermentable substrate and water to the end of the small intestine, so the quantity decides the distension. Their trial also found that restricting them GLOBALLY works where restricting them one at a time does not.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Tara gum is a galactomannan from tara seed, and if you have learned that FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates this level will look wrong. It is not: the criterion that matters is whether gut bacteria ferment it, not how long the chain is. Inulin runs to sixty sugar units and is still a FODMAP. These gums ferment, which is exactly why they thicken in the gut and produce gas. The dependence on serving size comes from Gibson and Shepherd, who built this approach: what these carbohydrates do is deliver fermentable substrate and water to the end of the small intestine, so the quantity decides the distension. Their trial also found that restricting them GLOBALLY works where restricting them one at a time does not.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

4-hexylresorcinol is an anti-browning agent for shellfish, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Adipic acid is an acidity regulator, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Alginic acid comes from brown seaweed and ferments in the colon - but slowly and evenly, without the fast osmotic pull that makes a FODMAP a FODMAP. Low rather than none, because it does feed the bacteria; low rather than high, because it does it gently and is used in fractions of a percent.

Ammonia caramel is sugar heated until it browns and polymerises. What comes out is no longer a simple sugar and is used for colour at very low doses - the sweetness and the fermentable fraction both go into the browning.

Ammonium alginate comes from brown seaweed and ferments in the colon - but slowly and evenly, without the fast osmotic pull that makes a FODMAP a FODMAP. Low rather than none, because it does feed the bacteria; low rather than high, because it does it gently and is used in fractions of a percent.

Ammonium polyphosphates are a mineral salt, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in them.

Artificial flavoring carries no fermentable carbohydrate: a synthesised flavour compound is neither a sugar nor a sugar alcohol, and it is used in milligrams. What keeps this at low rather than none is the solvent or carrier the flavour is dissolved in, which the label does not name, and the elimination protocols that remove additives as a block — a rule about the protocol rather than a fact about the molecule.

Baker's yeast stores its carbohydrate as trehalose and glycogen: Ertugay measured 8.6 to 33 mg of trehalose and 93 to 150 mg of glycogen per gram of biomass. Trehalose is two glucoses joined and glycogen is a long glucose polymer, so neither is a fructan, a galacto-oligosaccharide or a polyol. That measurement covers what the cell STORES, and a yeast cell is also a wall, which is why this sits at low rather than none. The figures come from cells grown in a fermenter at set dilution rates, where the trehalose moves with the growth conditions rather than staying fixed.

• Ertugay N. & Hamamci H., Folia Microbiol (Praha) 42:5 (1997) 463-467, cell composition of bakers' yeast in continuous culture

Beta-cyclodextrin is a ring of seven glucose units - technically an oligosaccharide by chain length, which would put it squarely in the O of the acronym. The ring is what saves it: closed, it resists the enzymes and the bacteria that open a straight chain, and most of it passes through unchanged.

Brilliant Black BN is a synthetic azo dye, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Brown FK is a mixture of azo dyes, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Brown HT is a synthetic azo dye, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Calcium alginate comes from brown seaweed and ferments in the colon - but slowly and evenly, without the fast osmotic pull that makes a FODMAP a FODMAP. Low rather than none, because it does feed the bacteria; low rather than high, because it does it gently and is used in fractions of a percent.

Calcium polyphosphates are a mineral salt, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in them.

Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate is a dough conditioner, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Caustic sulfite caramel is sugar heated until it browns and polymerises. What comes out is no longer a simple sugar and is used for colour at very low doses - the sweetness and the fermentable fraction both go into the browning.

Cholic acid is a purified bile acid, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Cross-linked sodium CMC is modified wood or cotton cellulose. It ferments, which is why it is low rather than none - but it is a long-chain polysaccharide used at well under one percent, and the two together keep it here. The gums that sit higher in FODMAPs do so because they are used in larger amounts or ferment faster.

Dextrin is fermented in the colon, and the useful part is how MUCH gas that makes: Noack measured wheat dextrin producing the least of the three fibres tested at 8, 12 and 24 hours, where inulin produced the most by 8 hours. Timm found the same the other way round — inulin gave significantly more hydrogen and total gas. Wheat dextrin also reached the highest pH of the three, 6.17 against inulin's 5.94, and took until 24 hours to get there: it ferments slowly as well as gently. Both studies are fermentations in a vessel rather than in a person, so they rank fibres against each other and give no serve size.

• Timm D.A. et al., J Med Food 13:4 (2010) 961-966
• Noack J. et al., Nutrients 5:5 (2013) 1500-1510, in vitro fermentation of wheat dextrin against inulin and psyllium

Dimethyl dicarbonate is a beverage sterilant that breaks down at once, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Ferrous gluconate is an iron salt, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Ferrous lactate is an iron salt, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Flavour is a legal category rather than a substance, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Gellan gum is also a bacterial fermentation product. It ferments, which is why it is low rather than none - but it is a long-chain polysaccharide used at well under one percent, and the two together keep it here. The gums that sit higher in FODMAPs do so because they are used in larger amounts or ferment faster.

Green S is a synthetic dye, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Lecithin is a phospholipid separated from soy or sunflower oil. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Litholrubine BK is a dye used on cheese rind, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Magnesium hydroxide is an alkali and antacid, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Maltodextrin is the additive most often avoided on a low-FODMAP diet for no reason. The name sounds like a sugar and it appears in almost everything, but it is a starch hydrolysate - short chains of glucose, digested by human enzymes in the small intestine and absorbed as glucose. Nothing reaches the colon to ferment. If you have been cutting it out, you can stop.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Mixed acetic and tartaric esters is the same chemistry with acetic acid. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate.

DATEM is esterified mono- and diglycerides. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate.

Nutritional yeast carries mannan from the yeast cell wall, which does ferment - so low rather than none. What keeps it low is the quantity: a stock cube or a tablespoon of flakes is a small dose next to a serving of onion, the portion the FODMAP thresholds are set against.

Pea protein comes from a plant that carries the raffinose family, which is why the ingredient alarms people - but the washing and precipitation that isolate the protein are exactly what strips the galacto-oligosaccharides out. They leave with the water. The isolate is low where the whole pea is high. A protein isolate is not its source plant on this axis. The galacto-oligosaccharides sit in the whole bean or pea, and isolating the protein is precisely the step that leaves them behind - which is why this reads low where the plant it came from does not.

• Švejstil R. et al., Sci Agric Bohem 46:2 (2015) 73-77, raffinose-series oligosaccharides in soybean products

Pectin is extracted from citrus peel and apple pomace. It ferments, which is why it is low rather than none - but it is a long-chain polysaccharide used at well under one percent, and the two together keep it here. The gums that sit higher on this axis do so because they are used in larger amounts or ferment faster. The dependence on serving size comes from Gibson and Shepherd, who built this approach: what these carbohydrates do is deliver fermentable substrate and water to the end of the small intestine, so the quantity decides the distension. Their trial also found that restricting them GLOBALLY works where restricting them one at a time does not.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Polyethylene glycol is an unabsorbed carrier, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

• Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annexes II and V, the authorised additives and their conditions of use

Polysorbate 60 is a fatty acid ester of sorbitol. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Polysorbate 65 is the tristearate version of the same. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Polysorbate 80 is the oleate version. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Ponceau 4R is a synthetic red dye, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Potassium alginate comes from brown seaweed and ferments in the colon - but slowly and evenly, without the fast osmotic pull that makes a FODMAP a FODMAP. Low rather than none, because it does feed the bacteria; low rather than high, because it does it gently and is used in fractions of a percent.

Potassium nitrite is a curing salt, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Propylene glycol alginate comes from brown seaweed and ferments in the colon - but slowly and evenly, without the fast osmotic pull that makes a FODMAP a FODMAP. Low rather than none, because it does feed the bacteria; low rather than high, because it does it gently and is used in fractions of a percent.

Propylene glycol is a synthetic solvent and carrier, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Pullulan is a fungal polysaccharide used for films and capsules. It ferments, which is why it is low rather than none - but it is a long-chain polysaccharide used at well under one percent, and the two together keep it here. The gums that sit higher in FODMAPs do so because they are used in larger amounts or ferment faster.

Sodium aluminium phosphate is a raising agent, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Sorbitan monolaurate is a shorter-chain version. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Sorbitan monooleate is the unsaturated version. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Sorbitan monopalmitate is the palmitate version. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Sorbitan monostearate is sorbitol esterified to a fatty acid. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Sorbitan tristearate is the same with three chains. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate, and the sorbitol in the sorbitan name is bound into the molecule rather than free - it is not released as the polyol that would matter here.

Soy protein comes from a plant that carries the raffinose family, which is why the ingredient alarms people - but the washing and precipitation that isolate the protein are exactly what strips the galacto-oligosaccharides out. They leave with the water. The isolate is low where the whole soybean is high. A protein isolate is not its source plant on this axis. The galacto-oligosaccharides sit in the whole bean or pea, and isolating the protein is precisely the step that leaves them behind - which is why this reads low where the plant it came from does not.

• Švejstil R. et al., Sci Agric Bohem 46:2 (2015) 73-77, raffinose-series oligosaccharides in soybean products

Stannous chloride is a tin salt, and there is no fermentable carbohydrate in it.

Sulfite-ammonia caramel is sugar heated until it browns and polymerises. What comes out is no longer a simple sugar and is used for colour at very low doses - the sweetness and the fermentable fraction both go into the browning.

Thermally oxidized soya bean oil is a heat-treated oil. Fat carries no fermentable carbohydrate.

Xanthan gum is made by bacterial fermentation of sugar. It ferments, which is why it is low rather than none - but it is a long-chain polysaccharide used at well under one percent, and the two together keep it here. The gums that sit higher on this axis do so because they are used in larger amounts or ferment faster. The dependence on serving size comes from Gibson and Shepherd, who built this approach: what these carbohydrates do is deliver fermentable substrate and water to the end of the small intestine, so the quantity decides the distension. Their trial also found that restricting them GLOBALLY works where restricting them one at a time does not.

• Gibson P.R. & Shepherd S.J., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 25 (2010) 252-258, the framework this axis rests on

Yeast extract carries mannan from the yeast cell wall, which does ferment - so low rather than none. What keeps it low is the quantity: a stock cube or a tablespoon of flakes is a small dose next to a serving of onion, the portion the FODMAP thresholds are set against.