FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, And Polyols. These are short-chain carbohydrates found in many everyday foods — onion, garlic, wheat, certain fruits, lactose in dairy, and sweeteners like sorbitol.
In people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), high-FODMAP foods draw water into the small intestine and are rapidly fermented by gut bacteria in the large intestine, producing gas and causing bloating, pain, and altered bowel habit.
The low-FODMAP diet — developed by Monash University — is a three-phase approach: elimination, systematic reintroduction, and personalisation. It should be followed with dietitian supervision; unsupervised long-term restriction is nutritionally risky. The goal is identifying personal triggers, not permanent avoidance of all high-FODMAP foods.