The Low FODMAP Diet and Sulfur

I think we can all agree that the more veggies we eat, the better right?  Not only because vegetables are so good for our bodies, but because they also contribute positively to our mental health from all of the great micronutrients they contain.  I've learned this lesson myself since I began seeing a holistic psychiatrist to help me with my anxiety(more on that story in another post).

After blood work and a thorough medical history, my therapist determined that I was in need of bumping up certain foods to boost my intake of some key micronutrients, in order to support my detoxification pathways.  In a nutshell, for me, there was a backlog of toxins in my detox pathway, which was contributing to my anxiety and panic.  I had already been doing a lot to support my liver, this was just going to take it to the next level to help my body detox and help me feel better mentally, feel less anxious and have more energy.

It turns out that one of the micronutrients I needed much more of in my diet, of all things, was sulfur.  SULFUR.  I was incredulous!  All I could do was laugh and laugh at my therapist, as I sat on her couch in her lovely plant filled office.  Because...I had SIBO, and had been eating a low FODMAP diet to keep my symptoms in check.  To be fair, she knew this and laughed, too.  She understood what this meant!  I had been avoiding sulfurous foods, so it was no surprise that I was deficient.  OH THE IRONY.

FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols.  If you aren't familiar with FODMAPs, a lot of those high FODMAP foods are also high in sulfur.  These include(but aren't limited to) some vegetables in the cruciferous family such as cauliflower, alliums such as onion and garlic, as well as mushrooms and asparagus.  They caused major digestive upset if I ate them, due to the overgrowth of bacteria in my small intestine, or SIBO(small intestine bacterial overgrowth). These bacteria would go nuts with these food categories, causing me intestinal pain, bloating, burping, chest pain and upper abdominal pain, and diarrhea.  Long term it also caused, or at least contributed to, my nutritional deficiencies.

*A little reminder here: diets like the AIP, SCD, GAPS and low FODMAP are meant to be temporary, to let your body heal for a month or more.  Once you determine you are ready, you can begin testing foods to see what you can reincorporate, to get more variety in your diet and start making you feel like a normal person again!  I really encourage you to find a practitioner to help you navigate this, too, if you haven't already.  I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist(yet) so please take what I say here as just some tips for increasing the variety in your diet.

**Note:  To learn more about what SIBO is check out this page, and for more information about FODMAPs, go here.

This was not all bad news to me, thankfully, because there are plenty of other sulfurous vegetables out there that are low in FODMAPs.  So my new task was to focus on eating a variety of those, until I could tolerate the higher FODMAPs, which is something I would begin to test soon anyway.  If you are in the same boat as I was, I hope this gives you some inspiration to try some new vegetables, and reap the health benefits of those sulfurous veggies!  Let's dive in:

Low FODMAP sulfurous vegetables:

Turnip

Turnips

I know, I know.  Not anyone's favorite, but honestly, it's time to buck up, suck it up, and just go for it.  What is your end goal here?  To feel better, or not?  In the end it's your choice, but I'm here to tell you, you can do it, okay?  I'll have a great roasted veggie recipe here on the blog soon for you to try turnips (and their veggie cousin the rutabaga) that's super easy and tasty!  You can eat turnips in so many different ways, it's worth experimenting to find what you like.  Raw, roasted, in stew, pureed into a soup.  There's bound to be a method or recipe that you like out there!

Arugula

Arugula

In my opinion, one of the easiest to incorporate, and most delicious.  Not only is arugula full of sulfur, it's a dark leafy green, too!  Bonus if you need to up your greens AND sulfur. Try this as a salad green, or combine it with other greens to make that salad more than just lettuce.  Top your taco or sandwich with arugula instead of regular lettuce, it gives it that "fancy" factor!  That is, if you can eat tacos and sandwiches.  You can also use it as a base for homemade pesto.

 





Watercress

Wait, watercress has sulfur in it?  Why yes it does!  It's actually in the cruciferous family along with arugula and horseradish, surprise!  Bonus that it gives some nice variety to your salad and makes you feel fancy AF during lunch at work.  I like to mix it with other salad greens because it is super peppery, even more peppery than arugula.

Radishes

Radishes

Yum, radishes!  Who doesn't like radishes!?  This one is easy to fit more of into your diet, just slice a few into your salad, or make some into pickles, especially when you use a big daikon radish and make it into a nice crunchy fridge pickle.  These come in lots of varieties, so head to your local farmers market to see what your local farmers are growing!  I've even grown my own unusual types, like watermelon and french breakfast, and the multicolored types.  I once found some beautiful purple ones at my local grocery store!


 

Kale

Wellness folks favorite (or least favorite?!) vegetable.  Honestly, I got very sick of kale for awhile, but learning that it was low FODMAP made me put it back into my rotation.  Try making it into kale chips next time you prepare it, or saute it in a mix of different greens, like mustard greens and beet tops.  I like to make a large batch to reheat all week.  To keep it low FODMAP I use garlic oil instead of fresh garlic, and add in green onion and some ACV(apple cider vinegar).  Very tasty side dish to go with my protein of choice and some sweet potatoes.  And there are many different varieties of kale to try, too, like lacinato, Red Russian, curly, and you can even get baby kale for salads.

Mustard Greens

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens are one of my favorite greens to cook up in some coconut oil and season with just plain old salt.  They are a little peppery and the texture is similar to curly kale.  These are a hardy green like kale, so they take a little more time to cook to tender.  I feel like they aren't as popular of a green, so I encourage you to try these and I bet you'll find you like it! 











Collard Greens 

Another green for you to try if you haven't yet, these are pretty much a staple in the southern United States.  Up here in Seattle it isn't as popular, but I love them because they cook down to something really delicious.  I always cook it in bacon fat, and sometimes add some leftover pork roast and a little bone broth.  Delicious, and you really can't overcook them either.   I've also used the steamed leaves as sandwich wrap, instead of a tortilla(no gluten for me!).


Rutabaga

Rutabaga

Ruta-what?  I know, who actually eats these things, right?  Well guess what, you are about to start eating them, honey.  They are pretty good, too, I like them better than turnips, actually.  The key is to season them up well with plenty of fat and salt and roast them along with other veggies so you aren't just. eating. rutabagas.
Have them alongside a nice roast, or instead of potatoes in a stew.  I like them in stew mixed with carrots and parsnips.

 





Broccoli
(one cup serving)

A perennial classic for the dinner table, you can't go wrong with this one.  Cheap, easy to prepare, and most everyone enjoys it.  My go-to green vegetable if I want the whole family to eat it.  The kids prefer steamed and tossed with olive oil or coconut oil, but what I really love is roasting it until it's brown and crispy, then tossing it with lemon zest and garlic oil.  So good!

Purple Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi

Here's another uncommon one, but I think if you like broccoli, you'll love this one.  My daughter has a friend who loves broccoli stems more than the florets, and that's just what kohlrabi tastes like.  It's just as good raw as it is cooked.  I've julienned one into a slaw to put on tacos for that yummy crunch, and also just sauteed it along with carrots.  In this photo from my garden, I'm growing a purple variety, but it's green inside like broccoli stems.








Horseradish 
(and real wasabi)

So you might skip this one if you aren't into spicy, but if you like it...it's so good!  I have purchased the whole root and made my own sauce, which is fun and tasty and also full of crying.  I have found a clean ingredient horseradish at my local Fred Meyer, made by Boar's Head, so check out your local store to see it they might have something similar.  It had only horseradish, vinegar, and salt.

Chives

If you are missing onions on the low FODMAP diet, get yourself some chives as often as you can.  Easy to mince up and throw into ANYTHING, they will give that delicious onion taste to your dishes you've been missing.  These are also easy to grow at home in a sunny kitchen window or on a deck outside.

Green Onion
(green part only)

Of course, we can still eat green onion, or scallions, but only the green part.  At our house my husband uses the white parts, so there is no waste.  If you'd rather not buy something to only use half of it, I recommend chives instead.  You really miss the flavor of onion when you are eating low FODMAP, so I found myself using a lot of green onion!

Bok Choi and Tatsoi

So navigating what foods are high or low FODMAP can be confusing, there is a little bit of misinformation out there.  I always thought bok choi was a high FODMAP, but apparently it isn't!  So go ahead and make a stir fry with fresh ginger, garlic oil, carrots, and bok choi to go with your dinner!  If you can find tatsoi, it's delicious as a salad green mixed with arugula, and spinach.  This spring I was able to find tatsoi starts at my local nursery so I grew some in my garden.

Cabbage 

And last we have cabbage, which you might not expect.  I certainly was misinformed and thought cabbage was a no go.  I've read online that it is actually sauerkraut that should be avoided, which is a bummer since it's full of great beneficial bacteria, too.  I suppose that's probably why it can give you a bad reaction if you have SIBO, because it's just too much bacteria, on top of the overgrowth you already have!  Raw or cooked cabbage is just fine on a low FODMAP diet, so be sure to get some in and try different varieties to keep it interesting, like red, Napa, or savoy.



I hope this list was helpful, and introduced you to some new and different vegetables for you to try, or at least inspired you to get more variety in your diet.  It's important on the low FODMAP diet to not stick to the same old veggies every day, because you're really missing out on a huge variety of micronutrients.  Working with a practitioner is key, so that with their help and guidance you can eventually try the higher FODMAP foods to see which kinds of foods and how much of them you tolerate.  Not only for the nutrients, but for your sanity!  It's no fun for your mental health or your social life to not be able to eat garlic or onions indefinitely, and the low FODMAP diet isn't meant to be followed strictly forever.  I have had great success with learning which foods I can now tolerate after have eliminated them for a time, and believe me, having avocado, garlic, and cauliflower back in my life is fantastic!