Sugars on a Low Fodmap Diet and Carrot Cake Muffins

Just because you are on a Low Fodmap diet for irritable bowel syndrome doesn’t mean you can’t eat any sugar. You do have to limit it however. This video tells you which sugars you can eat and which to avoid on the low Fodmap diet.

Video

Transcript

Welcome to this video. Today I’m going to talk to you about the role of sugar in the Low FODMAP Diet. Now we can have sugar on the diet. I know that it’s the carbohydrates that cause us a problem, but it’s only if the fructose is in a higher amount than the glucose in the sugar that it’s an issue for us. If they’re in equal quantities, the glucose does something very interesting. It holds the hand of the fructose cell for cell and pulls it through the lining of the small intestine, which is exactly where we want the fructose to go. But if there’s any excess fructose to the glucose, then that fructose continues on down into the large bowel and that’s where it ferments and causes the IBS symptoms.

Table Sugar

So, normal table sugar which includes sugars like raw sugar and caster sugar are absolutely fine for us but always in small quantities because the glucose does get tired after a while and stops pulling it through the lining of the stomach. So, if you want to use sugar, you can use table sugar just in moderation because it’s exactly 50/50 fructose and glucose.

Brown Sugar

Now, other sugars that are fine to use are brown sugar. Just go a little bit easy on it because the brown is made by adding the molasses which is a byproduct of creating white sugar back in again. Molasses has a little bit more fructose than glucose. Not very much. So it’s not a big issue but I certainly wouldn’t go overboard with the brown sugar or the molasses.

Maple Syrup

You can have maple syrup. Maple syrup’s absolutely fine for us. It comes from the sugar maple tree. In New Zealand, that’s very expensive so I use it very sparingly, but it does add a lovely flavor to foods. That’s the same with rice syrup, we can certainly use that as well.

Golden Syrup

Now, golden syrup is a liquid sugar, a little bit like honey that we use in Australia and New Zealand. I don’t think it’s used as much in the US, but it can take the place of honey which we shouldn’t be eating. It’s high in fructose.

Sugars we can’t eat

The sugars that we shouldn’t ever use, because of the high fructose levels, are honey, which I’ve just mentioned, and agave, definitely don’t use that, and also of course high fructose corn syrup, which so many manufacturers today use in their processed foods. That’s just dynamite for us, and sometimes, it’s hidden in foods. That’s why it’s a very good idea to stay away from processed foods on the Low FODMAP Diet if you’ve got Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

All right. As you’ve learned today, you don’t have to cut out all those sweet treats, but you do have to go easy on them. Thank you for listening, and good bye.

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Carrot Cake Muffins

I used to make this great carrot cake before I found out I absorbed Fodmaps poorly. It was moist and my favourite cake in the world. It does also carry a ton of calories along with it but a treat every now and then is allowed even on the low Fodmap diet. I thought I would try to convert it to a low Fodmap version with gluten-free flours and less sugar and it worked beautifully. They are just as soft, moist and delicious as the original. The addition of the can of crushed pineapple is the secret. It adds moisture and flavour.

Low Fodmap Carrot Cake Muffins

 

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Author: Suzanne Perazzini

Ingredients

• 1.25 cups oil
• 1.5 cups white sugar
• 2.5 cups grated carrots
• 4 eggs
• 432gm/15oz can of unsweetened crushed pineapple
• 1.3 cups white rice flour
• 0.3 cup tapioca flour
• 0.3 cup potato starch
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
2. Grease a muffin tin.
3. Grate the carrots.
4. Beat the sugar, oil and eggs together.
5. Add in the carrots and pineapple.
6. Sift all the dry ingredients together.
7. Blend the wet ingredients with the dry.
8. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
10. Turn out onto a cooling rack.

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