THE FODMAP DIET: PHASE 2

The FODMAP diet for treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is incomplete without phase 2, or, the reintroduction phase.  The idea of the diet is to eliminate foods that can bother your intestine and the ones that can cause bloating, pain and gas. After following the diet for 2-6 weeks, phase 2 lets you gradually begin to reintroduce foods to see which ones you can tolerate and which ones bother you.

The reintroduction phase is important because everyone is different in how their bodies will react to foods. What bothers one person may not cause problems for someone else. Expanding your diet slowly will help you discover the foods that do bother your system and the ones that don't. You'll then know what to avoid and also what you can include in your diet. This process will help you navigate your food choices moving forward so that you can avoid digestion upsets in the future.  Another reason it's important is because the more foods you need to avoid can cause more nutritional deficiencies.