Sunday 12 October 2014

Chocolate Gets the Green Light


I love to share good news and, if you like chocolate, I have some very good news indeed. Dark chocolate is low-FODMAP!! (Doing a little happy dance right now - feel free to join in).

When I wrote about Rainbow Drops I promised I'd seek out more fun foods for you, and I just love chocolate so it had to be next. Well it seems Monash University (who we have to thank for coming up with the low-FODMAP diet) have kindly delved into this topic for us and the results are as follows.

Marked according to their traffic light system, one 30g serving (approx 5 squares) of dark chocolate, gets a green light. This means that it's low FODMAP and safe to enjoy as part of your diet. Right now I'm imagining dark chocolate chips in yummy low-FODMAP muffins. Mmmmmm.

However, the same size serving of both milk and white chocolate are given an amber light. This indicates that these contain a moderate amount of FODMAPs due to the lactose content. Depending on how well you tolerate lactose will depend on whether you can enjoy these too.

But a word of caution is probably called for before you dash off to buy the very best (and darkest) chocolate you can find, and that is to say that it's vitally important to stick to the serving size. FODMAPs are cumulative - the more you eat the more you increase your FODMAP level, and the higher the FODMAP level the greater the risk of tummy upsets.

Also Monash advise sticking to small portions as "Chocolate is high in fat, and when consumed in excess can affect gut motility and may trigger symptoms." (1)

Having said that, I think this still counts as good news and I hope it's brought as big smile to your face as it has to mine. I've always been partial to a nice bit of dark chocolate and don't we all deserve a treat now and then?

I think FODMAP just got a little more fabulous!

1. http://www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/gastro/fodmap/diet-updates/chocolate.html

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