Anyone suffering from IBS or any other gastrointestinal illness knows how frustrating it can be to find foods that won't upset you. While eating low FODMAP foods won't cure your illness, it can greatly alleviate your symptoms.Gone are the days when you'd have to write down foods you can eat on a piece of paper you take to the grocery store. Now, there are apps with massive libraries of foods and all sorts of helpful details for people with IBS.These are the best Android and iOS apps for maintaining a low FODMAP diet.
1. Fig: Food Scanner
If you've ever been at the store for hours, inspecting every food label to make sure it's safe for you to eat, Fig is going to change your life. Fig makes it incredibly easy to find foods that are perfect for your diet, no matter what diet you're on. The app has a low FODMAP diet option, but you can also use the app to maintain a vegan diet, track paleo foods, and more. Plus, you can add foods you're allergic to and foods you're avoiding.
Many people who eat a low FODMAP diet may continue with that diet to keep an illness in check. However, there are certain high FODMAP foods that some people might find they're not sensitive to. If you later find that your diet has changed, Fig can adapt with you.
While other apps are simple lists of low and high FODMAP foods, Fig also lets you search for and scan actual products sold on store shelves, so you no longer have to painstakingly read all the ingredients on a product's label. Instead, you can simply scan the item and get an instant response from Fig that tells you if it's suitable for your diet.
Download: Fig for Android | iOS (Free)
2. FODMAP Diet A to Z
As soon as you open the FODMAP Diet A to Z app, you'll see a long list of foods sorted alphabetically. Unfortunately, there's no scroll bar, so you'll have to physically scroll down to foods that start with 'Z.' However, there is a search function for when you know exactly what you're looking for.
Every food has a corresponding color (green, red, or yellow) that tells you whether it's a low FODMAP food, a high FODMAP food, or somewhere in the middle. When you select a food, you'll see a breakdown of which of four FODMAP categories the food is low or high in oligos, fructose, polyols, and lactose. If you find that you're not that sensitive to one of those four categories, you can update the app with those preferences and the list of acceptable foods will automatically adjust for you.
Download: FODMAP Diet A to Z for Android | iOS (Free)
3. Fast FODMAP
In the Fast FODMAP app, there are four different tabs to navigate. Using the Lookup tab, you can search for any food you can think of. Or, if you just want to browse the foods in the app, you can look through the List tab, where foods are broken down into larger categories, like fruits, vegetables, herbs, and nuts.
Anyone with a chronic illness knows that you often have to learn a lot about your condition to properly advocate for yourself. In this app, there's a Learn tab that gives you a brief overview of how FODMAPs trigger IBS symptoms and a short quiz you can take to test your knowledge.
Then, there's a Diary tab where you can track what you eat, any symptoms you have, your feelings for the day, and any exercise you complete. The folks behind the Fast FODMAP app have thought of everything!
Download: Fast FODMAP for Android | iOS (Free)
4. Cara Care
The Cara Care app is similar to the Fast FODMAP app above, but it has a more modern interface and a few extra features. You can track the food you eat, your symptoms, stress levels, stool data, mood, medications, skin condition, workouts, sleep, and more.
After you've tracked your food for six or more days, you'll be able to see what foods you ate on your three best days and three worst days. The app surfaces that information based on the symptoms you experienced on certain days. After tracking your stress and corresponding symptoms for three days, you'll also be able to see your stress score.
In addition, the app has a recipes section, where you can find a ton of recipes for free that work with a low FODMAP diet. The recipes are spread out among several categories: Breakfast, Bread and Rolls, Main Dishes, Small Meals, Snacks, and Desserts.
Download: Cara Care for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
5. FODMAP Helper
With the free version of FODMAP Helper, you can view an extremely long list of foods and where they rank in terms of FODMAPs. Then, you can click on any food item to see a breakdown of why it's a low or high FODMAP food.
The best features of this app, however, come with the premium subscription. Once you're a subscriber, you'll be able to log your personal experiences with each food, marking each entry with a checkmark or an X and noting any important symptoms.
Then, you'll also get to see a breakdown of your experiences by food category and FODMAP group to help you understand where your specific sensitivities lie. Seeing this analysis is super helpful because not everyone has the same experience with IBS. Some people are a lot more sensitive to foods high in fructose, while those same foods don't seem to bother others.
Download: FODMAP Helper for Android (Free, subscription available)
Eating Low FODMAP Just Got a Lot Easier
Having to eat a restricted diet is never fun, even when it's worth it to help you feel better. But if you listen to your body and use the tools available to eat more intuitively, your body will thank you. With a restrictive diet, it's important to emphasize the foods you can eat (and love!) and not the ones that you can't.