If you’ve been told to “just try low FODMAP,” you may already know that it’s not quite as simple as avoiding a few foods.
The standard low FODMAP diet is a three-step process. It starts with a short period of swapping high-FODMAP foods for lower-FODMAP alternatives. This is followed by structured reintroduction to learn which FODMAPs you tolerate, and finally personalization — bringing back as much variety as your gut comfortably allows.
For many people with IBS, this can be a very effective tool. But it can also be demanding. And for some people, that level of restriction may not be necessary — or even the best place to start.
Newer research is exploring something many clinicians and patients have already recognized: there may be more than one way to use the FODMAP approach.
The Problem With “One Diet, One Protocol”
The standard low FODMAP diet has the strongest evidence base of these approaches for improving IBS symptoms. But its first phase involves changing foods across multiple FODMAP groups, followed by careful reintroduction and personalization.
That’s a lot to take on when you’re already dealing with unpredictable digestive symptoms.
There are other considerations too. Staying overly restrictive can reduce dietary variety and potentially affect nutrient and prebiotic intake. That’s why the goal isn’t to stay on the strictest version of the diet forever.
The goal is to find the least restrictive approach that gives you meaningful symptom control while allowing as much food variety as possible.
And for some people, that may mean starting more gently.
What Is FODMAP Simple?
FODMAP Simple is a newer, targeted approach that was studied in people with diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D).
Instead of reducing all FODMAP groups during the initial phase, the researchers targeted just two: fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS).
These are found in commonly eaten foods such as wheat, onion, garlic and legumes.
The idea is a “step-up” rather than “step-down” approach: start by restricting fewer FODMAP groups, see how symptoms respond, and broaden the intervention only if necessary.
It’s an interesting idea because it asks an important question: Do we need to restrict everything first if targeting fewer FODMAPs might be enough?
What Did the FODMAP Simple Study Find?
In a small double-blind pilot randomized controlled trial, 32 adults with IBS-D were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. Half followed a traditional low FODMAP restriction and half followed FODMAP Simple, restricting only fructans and GOS, for four weeks.
The primary symptom response was similar:
62.5% of people following FODMAP Simple responded, compared with 56.3% following the traditional low FODMAP diet.
The difference was not statistically significant.
Other symptom outcomes were also broadly comparable between the groups. However, some stool consistency outcomes favoured the traditional low FODMAP diet.
So this study doesn’t tell us that FODMAP Simple is better than the standard approach.
What it does suggest is that a more targeted approach may be enough for some people with IBS-D — and that larger, real-world studies are warranted.
What Is FODMAP Gentle?
FODMAP Gentle is a broader concept.
Rather than following a comprehensive FODMAP restriction, the approach focuses on a smaller number of very high-FODMAP foods or FODMAP groups that are most relevant to the individual.
For example, someone who regularly eats several foods that are particularly concentrated sources of FODMAPs might start by changing those foods rather than overhauling their entire diet.
This makes FODMAP Gentle less of a single prescribed diet and more of a personalized, less restrictive starting strategy.
So What’s the Difference?
Think of them this way:
Standard low FODMAP has the largest evidence base and begins by broadly reducing high-FODMAP foods before systematic reintroduction and personalization.
FODMAP Simple is a specific, research-tested strategy that starts by targeting fructans and GOS. The early study was conducted in people with IBS-D, so we shouldn’t assume the same results apply to everyone with IBS.
FODMAP Gentle is a broader, individualized strategy that focuses on reducing the most relevant high-FODMAP foods or groups rather than starting with comprehensive restriction.
They’re not competing diets. They’re different ways of asking the same question:
How much dietary restriction does this particular person actually need?
How Do You Know Which Approach Fits You?
That’s where individualization matters.
Your IBS pattern, the foods you currently eat, your nutritional needs, your previous experiences with restrictive diets and what is realistically manageable in your life can all influence the decision.
And sometimes the right answer is no FODMAP restriction at all.
If your diet is already very limited or dietary restriction is difficult for you, that’s important information for your dietitian. There are other evidence-based ways to manage IBS that don’t involve progressively removing foods.
Less Restriction Isn’t Just About Convenience
There’s another reason we don’t want to restrict more foods than necessary.
Fructans and GOS have prebiotic effects, meaning they can provide food for beneficial gut bacteria.
That doesn’t mean you should keep eating foods that reliably cause significant symptoms. It means we don’t want to unnecessarily restrict nutritious foods simply because they contain FODMAPs.
The long-term goal is personalization: understanding what your gut actually tolerates and bringing foods back wherever possible.
Where The Tummy Clinic Fits In
We’re not here to hand you a FODMAP list and wish you luck.
Our Monash-trained dietitians can help determine whether a standard low FODMAP approach, a gentler or more targeted strategy, or no FODMAP restriction at all makes the most sense for your symptoms, eating history and life.
If a FODMAP approach is appropriate, they’ll also help you move beyond restriction. Reintroduction and personalization are essential parts of the process — because the end goal isn’t to become better at avoiding food.
It’s to understand your gut well enough that you can eat as broadly and confidently as possible while keeping your symptoms manageable.
If you’ve tried the standard low FODMAP diet and it didn’t stick, or you’ve been putting off trying it because it feels overwhelming, it’s worth knowing that there may be another way in.
Reference
Singh P, Chey SW, Nee J, et al. Is a Simplified, Less Restrictive Low FODMAP Diet Possible? Results From a Double-Blind, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2025;23(2):362–364.e2.
Clinical Perspective by
Dr. Tracey Beaulne, ND
Co-Founder, The Tummy Clinic
Dr. Tracey Beaulne, ND
Co-Founder of The Tummy Clinic, a virtual clinic focused on evidence-based care for Disorders of Gut–Brain Interaction (DGBIs), including IBS. Dr. Beaulne works with patients across Ontario to help them understand and manage complex digestive symptoms using a whole-system approach grounded in modern neurogastroenterology.
