A low-FODMAP diet might help to improve short-term digestive symptoms in adults with functional abdominal bloating[3] and irritable bowel syndrome,[4][5][6][7] but its long-term use can have negative effects because it causes a detrimental impact on the gut microbiota and metabolome.
[4] There is only a little evidence of its effectiveness in treating functional symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease from small studies that are susceptible to bias.
[13] Since the consumption of gluten is suppressed or reduced with a low-FODMAP diet, the improvement of the digestive symptoms with this diet may not be related to the withdrawal of the FODMAPs, but of gluten, indicating the presence of an unrecognized celiac disease, avoiding its diagnosis and correct treatment, with the consequent risk of several serious health complications, including various types of cancer.
[13][14] A low-FODMAP diet is highly restrictive in various groups of nutrients, can be impractical to follow in the long-term and may add an unnecessary financial burden.
[1] Over many years, there have been multiple observations that ingestion of certain short-chain carbohydrates, including lactose, fructose and sorbitol, fructans and galactooligosaccharides, can induce gastrointestinal discomfort similar to that of people with irritable bowel syndrome.
[20] In this paper, it was proposed that a collective reduction in the dietary intake of all indigestible or slowly absorbed, short-chain carbohydrates would minimise stretching of the intestinal wall.