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How to be berry nice to your belly

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10 August 2022|4 min read

We all know we should eat more fruits and vegetables. A simple and tasty way to do this is berries! Throwing some berries on your breakfast cereal, in your smoothie or with some yoghurt is a great option. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends 2 serves of fruit per day, one standard serve being around 150g. But for berries, what is a portion of low FODMAP berries?

Fresh or frozen, there are so many different types and it is nice to know which ones are FODMAP friendly. Below is a table of the safe serving sizes for the most common berries and their FODMAP content.

  • Blackberry; 4 g (1 berry); high in sorbitol
  • Blueberry; 40 g (1/4 cup); high in fructan
  • Boysenberry; 12 g (5 berries), high in fructan
  • Cranberry; 15 g (1 tbsp); high in fructan
  • Goji berries; 10 g (3 tsp); high in fructan
  • Raspberry; 60 g (30 berries); high in fructan
  • Strawberry; 150 g (10 berries); no FODMAPs detected

Low FODMAP Berries

Unfortunately, these serving sizes (except for strawberries) don’t meet the recommended amount of fruit, however you can still enjoy these berries safely and get your whole fruit serves from other low FODMAP options like grapes and oranges.

Berry containing foods

Other supermarket foods like muesli bars, jams and muffins also contain some of these berries. Therefore it’s good to be careful, read labels and is important to remember what works for you and your tummy. For something such as jam, it’s smart to stick to safer products including 40g of strawberry jam or marmalade rather than higher FODMAP containing choices like a mixed berry jam. One of our favourites here at the FODMAP challenge is Carman’s Super Berry Muesli bar, which is low FODMAPs certified and tastes delicious.

What about the acai berry?

The craze around this purple berry is everywhere. It’s nearly impossible to go out for breakfast without the refreshing acai bowl being at the top of the menu.

The FODMAP Friendly Food Program tested 10g of Acai powder and found <1% of each type of FODMAP in their results. Although this powder has no brand name and when purchasing a ‘bowl’ from a cafe they often use 1-2 whole frozen packets (a lot more than 10g!).

Acai bowls also contain a number of non FODMAP friendly ingredients including apple juice and bananas. We're not saying don’t have them, but if they upset your gut it’s best to stay away.

A better option would be a pitaya bowl, made from dragon fruit, which has no detectable FODMAPs. However the bowl still may contain all the extras, so be smart.

Need help with the low FODMAP diet? Our FREE dietitian developed program will guide you through it, step-by-step. Includes a low FODMAP food guide. Sign up now.

If you are experiencing gut symptoms and have not been recommended a low FODMAP diet by a health professional, get started with the manage your gut symptoms program.

Reviewed by the healthylife Advisory Board March 2022

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. If you have any concerns or questions about your health you should consult with a health professional.