Discover the food that fuels you
Your body doesn't see food as 'good' or 'bad'. It sees it as fuel.
Every bite you eat is broken down and transformed into the things that keep you alive, from your heartbeat and hormones to your bones, brain and immune system.
Explore what food actually does inside your body, why every nutrient has a purpose, and how food supports far more than people often realise.
What's actually happening when you eat
Tap a bit of the plate and see what it's really doing for your body, your brain and your mood — no calorie count in sight, promise.
to start
Pick a food group and I'll tell you what it's really doing — not the diet-culture version, the actual one.
protein
Where would you like to explore next?
Let's talk... about FODMAP foods
Imagine your gut is like a busy motorway.
Most foods 'drive' smoothly all the way through.
But some foods are like very slow-moving tractors.
The food isn't 'bad'. Your gut is just having a harder time dealing with it.
What does FODMAP actually stand for?
(Honestly... you don't need to remember this)
It simply means a group of natural sugars and fibres that are harder for some people to digest. They include things found naturally in foods like:
They're perfectly healthy foods. They're just harder work for some people's digestive systems.
Why are some foods "high FODMAP"?
Think of them as foods that leave more leftovers behind. Instead of being completely digested in your small intestine, some of their sugars travel into your large intestine (that's where trillions of gut bacteria live).
The bacteria love these sugars. They ferment them (basically eat them). During that process they make:
If your gut is sensitive (particularly in IBS), that stretching can feel really uncomfortable.
What happens if you're sensitive?
Usually within a few hours you might notice:
Does everyone react?
No! Most people digest high-FODMAP foods perfectly well. They're only a problem if your gut is sensitive (which can happen when certain food groups and intake have been restricted/reduced). If your sensitivity begun after your eating disorder, that doesn't mean you'll always be sensitive.
"Wait... does this mean I can't eat these foods again?"
No. And this bit is really important.
If foods like onions, garlic, bread, beans, fruit or dairy suddenly seem to make your stomach lose the plot after an eating disorder, it does not automatically mean your body has developed a permanent intolerance to them.
When you have not been eating enough, eating regularly, or eating much variety for a while, your digestive system adapts. Your gut can slow down, food can move through it differently and the huge community of bacteria living inside it can change too.
Then when more food and more variety start coming back in, your gut sometimes needs time to catch up.
Cue the bloating. Gas. Fullness. Gurgling. Constipation. And the very convincing thought: “See. My body obviously can't handle this food.”
But uncomfortable does not always mean intolerant. Research in people recovering from anorexia has found that lots of digestive symptoms improve as regular nutrition continues. The gut microbiome changes too, and it can start responding to changes in what we eat incredibly quickly.
There is not a magic number of weeks where your gut suddenly announces ‘all fixed’! Everyone's recovery is different, and some digestive changes take much longer than others.
The more consistently your body receives enough energy and a variety of foods, the more opportunities that little ecosystem has to adapt.
I’m sharing these as I experienced a sensitive stomach through my eating disorder and recovery. Discovering what foods were causing it, actually enabled me to eat more! Due to the discomfort and bloating from unbeknown high-FODMAP foods, I avoided eating to avoid pain.
Red peppers and I are still not currently on speaking (digesting) terms… but I’ve now reintroduced a lot of the foods I thought I’d never have again!
They are one of the foods my stomach reacts to most, but yours might be completely fine with them. That’s the annoying thing about FODMAPs. There isn’t one universal list of foods that everyone reacts to in exactly the same way.
This is about listening to your own body, not creating another banned food list.
The biggest 'troublemakers'
These are among the most common foods people with IBS report struggling with.
| 🟡 Lower | 🟠 Moderate | 🔴 Higher | 🔥 Biggest offenders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat bread | Apples | Beans | Onion |
| Milk | Pears | Chickpeas | Garlic |
| Mushrooms | Mango | Lentils | Garlic powder |
| Honey | Cauliflower | Cashews | Onion powder |
| Watermelon | Ice cream | Pistachios | Large servings of onion + garlic together |
Onion and garlic are particularly common triggers because they're very high in a type of FODMAP called fructans, and even small amounts can cause symptoms in some people.
A high-FODMAP food isn't
- Unhealthy
- Inflammatory for everyone
- Something everyone should avoid
It's simply a food that contains more of certain carbohydrates that some people don't absorb very well.
FODMAP foods summary
🟢 Low FODMAP
Usually easier for sensitive guts.
- Chicken
- Fish
- Eggs
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Oats
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Grapes
- Kiwi
- Oranges
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Courgette
- Bell peppers
- Cucumbers
- Firm cheeses
- Lactose-free milk
🔴 High FODMAP
These contain larger amounts of those harder-to-digest carbohydrates.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Apples
- Pears
- Watermelon
- Mango
- Cherries
- Cauliflower
- Mushrooms (certain varieties)
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Wheat (large amounts)
- Rye
- Cow's milk (lactose)
- Soft cheeses
- Yoghurts with lactose
- Ice cream
- Beans
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Cashews
- Pistachios
- Honey
- High fructose corn syrup
Please don't self-diagnose food intolerances. Some people with eating disorders find that their stomach is more sensitive to certain foods than it was before restriction. That doesn't automatically mean those foods are "bad" or that you need to cut them out. If you think FODMAPs might be affecting you, it's best to speak with a GP or registered dietitian before making major changes to your diet.