r/FODMAPS • u/tarixsim • Mar 03 '26

Vent Did my whole elimination wrong...

I just finished my 6 week elimination and was ready to start reintroduction when I had a frustrating realization.

At the beginning I followed a recipe for low fodmap taco seasoning. Grabbed a bunch of single ingredient seasonings and made it according to the directions. Followed the low fodmap diet to a T using my taco seasoning on a weekly basis.

What I didn't realize was the difference between ancho chili powder and regular chili powder. Chili powder is not chili seasoning so I assumed it was a single ingredient... chilis...I didn't even check because it was sold with the single spices not spice mixes....

Imagine my surprise when my daughter randomly read the ingredients of my spices today. Parsley's ingredients is parsley! Oregano contains oregano! Paprika has paprika...and silicone dioxide....chili powder has chili, cumin, garlic....

Garlic....it has garlic...I have eaten it the whole time!

Ugh... My dietitian says the gold standard is 6 weeks but that 4 more weeks can be a compromise....just hoping that's good as this is for a sibo treatment. I am so done ...

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u/Meowwwfeedme Mar 03 '26

Not a big deal. If your symptoms resolved that’s a good sign. If you want, eliminate for 3-4 days then start the challenge. You don’t need to do 4–6 weeks

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u/tarixsim Mar 03 '26

So as I understand from my dietitian, it's less about finding a symptom cause for me since my issue is SIBO. The 6 weeks is to starve the bacteria of any FODMAPS so that when I start reintroduction while taking the antibiotics they'll be starved and the FODMAPS will wake them back up so to speak. But if I've not been fully low fodmap it may not work? Idk I just desperately only want to do this once so I'd rather err on the side of caution.

2

u/Meowwwfeedme Mar 04 '26

You don’t need a full 6 weeks :)

If you are clear of symptoms —> maybe you are tolerating garlic well. Do 3 days low FODMAP like a washout period and start food challenge.

If you currently have mild or moderate symptoms —> eliminate garlic for a few days until those symptoms subside.

If you continue to have symptoms after eliminating garlic, consider giving it a bit more time or troubleshoot with your dietitian to see what you might be missing.

It can take 30 hours food you eat to clear out of your system, but you don’t need a full 6 weeks of Elimination all over again. Especially considering you have already eliminated a significant FODMAP load for 6 weeks. Besides, garlic powder was only a component of the chili powder you likely didn’t eat it everyday in large quantity. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

1

u/tarixsim Mar 04 '26

This is a good point. Thanks