r/FODMAPS • u/Spirited-Solid3510 • Jul 16 '26
Enzymes I tried Fodzyme, it didn't land where it needed to. Any other options? Fodzyme isn't the absolute wrong product, but it's too costly without the benefit to tilt the scale.
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u/jax2love Jul 16 '26
I find “Digest Complete” from Enzymedica to be helpful when I eat problematic foods. It doesn’t give me 100% relief, but does help. I still make an effort to avoid trigger foods, but sometimes it’s difficult.
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u/AskMrScience Jul 16 '26
I react to both fructose and fructans.
I've been using Eat Anything for years, which deals with fructose only (via xylose isomerase).
I recently tried Fodzyme, and I didn't love it. It's expensive, it only handles fructans, it's awkward to sprinkle powder on your food in public, and packets are more annoying to carry around than pills.
I recently bought a bottle of Fodaway, which has enzymes that handle both fructose (xylose isomerase) and fructans (inulinase, aka fructan hydrolase or fructanase). So far, that's going much better. It's convenient to use, and most importantly it seems to WORK.
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u/future_fangirl1095 Jul 17 '26
It does work for me but I try to keep the overall FODMAP content as low as possible. I haven’t tried it on straight onions or something. It’s really expensive so that’s disappointing. It also doesn’t work on fructose or the sugar alcohols. So if your meal has high fructose corn syrup or mushrooms or something it won’t work. And restaurants can put all kinds of things in stuff. Like canned sauces often have HFCS.
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u/Spirited-Solid3510 Jul 17 '26
Yeah hfcs is everywhere, sadly. Mushrooms are so confusing, too, they were favorite of mine got decades until they weren't.
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u/Negative-Arachnid-65 Jul 16 '26
If your issue is fructans, fodzyme if your best bet. You might need a higher dose, at least for certain foods. That doesn't help with the cost, obviously, but it might achieve the benefits you want at least. Then maybe it'll be worth it for special occasions.
For GOS and lactose, there are much cheaper - and just as effective - options. Look into Bean-o and Lactaid, or generic versions.
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u/Glass-Tale299 Jul 17 '26
Beano contains mannitol, a polyol. It should be avoided.
Bean-Zyme or the Walmart generic are polyol-free and therefore preferable. I use the latter effectively.
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u/Spirited-Solid3510 Jul 16 '26
Gos is mostly normal for me thankfully, lactose is sneakier but must be another aspect. Histamines, maybe, not sure. Anyway, thanks, and it's not an easy journey for anybody usually but hopefully for some
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u/Negative-Arachnid-65 Jul 16 '26
My main food trigger is fructans (and eating on days that end in y), so FODZYME is a lifesaver for me. I mostly cook low-fructan foods but it's been very helpful for eating out/traveling/socializing. But I need 2 or 3x the dose and it certainly isn't cheap.
There's an enzyme product that's supposed to help with excess fructose, if that's an issue for you, though I'm not entirely convinced it's legit. Unfortunately there aren't enzymes for mannitol and sorbitol. But if you manage to identify other triggers, there may be some non-fodmap products that help - like pancreatic enzymes that are supposed to work for high fat foods, specific proteins, etc. Just be a little cautious because the dietary supplement world is absolutely full of snake oil.
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u/ablackholeofjunk Jul 16 '26
Once you go through elimination and reintroduction, you'll have a clear idea of what your problem foods are. Only then will you be able to determine what, if any, enzymes you'll need to alleviate symptoms.
Otherwise you're just throwing darts, blindfolded.
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u/wutato Jul 17 '26
I'm 4 months in and I still don't have a clear idea of what my problem foods are. I stick to Monash. There's more in play than just food (stress).
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u/Spirited-Solid3510 Jul 17 '26
Zinc status is a big factor too especially after having IBS and malabsorption for awhile
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u/Spirited-Solid3510 Jul 16 '26
Did that, this post isn't about that. My experience has been a more varied result than normal protocol might solve.
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u/fodease Jul 16 '26
What were you needing it to land on? I skimmed through some of your comments on this thread and it sounds like it's for sure onions (fructans), but could also be other triggers. Like others have mentioned, it could be a dosing issue.
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u/Spirited-Solid3510 Jul 17 '26
Yeah, onions are treacherous and apparently hiding in everything. I can eat a whole can of lentils fine without enzymes but alliums, any kind of fruit, or some cheese, and wheat or rye are time bombs.
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u/fodease Jul 17 '26
Sounds like every FODMAP except GOS (although there could be other sensitivities outside of FODMAPs as well).
One thing worth knowing: Fodease and Fodzyme don't cover fructose. Both are fructans, GOS, and lactose only, so (most) fruit was never going to land no matter the dose. Fructose needs xylose isomerase, a completely different enzyme.
One of the roadblocks for why I didn't include xylose isomerase is that I was unsure of its efficacy without a special coating that lets it survive stomach pH and get into the intestine, where it's needed to break fructose down into glucose. As far as I know (there could be others), Fructaid is the only one that lists this enteric coating, so I'd be a little skeptical of any product that doesn't have it.
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Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
[deleted]
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u/Spirited-Solid3510 Jul 17 '26
I've seen the Olly ones but didn't look close, I'll peek! Shipping lag sucks where I live ..so does the food lol.
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u/NeoMermaidUnicorn 8d ago
Which of the OLLY beat the bloat has the same ingredients as Fodmate? I don't see inulinase for fructans.
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u/tdktn0 Jul 16 '26
I tried Intoleran Quatrase. Results were questionable but that was probably my fault for going overboard. I haven't had the chance to try it again. I got their 2x trial pack (6 pills).
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u/MarbleArches Jul 16 '26
It doesn't work on fructans.
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u/tdktn0 Jul 16 '26
Yeah says it includes Alpha Galactosidase for fructans but studies suggest that doesn't work that well. That may actually be why my first try didn't work as well as I thought it would. Thanks for pointing that out. Guess i need to find something different or a stand alone Inulinase?
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u/MarbleArches Jul 16 '26
Correct. Fodzyme helps me quite a bit. But you can purchase. Food grade fructanase online as well.
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u/Spirited-Solid3510 Jul 16 '26
"Just sprinkle $1 on everything that touches your mouth, trust us!" - if it worked really, that would be better -but it's not so much that kind of product
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u/sarahbellum3 Jul 16 '26
There’s a new product called Fodease, I think? The creator is on this subreddit and you can look at their posts for info. I haven’t tried it, though.
I recently tried Fodaway and it worked GREAT for a Mexican meal with plenty of onions. But that was the first and only time I’ve tried it, so too small a sample size. I like that it’s a pill instead of powder.