What kind of milk can I drink on the low-FODMAP diet?

One of the most common FODMAPs in the Western diet is lactose. It’s a sugar found in cow’s milk and other dairy products. It is one of the disaccharides amongst the Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides AND Polyols that make up the FODMAP family.

So what are safe milk options if you are in the elimination phase of the low-FODMAP diet, have worked out that lactose is one of your IBS triggers, or you are otherwise lactose intolerant?

Back in the 90’s, when I was first trying a vegan diet, the only alternative to cow’s milk was soy milk, with perhaps a choice between sweetened and unsweetened soy milk. Those days are long gone.

If you walk through the ‘dairy’ aisle these days, you’ll find a vast array of different milks. You’ll often find lactose-free cow’s milk next to the regular cow’s milk, plus many different plant-based milks. Soy milk is still there, but you’ll also find oat milk, coconut milk, quinoa milk, rice milk, many different nut-based milks and combinations of these. Whilst these non-dairy options are all low-lactose, they aren’t all low FODMAP.

So what are the low-FODMAP options? And what else should you consider when you choose a milk?

Low-FODMAP Dairy and Plant based Milks

The table below provides information about milks that are low-FODMAP in a serving of 250ml (1 cup) according to the Monash University FODMAP Diet app.

Lactose can be removed from cow’s milk using lactase to make lactose-free milk, and there are plenty of plant based low FODMAP options too.

Ones to avoid

The milks below are not low-FODMAP at a cup sized (250ml) serve. Where the information is available, we indicate a low-FODMAP serving size and which FODMAP is problematic. If you’ve worked through the different stages of the low FODMAP diet to work out your specific FODMAP triggers you may have more safe choices.

What else is important?

Given there are a fair few low-FODMAP options, it’s worth considering what you want from your milk. Is it just something to add to your tea or coffee, or does it make up a substantial part of your diet?

Cow’s milk is a great source of protein, calcium, phosphorous, iodine, riboflavin and vitamin B12. If you’ve removed regular cow’s milk from your diet, it’s worth working out where you’ll get these nutrients from.

Lactose-free milk has a very similar nutrient profile to regular cow’s milk. It is a great source of protein and calcium. Liddell’s lactose-free milk also has added Vitamin D to help you make the most of the calcium to build strong bones.

The plant-based milks vary much more in their nutrient profile and it’s worth taking a closer look to find out if they provide the nutrients you need.

Fortified soy milk is a winner

My old favourite, soy milk stacks up pretty well. Like cow’s milk, it has around 8g of protein per cup. And again like cow’s milk, it is a complete protein source. This means it provides all the nine essential amino acids that your body needs but can’t manufacture, and hence need to be supplied by your diet.

Make sure you choose a soy milk made from soy protein rather than soy beans. The latter are not low-FODMAP. We recommend Sanitarium’s So Good Regular soy milk. It is fortified with calcium and phosphorous and vitamins A, B12, D2, B2, B1. Soy milk is also low in saturated fats and cholesterol.

 What about the other plant-based milks?

Almond milk is high in vitamin E and is commonly fortified with calcium (if not organic), but it is not a good source of protein at only 1g per serve. Similarly rice milk, coconut milk, macadamia and cashew milk are also low in protein. Oat milk is a little higher at around 3g per cup.

If you go for any of these options, you’ll need to look elsewhere in your diet for the protein, vitamins and minerals that cow’s milk provides.

If you eat eggs, meat or fish you’ll find it easy to get enough protein, although you may need to supplement with calcium tablets. Many cheeses can also provide protein and calcium, and up to 40g of cheeses like camembert, cheddar and feta is low-FODMAP, because the lactose from the milk reduces as the cheese matures. Unfortunately, the same is not true of yoghurt, cream, or sour cream – you’ll need to opt for the lactose-free versions of these.

Animal-based proteins are complete protein sources. However, many plant based protein sources are low in some amino acids – grains tend to be low in lysine and legumes and nuts tend to be low in tryptophan, methionine, and cystine. You can easily get around this problem by combining protein sources. For example, in a meal containing both rice and beans you get the tryptophan, methionine, and cystine from the rice and the lysine from the beans. Seeds and nuts also complement grains, so a peanut butter sandwich also provides all nine essential amino acids. Other complete protein sources are amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa.

You may have noticed that many of these are foods that contain fodmaps. In contrast, our Superflora protein powders are all low FODMAP. The Rich Cocoa Chocolate, French Bean Vanilla and Aussie Summer Strawberry options all contain whey protein isolate (WPI), which is a complete protein and is low in lactose, although not completely lactose free. We just launched our Plant-Based Chocolate Superflora protein powder. It contains three different plant proteins, hemp protein powder, pea protein isolate and brown rice protein, which together provide all nine essential amino acids, as well as tasting great.

It’s tough to combine diets

If you are trying to combine a vegan and a low-FODMAP diet, we highly recommend that you work with a dietitian to ensure your diet isn’t too restrictive and you are getting everything you need in terms of energy and nutrients.

What about taste?

Taste also matters of course, and different milks work well in different scenarios. We think that the nut-based milks work well in baking, whilst soy milk works is good in coffee, although others prefer cashew or macadmia milk lattes.

What works with our new plant-based protein powder?

Our new Superflora plant-based chocolate protein powder works really well with soy milk, like the Sanitarium So Good soy milk. Simply blitz to make a simple shake. If you prefer a thicker shake, you can try one of the nut milks.

There are lots of smoothie options. You can combine 250ml of any of the milks in the green table above with 50g of our plant-based protein powder and either 5 frozen rapsberries or 35g of ripe banana to make a smoothie that is low-FODMAP. The Superflora means they are also packed with protein, fibre and probiotics. Enjoy!

Written by: Dr Mary Webberley, Chief Scientific Officer at Noisy Guts. Mary has a background in biology, with two degrees from the University of Cambridge and post-doctoral research experience. She spent several years undertaking research into the diagnosis of IBS and IBD. She was the winner of the 2018 CSIRO Breakout Female Scientist Award.