Soy sauce is a must-have condiment when flavoring stir-fries or other Chinese or Japanese dishes. If you’re on a low FODMAP diet, though, you might be wondering if soy sauce is low FODMAP? Let us know the answer!
Is Soy Sauce Low FODMAP?
According to Monash University, boiling soybeans are high in FODMAPs including fructans and galactooligosaccharides. Edamame is boiled or steamed soybeans in their pods. It is only low FODMAP if you eat 12 cups of beans without the pods. Not to mention the fact that only 14 cups of whole soybean soy milk is considered low FODMAP. As a result, determining if soy sauce is low in FODMAP might be difficult. Let’s take a closer look at what soy sauce is and whether it’s low in FODMAPs.
What Exactly Is Soy Sauce?
Soy sauce is said to have evolved from a chemical known as Jiang, which was used to flavor and preserve food in ancient China. Although Jiang may be prepared from a variety of foods, wheat and soy were the most common. As a result, Jiang produced with these ingredients became the most popular.
The well-known soy sauce is a brown, salty liquid produced from fermented soybeans, salt, water, and occasionally additional roasted grains. It imparts an earthy or umami flavor to meals and can be used as an all-purpose seasoning. Soy sauce is mostly sodium-based, but certain varieties also contain antioxidants, as well as minor amounts of fiber and protein.
Soy Sauce And FODMAPs
Because soy sauce is manufactured with high FODMAP foods like soybeans and wheat, you might think it’s off-limits on a low FODMAP diet. Monash University, on the other hand, considers two teaspoons of soy sauce to be a low FODMAP serving. Because of its intense salty flavor, you shouldn’t use more than a few teaspoons of soy sauce at a time, soy sauce is safe for low FODMAP diet users.
Soy Products With Low FODMAP
The products listed below are low in FODMAP and can be consumed in the portion sizes indicated during the low FODMAP diet.
1. Soy Sauce
Each serving has 42 grams of FODMAP (2 tablespoons). Tamari is a gluten-free soy sauce that has never been tested, however since soy sauce is low in FODMAP, likely, tamari is as well.
2. Ketjap
A low-FODMAP sweet soy sauce that contains up to 20 grams of FODMAP per serving (1 tablespoon).
3. Miso Paste
Miso soup, for example, calls for this common Japanese ingredient. At a serving size of 12 grams, miso paste contains 12 grams of FODMAPs (2 tablespoons). Don’t include anything that’s a source of high-FODMAPs.
4. Tofu
Made from soybeans, but the amount of FODMAPs in the tofu is reduced due to the processing of the soybeans to transform it into tofu, which is why tofu is low in FODMAP. Because “silken” or “soft” tofu is high in FODMAPs, make sure you use “firm” tofu instead.
5. Tempeh
Soybeans are fermented to make this product. Tempeh is low in FODMAPs because of the fermentation process, which reduces the amount of FODMAPs in the soybeans. Tempeh servings larger than 220 grams are particularly high in FODMAPs. An adequate serving size is 100 to 150 grams.
6. Edamame Beans
Young, immature soybeans that are low in FODMAP and contain up to 90 grams per serving. They have a large number of fructans and are no longer low in FODMAPs at 210 grams.
7. The Soybean Oil
FODMAPs are carbohydrates, foods that only contain lipids do not include them. As a result, soybean oil is low in FODMAPs.
8. Soy Lecithin
Usually found in processed foods. It’s an ingredient in a lot of things, like chocolate bars. Soy lecithin is low in FODMAPs because it is a mix of oil and fat. A 250-mL supply of soy milk derived from soy protein
9. Soy Milk
Created from soy protein. Unfortunately, most soy milk is made from either whole or hulled soybeans, which makes it hard to find soy protein milk. At least, I never found it in the Netherlands.
10. Soy-Based Cheeses
Often vegan alternatives to cheese. The Monash app says that up to 40 grams per serving of soy cheese are low in FODMAPs. Make sure that the cheese hasn’t been mixed with any other high-FODMAP foods.
Is Soy Flour FODMAP Free?
Gluten-free items frequently contain soy flour. Monash University has not yet tested soy flour, although it has been tested by FODMAP Friendly (another organization that tests products on their FODMAP content). They analyzed a 50-gram sample of soy flour and discovered that it was rich in FODMAPs.
We also have evidence to assume that soy flour, in little doses, is low in FODMAPs. Several goods that contain soy flour have been certified as low FODMAP, such as Schär’s gluten-free digestive cookies. As a result, in very little amounts, soy flour is probably low in FODMAP.
When soy flour appears in gluten-free food and is not too far down the ingredient list (the further down the list an ingredient appears, the more of it the product contains) and there are no other high-FODMAP ingredients, the product is probably safe to ingest. You should avoid products that include a lot of soy flour.
Is Soy Yogurt FODMAP Free?
Monash University has not conducted any research on soy yogurt. The amount of FODMAPs in soy yogurt varies by brand and product, much like milk. Some types of soy yogurt are manufactured with whole soybeans, whereas others are made with hulled soybeans. It’s difficult to establish how high the level of FODMAPs in a particular type of soy yogurt is without testing.
Soy yogurt, like soy milk made from hulled soybeans, is likely to be lower in FODMAPs than soy milk prepared from whole soybeans.
The same recommendation applies to soy yogurt as it does to soy milk: avoid it during the elimination and reintroduction phases and test it later. Some respond well to soy yogurt and others do not. To discover, you must put it to the test for yourself.
Final Thoughts
Soy items, like spelled, generate a lot of confusion about the low FODMAP diet. “Is soy sauce low FODMAP?” is a difficult question to answer with a simple “yes” or “no.” The correct response is “it depends.” While some soy products are low in FODMAP, some are not. In this blog, I’ll discuss which soy products are safe to consume on a low FODMAP diet.
Soybeans, from which soy products are derived, are high in Galatians and fructans and so are not low in FODMAPs. You’d think that all soy products made from soybeans would be rich in FODMAPs, but that’s not the case. Because the FODMAP level of soybeans might decrease during processing, certain soy products are low FODMAP while others are not.
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