FODMAP Content of Tea (+ Ginger Maple Tea Recipe) (2024)

Note: This post was last updated in Feb 2024.Did you know that after water, tea is the world’s most popular beverage? Certain teas can even have health benefits, including for digestion! In this post, I will explain the health benefits and discuss the FODMAP content of tea.

Health Benefits of Teas

Research shows that certain tea ingredients can help improve digestive symptoms. Ginger may help improve nausea. Peppermint can soothe the gut and reduce cramping. Additionally, drinking tea is relaxing. Reducing anxiety and stress can help digestive symptoms.

Most teas are sugar-free. Teas are a healthy and flavourful way to boost your hydration. Staying hydrated is essential for a healthy gut! I recommend checking the ingredients list to look for added sugars.

Teas with caffeine can help improve constipation and stimulate a bowel movement. But, they can also trigger diarrhea in people with IBS-D or IBS-M.

Beware of extreme health claims. Some “detox” teas claim to make you lose large amounts of weight. Those teas often contain laxatives and/or diuretics, and I do not recommend them. Laxative ingredients include senna leaves/pods, cassia chamaecrista pods, and rhubarb. Diuretic ingredients make you urinate more and include nettle leaves and dandelion leaves.

Laxatives may cause diarrhea and dehydration. They do not burn fat or lead to long-term weight loss. Use caution when you see “detox ” teas.

FODMAP Content of Tea

Some teas contain FODMAPs, despite being mostly calorie-free. FODMAPs are water soluble and can leach from the tea leaves into thewater.

There are a large number of teas available around the world. There is also a lot of variability due to growing conditions and processing methods. Due to this high variability, it is also difficult to test the FODMAP content of teas.

Monash University classifies foods as low, medium or high FODMAP. |Serving size is key. Some teas at 250 mL (1 cup) are only classified as low when weakly infused (tea bag immersed in water for 1-2 minutes). Some are only high when strongly infused (tea bag immersed in hot water for approx. 3-5 minutes).

Many teas have not been tested yet. I recommend checking the Monash app regularly for updates!

Low FODMAP teas include:

• green

• matcha

• rooibos

• peppermint

• white

• buchu

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• honeybush

• licorice

• epazote (aka mexican tea)

• weak black (infused 1-2 min)

• weak chai (infused 1-2 min)

These teas are high in FODMAPs, specifically fructans:

• strong black (infused 3-5 min)

• strong chai (infused 3-5 min)

• strong dandelion (infused 3-5 min)

• fennel

• oolong

• chrysanthemum

Teas made with high FODMAP foods may be high FODMAP. For example, avoid teas with pieces of dried apples, pears, peaches, etc.

What about other untested teas, such as other herbal teas and Pu-erh? Treat untested foods/beverages as high FODMAP until you have finished reintroducing foods.

There is some confusion around black tea. Srong black tea is moderate in fructans. However, strong black tea with added milk is low. Why is this? The researchers measured 250 mL (1 cup) of each tea mixture. Therefore, the tea with added milk contained less than 250 mL of tea, because the milk replaced some of the tea. This lower serving size lowered the fructan content. We can learn from this example how important serving size is for FODMAP content.

What about iced teas? Many iced teas are made using black teas and likely would contain fructans. If you are an iced tea fan, look for ones made using low FODMAP teas like green and rooibos teas.

So, What Teas Should I Drink on the Low FODMAP diet?

My general recommendation for those who are starting the diet is to drink teas found to be low FODMAP by Monash. Choose ones that do not contain added FODMAPs or flavours made from high FODMAP foods (such as honey).

During the reintroduction phase, you can test your tolerance to each of the FODMAPs. If you find during reintroduction that you can tolerate some fructans, you will likely be fine with the high fructan teas. You can also individually test your tolerance to teas that have not been tested by Monash.

For individualized advice, I recommend working one-on-one with a dietitian.

Other Considerations for Tea and Digestive Symptoms

FODMAP content is not the only thing we should consider. We need to be aware of what we put in our tea.

Sweeteners such as honey and agave are high in fructose, but maple syrup and white sugar are low. A tablespoon of milk is low in lactose, but larger servings will be high. I personally like lots of milk in black tea, so I use lactose-free milk.

Caffeine is another important factor to consider. Some individuals with IBS may find that caffeine triggers diarrhea. Caffeine-free teas include rooibos/red, herbal, peppermint, chamomile, and decaffeinated black/green teas. White and green tea have low amounts of caffeine. Black teas have moderate amounts, but still typically less than the average cup of coffee. Low caffeine and low FODMAP teas include rooibos, white, green, and peppermint.

Ginger & Maple Tea Recipe

Your reward for reading this long post is this easy tea recipe!

Key Messages

• Stick to low FODMAP teas during elimination.
• Read tea ingredient lists carefully for added high FODMAP ingredients. Avoid those teas during elimination.
• You can test high FODMAP teas, or untested teas, during reintroduction.
• If caffeine is a symptom trigger, choose teas that have no or little caffeine.
• Add only low FODMAP sweeteners and milks to your tea.

I hope this article was helpful!

Looking for other low FODMAP beverages? Click here for four yummy low FODMAP hot chocolate recipes.

References

1. Eat Right Ontario, 2016. https://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Caffeine/Tea-Time.aspx
2. Nicole Osinga RD & Colleen Farrell, 2016. https://nicoleosinga.com/2016/09/21/the-truth-about-detox-teas/
3. Marx, W. A., Kiss, N. B., & Isenring, L. A. (2015). Is ginger beneficialfornauseaandvomiting? Anupdateoftheliterature. Current Opinion in Supportive & Palliative Care, 9(2),189-195.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25872115
4. Eat Right Ontario, 2016. https://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Digestion-Digestive-health/Irritable-Bowel-Syndrome.aspx
5. The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App. http://www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/gastro/fodmap/iphone-app.html
6. Monash University, 2015. http://fodmapmonash.blogspot.ca/2015/08/faq-strong-tea.html
7. Eat Right Ontario, 2016. https://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Caffeine/Facts-on-Caffeine.aspx