Stop guessing which foods affect you

A common approach is to log meals at the ingredient level, log symptoms with their timing, and look for foods that repeatedly precede symptoms over 2–4 weeks. Patterns across many meals — not single bad days — tend to be more informative. Discuss what you find with a doctor or dietitian.

Post-meal bloating is often associated with fermentable carbohydrates (FODMAPs) like onion, garlic, wheat, and lactose, though eating habits and underlying conditions can also play a role. Because reactions can be delayed and dose-dependent, tracking meals and symptoms for a few weeks may help you and your doctor explore possible causes.

Record every meal with its individual ingredients, every symptom with time and severity, and keep it up for at least two weeks. Ingredient-level detail plus consistent timing makes potential patterns easier to see — and gives your doctor or dietitian something useful to work with.

FODMAPs are fermentable carbs (found in onion, garlic, wheat, certain fruits, and lactose-containing dairy) that are commonly discussed in connection with IBS symptoms. The low FODMAP diet runs in three phases — elimination, reintroduction, personalization — and is best done with professional guidance. A food checker that flags high-FODMAP ingredients can make each phase easier to follow.

In a typical elimination diet, suspected trigger foods are removed for 2–4 weeks, then reintroduced one at a time with a few days between tests, while symptoms are tracked throughout. Consistent tracking is what makes the observations useful — and it’s best done with guidance from a doctor or dietitian.

Commonly reported food intolerance symptoms include bloating, gas, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, and also non-gut symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and brain fog — often delayed and dose-dependent, which is why they can be hard to connect to specific foods without tracking. A doctor can help you interpret what you observe.

Aged and fermented foods top most lists: aged cheese, cured and processed meats, wine and beer, sauerkraut, soy sauce, vinegar, canned fish, and leftovers. Tomatoes, spinach, avocado, and citrus also appear frequently. Individual responses vary — a doctor can help you work out what’s relevant for you.

Commonly reported signs are bloating, gas, cramps, and diarrhea roughly 30 minutes to 2 hours after milk, cream, ice cream, or soft cheese. Tracking dairy intake against symptoms for a couple of weeks can give you useful observations — and a doctor can order a hydrogen breath test for a proper diagnosis.

Some people report bloating, stomach pain, fatigue, brain fog, and headaches after gluten despite negative celiac tests — this is often discussed as non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Research also suggests some of these reactions may relate to wheat FODMAPs (fructans) rather than gluten itself. Tracking symptoms around wheat, ideally with a doctor involved, can help you explore what applies to you.

Strategies many people find helpful: scout the menu in advance, favour simple grilled dishes with sauces on the side, ask about garlic and onion in bases, and check dishes against the patterns you’ve noticed in your own logs before ordering. It won’t make any meal risk-free, but it can make choices more informed.

No. Food & Feel is a wellness and tracking app. It is not a regulated medical device and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It helps you collect and understand your own food and symptom data — which you can also share with your doctor or dietitian.

Food & Feel checks foods against Low FODMAP (with elimination, reintroduction, and personalization phases), histamine awareness, lactose-free, and gluten-free frameworks, drawing on published research, USDA composition data, and Codex standards. These checks are informational — no database is exhaustive, and they don’t replace advice from your doctor or dietitian.