Quorn is a popular plant-based meat substitute for vegetarians and vegans. However, combining it with a diet for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can be challenging. The IBS or SIBO diet requires low FODMAP meat substitutes.
So, here is the thousand dollar question: is Quorn low FODMAP?
It depends on the serving size!
Explaining Quorn
Many people believe that Quorn comes from mushrooms and provides an excellent meat alternative to vegans. The second part is true but the source of Quorn is a fungus. It is rich in proteins and is often known as mycoprotein.
Quorn offers health benefits like better control of blood sugars and cholesterol levels. There are some caveats, though. It may not be a suitable constituent for the vegan SIBO diet and IBS unless carefully chosen.
Do Quorn and IBS or SIBO Prove a friendly Combination?
IBS and SIBO disorders of your gut often need extensive dietary alterations.
- Irritable bowel syndrome causes severe pain and diarrhea without an organic cause.
- SIBO is the growth of microbes in the intestines that usually occur in other body parts.
Sometimes, the overgrowths of bacteria or SIBO lead to IBS because the latter often has abnormal bacterial content in the gut.
The bacteria in your gut feed on indigestible carbohydrates or fiber in your diet. A high FODMAP diet provides an excessive fermentable substrate to these microbes. The result is lots of gas and resultant stretching. Usually, it is tolerable but the gut is highly sensitive in IBS and stretching produces intense pain.
The research suggests that Quorn is safe on the low FODMAP diet at a serving size of 75g of Quorn which provides 12g of protein (Monash app).
Does Quorn Have Any Adverse Effects?
Quorn is quite controversial because of its various health aspects.
- Aggravation Of IBS or SIBO
If Quorn is not utilized in a controlled quantity, it becomes high FODMAP. The gut motility increases but food rapidly passes to the large intestine. It gives gut bacteria more opportunity to ferment. It leads to gas or bloating and exacerbation of diarrhea or pain in IBS.
- Allergic Reactions
Quorn has a notorious reputation due to allergic reactions. There may be a potential for you to become hypersensitive over time. When it first emerged, many people used it as a low FODMAP meat substitute but the company received numerous complaints. However, a penal of experts found out that the risk is exceptionally low.
Incorporating Quorn In IBS Vegan Diet
Try recipes with 75g of Quorn serving. You can add it to your vegan chili or mix it up with low FODMAP veggies. It allows you to incorporate low FODMAP Quorn in your vegan SIBO diet without the risk of digestion disturbance. However, do not forget to check the label before buying because not all Quorn products are vegan.
Medically reviewed by Onyx Adegbola MD PhD.
