Avocado

Moderate FODMAP

Serving sizes

Avocado changes rating with portion size. These are the amounts tested in the literature behind our ratings.

½ fruit (75g) Moderate
⅝ fruit (91g) High

Sorbitol

Avocado sits at Moderate FODMAP, driven mainly by its Sorbitol content.

Avocado carries Sorbitol, a polyol that becomes noticeable even in fairly small servings, which is why it lands at moderate rather than low right from ½ fruit (75g).
As the serving grows just a little larger, the sorbitol load adds up and the level climbs to high, so avocado is one of those foods where a modest amount goes a long way.

Keeping to a smaller portion and treating avocado as a creamy accent rather than the star of the plate is usually the easiest way to enjoy it comfortably.

Per ½ fruit (75g): 0.49g sorbitol.

Why avocado is rated moderate

Avocado sits at moderate from its very first tested serving, and that is the key thing to understand about it. It carries sorbitol, a polyol, and the published data puts ½ fruit (75g) at moderate rather than low, so there is no lower rung here to aim for. Move up only slightly, to ⅝ fruit (91g), and it is high. The two rungs sit close together, which is what makes avocado one of the harder foods to judge by eye: the portion that is worth respecting and the portion that is high look very similar on a plate.

What changes your risk

Serving size, with very little room ½ fruit (75g) is moderate and ⅝ fruit (91g) is high. That is a small step, so scooping straight from the skin is not a reliable way to keep track of where a portion lands.
Sorbitol stacking is the real trap avocado shares sorbitol with blackberries, pears, apricots, plums, and with anything sweetened with sorbitol such as sugar free gum and mints. Several of those in one meal or across a few hours add up on the same subgroup even when each is inside its own serving, and a moderate food like avocado already starts that total high.
Guacamole hides two problems at once a scoop of guacamole is rarely measured, and most versions are built on onion and garlic, which adds fructans on top of the sorbitol. Restaurant and packaged versions are the ones to ask about.
Cooking, blending and freezing change nothing heat does not break sorbitol down, and neither does the blender or the freezer. Blended into a dressing, a smoothie or a chocolate mousse, the sorbitol is all still there, and blending makes it far easier to lose track of how much fruit went in.
Spreading it across the day the same day's total is easier to manage when servings are spread out rather than concentrated into one sitting. Avocado at lunch and avocado again at dinner is a different day from both on one plate.

Swaps

There is no true substitute for what avocado does texturally, and it is more honest to say that than to point at something that does not behave like it. What does fill the same roles: on toast, peanut butter, a poached or scrambled egg, or a slice of a hard cheese such as cheddar or swiss. In a salad or a grain bowl, cucumber, bell pepper and a drizzle of garlic infused oil bring freshness and richness without the sorbitol, and macadamias, walnuts, pecans or pumpkin seeds add the fat and the bite. For a creamy sandwich or wrap filling, firm tofu or a hard cheese works, and lactose free yoghurt can carry a dressing. What will not solve a sorbitol problem is another sorbitol food, so pear, blackberry, apricot and plum are not the answer here.

How to lower the load

Buy avocados firm and let them ripen on the counter, then move them to the fridge so you are not forced to use a whole ripe one at once. Because the rungs are so close, weigh the portion on a kitchen scale the first few times rather than judging by eye, since ½ fruit (75g) and ⅝ fruit (91g) are visually almost identical. Cut and portion the fruit as soon as it is ripe instead of leaving a cut half in the fridge to be finished later in the day, which is how a single serving quietly becomes two. Eating out, the portion is out of your hands: ask for the avocado or the guacamole on the side so you control how much reaches the plate, and ask whether the guacamole was made with onion and garlic, because that adds fructans to a food already carrying sorbitol.

Common questions

how much avocado is low fodmap

None of the tested servings are low. The published data puts ½ fruit (75g) at moderate and ⅝ fruit (91g) at high, so avocado starts at a portion to respect rather than one to relax about.

is avocado high in sorbitol

Avocado carries sorbitol, and it is sorbitol that drives its rating. At ½ fruit (75g) it is moderate, and at ⅝ fruit (91g) it is high.

is guacamole low fodmap

Usually not. Guacamole is built on avocado, which is moderate at ½ fruit (75g), the scoop is rarely measured, and most versions also contain onion and garlic, which adds fructans alongside the sorbitol.

can i eat avocado on the elimination phase

Avocado is moderate at its smallest tested serving, so it is not one of the foods that sits comfortably in the strict phase. Whether and when to include a moderate food is a decision to make with a dietitian.

Learn more

Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.

References

Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by HPLC. Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.