Blackberry

Why blackberry is rated high

Blackberries are high FODMAP at 10 berries (50g), and sorbitol is the driver. What makes them stand out is how little food that is: the tested serving is a small number of berries, not a bowlful, and it is already high. The published data has one rung, 10 berries (50g), and there is no lower tested serving, so blackberry is not a fruit that comes into range at a smaller helping. Anywhere blackberries turn up, they tend to be the highest sorbitol item on the plate.

What changes your risk

• One tested serving, already high The ladder has a single rung, 10 berries (50g), and it is high. Nothing published tests fewer berries, so there is no tested portion of blackberry that sits lower.
• Frozen mixed berries Bags sold as mixed berries, summer fruits or forest fruits almost always include blackberries alongside strawberries and raspberries, which is how they end up in smoothies, porridge and baking without being chosen. The ingredient list on the back is the only way to tell.
• Blending and freezing change nothing Sorbitol is not destroyed by the blender, the freezer or the oven. A blackberry smoothie or a warmed berry compote carries what the berries carried.
• Jam, coulis and syrup concentrate them These take a lot of fruit and reduce it into a spoonful, so a blackberry jam or sauce packs far more berries into a serving than eating them whole would. Freeze-dried blackberry powder does the same thing by removing the water.
• Stacking with other sorbitol foods Apricot, plum, peach, nectarine, apple and pear all carry sorbitol, and so do sugar-free gum, mints and sweets made with sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol or isomalt. Berries are usually eaten alongside other fruit, which is exactly how sorbitol adds up in one sitting.

Swaps

Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are low FODMAP and fill the fresh berry role directly, on yoghurt, in porridge, on a pavlova or eaten as they are. For the deep colour and slight tartness blackberries bring to a crumble, a pie filling or a sauce, blueberries and raspberries together get you close. Pair them with lactose-free yoghurt or lactose-free milk rather than ordinary yoghurt or cream, so the swap does not trade one subgroup for another, and sweeten with maple syrup, table sugar or rice malt syrup instead of honey or agave. Do not reach for apricot, plum, peach, nectarine or pear as the stand-in, since they carry the same sorbitol as blackberry.

How to lower the load

Buy single-variety frozen fruit, so a bag of frozen raspberries or blueberries rather than a mixed berry blend, and check the ingredients on any bag that names its contents loosely. The same applies to jams and compotes labelled mixed berry or forest fruits, and to breakfast granola and yoghurt pots with a berry layer. Eating out, berry bowls, cafe smoothies, cheesecake toppings and garnishes on desserts are where blackberries appear uninvited, and a single berry placed as decoration is easy to set aside. If you pick wild brambles in late summer or grow them in the garden, it is worth deciding in advance what the rest of the household does with them, since there is no published serving that brings them into range for you.

Common questions

are blackberries low fodmap

No. The only tested serving, 10 berries (50g), is high, and sorbitol is the reason.

how many blackberries can you eat on low fodmap

There is no published serving of blackberry that comes in low or moderate. 10 berries (50g) is the tested amount and it is already high.

is blackberry high in sorbitol

Sorbitol is the only subgroup recorded for blackberry, and it is what puts 10 berries (50g) in the high range.

what berries are low fodmap

Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are low FODMAP and fill the same role as blackberries in a bowl, a smoothie or a bake. Check frozen mixed berry bags, since blackberries are usually in the blend.