Borage

Low FODMAP

Serving sizes

Borage changes rating with portion size. Its rating is estimated from what it is made of, so the servings are described rather than weighed.

Small serving Low
Large serving Moderate

Borage is Low FODMAP, a watery leafy herb-vegetable with very little fermentable sugar to stir up trouble.

Borage is mostly water, fiber, and minerals, so it stays low at a small serving and climbs to moderate at a large serving as the overall FODMAP load builds up.
It shows up as fresh leaves, flowers, and in cooking as a spinach-like green, and a modest culinary handful sits comfortably in the low range.

Use borage as a leafy accent in soups or salads and keep to a small-to-moderate serving to stay easy on your gut.

Why borage is rated low

Borage is low FODMAP overall, and that rating is estimated from what the plant is made of rather than from a measured serving. Its ladder has two steps: a Small serving reads low, and a Large serving climbs to moderate. The data does not point to one particular FODMAP group behind that climb, so the useful way to read it is about amount. The total load of the leaves builds as the pile on your plate grows. Borage is low as a Small serving, not low at any amount.

What changes your risk

Serving size A Small serving is where borage stays low. A Large serving is rated moderate, so a bowl built mostly from borage leaves is no longer the same answer.
Cooking shrinks the leaves Borage collapses when wilted or simmered, much like spinach, so a cooked portion can hold far more leaves than it looks. Cooking does not break FODMAPs down. It only changes how much fits on your fork.
The rest of the meal The rating is per serving, not per meal. When borage shares a plate with foods that carry their own FODMAP load, such as ordinary wheat pasta, beans or a cream sauce, the meal's total is what counts, and a Large serving of borage adds to it.
Soups, stocks and fillings Borage often goes into soups and into fillings for ravioli and savoury pies. Stock cubes and soup bases often contain onion and garlic, and fillings are often bound with ricotta. Those hidden ingredients can outweigh the borage itself.
Simmering liquid If borage is boiled and the water poured away, some water-soluble FODMAPs leave with it. If it simmers in a soup and you eat the broth, whatever leached out is still in the bowl.

What else works

If borage is hard to find, baby spinach is the closest everyday low FODMAP green for wilting into soups and fillings, and bok choy works well in a stir-fry. For the fresh, cucumber-like note that young borage leaves bring to a salad, cucumber itself does the job, and chives add a green lift without onion. The lookalikes to watch are the dishes borage turns up in rather than other greens: a ravioli or pie filling bound with ricotta, an ordinary wheat pasta casing, or a soup built on a stock with onion and garlic. None of those share borage's low rating.

How to keep it low

Pick borage while the leaves are young and tender. Older leaves turn coarse and bristly, and chopping them finely or wilting them softens the texture. Store unwashed leaves wrapped in a damp towel in the fridge and use them soon, because they wilt fast. The blue flowers are edible and make a pretty garnish for salads and drinks. Use borage as an accent rather than the base of a dish, and when you make a soup or filling, build the flavour with garlic-infused oil, chives, the green tops of spring onions and an onion-free stock so the meal around the borage stays low too.

Common questions

is borage low fodmap

Yes. Borage is rated low FODMAP overall, estimated from what it is made of. A Small serving reads low and a Large serving reads moderate, so it works best as an accent and is not unlimited.

can you eat borage on the low fodmap elimination phase

A Small serving fits, since it rates low. A Large serving is rated moderate, so keep borage as a supporting ingredient and check what it is cooked with.

does cooking borage change its fodmap rating

Cooking does not break FODMAPs down. Wilting shrinks the leaves, so a cooked portion can hold far more borage than it looks. In a soup, any water-soluble FODMAPs that leach out stay in the broth you eat.

what can i use instead of borage

Baby spinach is the easiest low FODMAP swap for cooked borage. Cucumber or chives cover its fresh flavour in a salad.

Learn more

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

Borage is an estimated rating: it is inferred from the food's ingredients and composition and cross-checked, not measured directly in the papers below. The low, moderate and high cutoffs are still those of Varney et al. (2017).

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.