Cucumber

Why cucumber is rated low

Cucumber is low FODMAP at about ⅓ medium (75g), a good handful of slices for a salad or sandwich. The FODMAP it carries is excess fructose, meaning it has more fructose than glucose, and that surplus climbs with the portion: larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. The gap between comfortable and too much is shorter than many people assume for a watery vegetable, and a whole cucumber sliced into one bowl goes past it easily.

What changes your risk

• A handful versus a whole cucumber About ⅓ medium (75g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. Slicing up a whole cucumber for one salad bowl takes you past the low serving.
• Juicing Cucumber juice and green juices pack the excess fructose of several cucumbers into one glass, far beyond ⅓ medium (75g).
• Stacking excess fructose A honey dressing, mango salsa or apple slices beside the cucumber all add excess fructose to the same meal, even when the cucumber itself stays at ⅓ medium (75g).
• Pickles and dips Pickled cucumbers are a different product with their own rating, and tzatziki and many pickle brines carry garlic, with tzatziki also built on ordinary yoghurt.

What else works

For crunch and freshness beyond about ⅓ medium (75g), zucchini ribbons, carrots, green beans and baby spinach all fill a salad without adding more excess fructose. Bok choy works in a stir fry where cucumber might be used for crunch. The lookalikes that are not the same: cucumber juice, which concentrates the vegetable, bottled pickles, which are a separate product, and tzatziki, which usually carries garlic and ordinary yoghurt.

How to keep it low

Weigh about ⅓ medium (75g) of slices once so you know what it looks like, then wrap the rest of the cucumber for later rather than slicing the whole thing into one bowl. Peel into ribbons or slice thinly: the plate looks fuller for the same weight. For a cucumber dip, stir it into lactose-free yoghurt with dill, lemon and a splash of garlic-infused oil instead of fresh garlic, and dress salads with oil and vinegar rather than honey.

Common questions

how much cucumber can i eat on low fodmap

The low serving is about ⅓ medium (75g). Cucumber is moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions.

is cucumber high in fructose

Cucumber carries excess fructose. It stays low at about ⅓ medium (75g), but the surplus fructose makes it moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions.

is cucumber juice low fodmap

Juice concentrates the fructose of several cucumbers into one glass, so it goes well beyond the ⅓ medium (75g) serving for whole cucumber.

is tzatziki low fodmap

Usually not. It is typically made with garlic and ordinary yoghurt, so a version with lactose-free yoghurt, about ⅓ medium (75g) of cucumber and garlic-infused oil is the better route.