Ginger
Tested serving
- About 1 teaspoon (5g)
Ginger is Low FODMAP at about 1 teaspoon (5g), an easy way to add warmth and zing to your cooking.
- At about 1 teaspoon (5g), no FODMAP group reaches a meaningful level, so ginger sits low.
- It is usually used in small amounts as a flavor accent in stir-fries, teas, marinades and baking, where a little goes a long way.
Grate it fresh into cooking or steep slices in hot water for a warming brew.
Why ginger is rated low
Fresh ginger is Low FODMAP at about 1 teaspoon (5g) grated, which is good news for anyone who cooks with warmth and heat, because that is roughly what a recipe actually asks for in a single portion. No single FODMAP group stands out in ginger: it is not that one group sits just under a threshold, it is that nothing is elevated at that amount, and a much larger helping simply adds to the overall FODMAP load. What that rating does not cover is a processed ginger product or the sauce the ginger went into. Low at the normal serve is not the same as unlimited.
What changes your risk
- Serving size The low serve is about 1 teaspoon (5g) grated. A dish built on a great deal more ginger than that per portion adds to the overall FODMAP load, so the per-plate amount is worth a thought.
- Drying concentrates what is left Drying removes the water and concentrates everything still in the food, so ground dried ginger is not interchangeable spoon for spoon with fresh grated ginger. The serve on this page describes fresh ginger, grated.
- The sauce, not the root Ginger rarely arrives alone. Stir fry sauces, curry pastes, marinades, teriyaki, laksa paste and bought dressings routinely carry onion and garlic, which bring a FODMAP load to the plate that the ginger itself never had. Read those labels rather than the ginger.
- Stacking across the whole meal A low rating applies to the serving, not the meal. A ginger stir fry is usually only as low as everything else in the wok, so the total FODMAP load of the rice, the vegetables, the sauce and the sides is what decides how the meal lands.
- Ginger products are their own question Crystallised ginger, pickled ginger, ginger cordial and ginger drinks carry sugars, syrups and other ingredients that the fresh grated root says nothing about. Judge each of those on its own ingredient list.
What else works
Ginger is already one of the easy ones, so the useful thing is knowing what sits beside it. Chives, the green tops of spring onions, leek leaves, fresh chilli, black pepper, lemon and lime zest, turmeric and garlic infused oil all bring flavour to the same dishes without loading the plate. The lookalikes worth separating out are the processed ginger forms: candied or crystallised ginger is a sugared dried product rather than the fresh root, and bought ginger garlic paste is exactly what its name says, a jar in which the garlic travels with the ginger. Onion and garlic themselves are never the gentler option in a ginger dish, whatever the recipe suggests, so reach for garlic infused oil and a pinch of asafoetida instead.
How to keep it low
Buy ginger in a piece with taut, shiny skin rather than wrinkled, fibrous ends, and keep it in the freezer, where it grates straight from frozen on a fine grater with the skin left on. Freezing changes nothing about the FODMAP content, it just makes the root easier to portion, which is the point: grating lets you measure to about 1 teaspoon (5g) where hacking coins off a knob does not. If a recipe wants a large amount of ginger for a whole pot, work out how many servings that pot makes before deciding how much lands on one plate. When ordering, ask for a stir fry made with ginger, chilli and soy rather than the house sauce, since the house sauce is usually where the onion and garlic are.
Common questions
is ginger low fodmap
Yes. Fresh ginger is Low FODMAP at about 1 teaspoon (5g) grated, with no single FODMAP group standing out at that serving.
how much ginger can i have on a low fodmap diet
About 1 teaspoon (5g) grated is low. A much larger amount adds to the overall FODMAP load, so that is the serving to work to.
can i drink ginger tea on the elimination phase
Fresh ginger steeped in hot water is just the root and water, so the question is how much ginger goes in and what else is added. Bagged ginger blends and bottled ginger drinks carry other ingredients that need reading on their own.
is ground ginger the same as fresh ginger for fodmaps
They are not interchangeable spoon for spoon. Drying removes water and concentrates what remains, and the serve of about 1 teaspoon (5g) describes fresh ginger, grated.
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Where this rating comes from
Ginger is rated from published lab measurements of its FODMAP content, using the low, moderate and high cutoffs of Varney et al. (2017).
Feedback sent through the FODMAP Foods app has led to changes in this list.
Sources
- 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 high-performance liquid chromatography (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 between healthy individuals and patients with irritable bowel syndrome. 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.
Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.