Lemon Juice

Why lemon juice is rated low

Lemon juice is low at about 1 tablespoon (20mL), and at that serve no FODMAP group reaches a meaningful level. Larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high, as the fructans in the juice build. Juice is worth thinking about differently from whole fruit, because juicing puts the sugars of the fruit into liquid form and leaves the fibre behind, which is why the serve here is a liquid measure rather than pieces of fruit. Used the way lemon juice normally gets used, a spoonful stirred through a dressing, squeezed over fish or added to water, it stays in the low range.

What changes your risk

• Serving size, spooned not poured About 1 tablespoon (20mL) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. A spoonful over a salad is in the low range, but a tall glass of lemonade made with a lot of juice is a different matter.
• Juicing concentrates the fruit The juice of a lemon is what you get once the flesh and fibre are left behind, so juice behaves differently from eating a piece of fruit. That is the reason the serve here is written as a liquid measure.
• Stacking across the meal Lemon juice shares fructans with wheat, onion and garlic, so what matters is the overall FODMAP load of the meal it lands in. Lemon dressing on a salad, lemon in the marinade and lemon in the drink is three servings of the same thing in one sitting on top of everything else on the plate.
• What else is in the bottle or the glass Sweetened lemonade, lemon cordials and lemon drinks often carry honey or added syrups, and those, not the lemon, are what push the drink out of range. Plain lemon juice with nothing added is the form this serve describes.
• The company it keeps in dressings Lemon juice is usually whisked into something, and that something often contains garlic or onion. The troublesome parts of garlic do not dissolve into oil, so a garlic infused oil with no solid pieces left in it gives the same flavour, and chives or the green tops of spring onions can carry the rest.

What else works

For brightness and acidity, lemon juice at about 1 tablespoon (20mL) is itself the low option, so the useful move is usually to lean on flavour rather than volume: garlic infused oil, chives, the green tops of spring onions and fresh herbs build a dressing without adding more juice. Plain vinegars fill the same acidic role. What should not be treated as an equivalent splash of fruit flavour is apple juice or pear juice, which concentrate exactly what makes those fruits a problem, or honey and agave syrup in a lemon drink. Sweetened lemonade and bottled lemon drinks are a different product from plain lemon juice, whatever the picture on the front says.

How to keep it low

Spoon out 1 tablespoon (20mL) once so you can see what it looks like next to a squeeze from your lemon. Juice a whole lemon, keep it in a small jar in the fridge and spread it across several dishes over the next few days. Freezing juice in an ice cube tray in tablespoon amounts gives you a pre portioned splash for cooking, and freezing does not change the FODMAP content either way. Note that the serve covers the juice, not the whole fruit or the zest, so those are separate questions. When buying bottled, read the label and pick plain lemon juice rather than a lemon drink with added sweeteners.

Common questions

how much lemon juice is low fodmap

About 1 tablespoon (20mL) is low. Lemon juice reaches moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions, so a spoonful in cooking or a dressing is the amount to plan around.

can i drink lemon water on a low fodmap diet

Yes. A glass of water made with about 1 tablespoon (20mL) of lemon juice is low. Sweetening it with honey is what changes the picture, rather than the lemon.

is bottled lemon juice ok or does it have to be fresh

Plain bottled lemon juice with nothing added is treated the same way as fresh. The thing to check on the label is added sweeteners rather than the lemon.

can i use lemon juice in the elimination phase

Yes, at about 1 tablespoon (20mL) it is low FODMAP and it is a straightforward way to add flavour during elimination. Tolerance is individual, and any reintroduction is best worked through with a dietitian.