Orange Juice

Why orange juice is rated low

Orange juice is low FODMAP at 1 cup (250mL), and the record lists no raised FODMAP subgroup for it at that serving, so a standard glass is a genuinely easy choice on this diet. Juice still deserves a careful read, though, because juicing changes the food: it puts the sugars of several oranges into one glass and leaves the fibre behind in the press. That is why the glass is what gets tested rather than the fruit. Only 1 cup (250mL) has been tested here, so larger pours and free refills sit outside what the data covers.

What changes your risk

• Serving size 1 cup (250mL) is the tested amount and the only one. A tall cafe glass or a second pour at breakfast takes you past what the published serving data speaks to.
• Juicing itself Squeezing fruit concentrates its sugars into liquid and removes the fibre, which is why juice and whole fruit are treated as different foods on this diet. Freshly squeezed at home and bottled juice are the same story in this respect.
• Blends and juice drinks A carton labelled orange can still be a blend. Apple juice, pear juice and high fructose corn syrup are common sweeteners in juice drinks and multifruit blends, and any of them makes the carton a different product from plain orange juice.
• Stacking across the meal A low rating is per serving, not per meal. A glass of juice next to other foods that are each sitting near their own limits builds a larger total FODMAP load for that sitting, so it is easier to spread drinks and servings across the day.

What else works

Whole oranges and mandarins fill the same citrus role and bring the fibre that juicing removes, and kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, pineapple and cantaloupe round out the fruit side of breakfast. The lookalikes are where care is needed: apple juice and pear juice are not low FODMAP swaps, mango and watermelon are not the fruit to reach for, and multifruit blends or juice drinks sweetened with apple or pear concentrate or with high fructose corn syrup are a different proposition from a plain glass of orange. If you want the drink to go further, water is the honest way to stretch it rather than topping the glass back up.

How to keep it low

Pour 1 cup (250mL) into a measuring jug once and then into your usual glass, so you know by eye what the tested serving actually looks like at your own table, because most everyday tumblers hold more than people assume. Buying, check that the ingredients list reads as orange juice rather than a blend, and treat not from concentrate and from concentrate as the same for these purposes. At a cafe, ask for the small glass and skip bottomless refills, and at a hotel breakfast pour it yourself rather than taking the pre filled tall glass. If juice is a daily habit, one glass in the morning leaves room in the day's total for everything else.

Common questions

is orange juice low fodmap

Yes. Orange juice is low FODMAP at 1 cup (250mL), with no raised FODMAP subgroup recorded at that serving.

how much orange juice can i drink on a low fodmap diet

1 cup (250mL) is the tested serving and it is low. Larger glasses have not been tested, so keeping to that measure is what the data supports.

is orange juice worse than eating an orange

They are different foods on this diet. Juicing puts the sugars of several oranges into one glass and leaves the fibre behind, which is why the juice is tested by the glass, while a whole orange stays an easy fruit choice.

can i drink orange juice on the elimination phase

Yes, at 1 cup (250mL) of plain orange juice. Check the carton is not a blend, since apple or pear juice and high fructose corn syrup turn it into a different drink.