Note: This post was last updated in Feb 2024. Did you know that after water, tea is the world’s most popular beverage? Certain teas can even have health benefits, including for digestion! In this post, I will explain the health benefits and discuss the FODMAP content of tea.
Health Benefits of Teas
Research shows that certain tea ingredients can help improve digestive symptoms. Ginger may help improve nausea. Peppermint can soothe the gut and reduce cramping. Additionally, drinking tea is relaxing. Reducing anxiety and stress can help digestive symptoms.
Most teas are sugar-free. Teas are a healthy and flavourful way to boost your hydration. Staying hydrated is essential for a healthy gut! I recommend checking the ingredients list to look for added sugars.
Teas with caffeine can help improve constipation and stimulate a bowel movement. But, they can also trigger diarrhea in people with IBS-D or IBS-M.
Beware of extreme health claims. Some “detox” teas claim to make you lose large amounts of weight. Those teas often contain laxatives and/or diuretics, and I do not recommend them. Laxative ingredients include senna leaves/pods, cassia chamaecrista pods, and rhubarb. Diuretic ingredients make you urinate more and include nettle leaves and dandelion leaves.
Laxatives may cause diarrhea and dehydration. They do not burn fat or lead to long-term weight loss. Use caution when you see “detox ” teas.
FODMAP Content of Tea
Some teas contain FODMAPs, despite being mostly calorie-free. FODMAPs are water soluble and can leach from the tea leaves into the water.
There are a large number of teas available around the world. There is also a lot of variability due to growing conditions and processing methods. Due to this high variability, it is also difficult to test the FODMAP content of teas.
Monash University classifies foods as low, medium or high FODMAP. |Serving size is key. Some teas at 250 mL (1 cup) are only classified as low when weakly infused (tea bag immersed in water for 1-2 minutes). Some are only high when strongly infused (tea bag immersed in hot water for approx. 3-5 minutes).
Many teas have not been tested yet. I recommend checking the Monash app regularly for updates!
Low FODMAP teas include:
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green
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matcha
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rooibos
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peppermint
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white
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buchu
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honeybush
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licorice
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epazote (aka mexican tea)
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weak black (infused 1-2 min)
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weak chai (infused 1-2 min)
These teas are high in FODMAPs, specifically fructans:
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strong black (infused 3-5 min)
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strong chai (infused 3-5 min)
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strong dandelion (infused 3-5 min)
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fennel
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oolong
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chrysanthemum
Teas made with high FODMAP foods may be high FODMAP. For example, avoid teas with pieces of dried apples, pears, peaches, etc.
What about other untested teas, such as other herbal teas and Pu-erh? Treat untested foods/beverages as high FODMAP until you have finished reintroducing foods.
There is some confusion around black tea. Srong black tea is moderate in fructans. However, strong black tea with added milk is low. Why is this? The researchers measured 250 mL (1 cup) of each tea mixture. Therefore, the tea with added milk contained less than 250 mL of tea, because the milk replaced some of the tea. This lower serving size lowered the fructan content. We can learn from this example how important serving size is for FODMAP content.
What about iced teas? Many iced teas are made using black teas and likely would contain fructans. If you are an iced tea fan, look for ones made using low FODMAP teas like green and rooibos teas.
So, What Teas Should I Drink on the Low FODMAP diet?
My general recommendation for those who are starting the diet is to drink teas found to be low FODMAP by Monash. Choose ones that do not contain added FODMAPs or flavours made from high FODMAP foods (such as honey).
During the reintroduction phase, you can test your tolerance to each of the FODMAPs. If you find during reintroduction that you can tolerate some fructans, you will likely be fine with the high fructan teas. You can also individually test your tolerance to teas that have not been tested by Monash.
For individualized advice, I recommend working one-on-one with a dietitian.
Other Considerations for Tea and Digestive Symptoms
FODMAP content is not the only thing we should consider. We need to be aware of what we put in our tea.
Sweeteners such as honey and agave are high in fructose, but maple syrup and white sugar are low. A tablespoon of milk is low in lactose, but larger servings will be high. I personally like lots of milk in black tea, so I use lactose-free milk.
Caffeine is another important factor to consider. Some individuals with IBS may find that caffeine triggers diarrhea. Caffeine-free teas include rooibos/red, herbal, peppermint, chamomile, and decaffeinated black/green teas. White and green tea have low amounts of caffeine. Black teas have moderate amounts, but still typically less than the average cup of coffee. Low caffeine and low FODMAP teas include rooibos, white, green, and peppermint.
Ginger & Maple Tea Recipe
Your reward for reading this long post is this easy tea recipe!
Low FODMAP Fresh Ginger and Maple Tea Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
Key Messages
- Stick to low FODMAP teas during elimination.
- Read tea ingredient lists carefully for added high FODMAP ingredients. Avoid those teas during elimination.
- You can test high FODMAP teas, or untested teas, during reintroduction.
- If caffeine is a symptom trigger, choose teas that have no or little caffeine.
- Add only low FODMAP sweeteners and milks to your tea.
I hope this article was helpful!
Looking for other low FODMAP beverages? Click here for four yummy low FODMAP hot chocolate recipes.
References
- Eat Right Ontario, 2016. https://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Caffeine/Tea-Time.aspx
- Nicole Osinga RD & Colleen Farrell, 2016. https://nicoleosinga.com/2016/09/21/the-truth-about-detox-teas/
- Marx, W. A., Kiss, N. B., & Isenring, L. A. (2015). Is ginger beneficial for nausea and vomiting? An update of the literature. Current Opinion in Supportive & Palliative Care, 9(2),189-195. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25872115
- Eat Right Ontario, 2016. https://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Digestion-Digestive-health/Irritable-Bowel-Syndrome.aspx
- The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App. http://www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/gastro/fodmap/iphone-app.html
- Monash University, 2015. http://fodmapmonash.blogspot.ca/2015/08/faq-strong-tea.html
- Eat Right Ontario, 2016. https://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Caffeine/Facts-on-Caffeine.aspx
Julie says
Great post! I appreciate the thought you put into this. I have been confused by all the information out there on tea — thanks for adding a little clarity to the discussion.
Lauren says
Thanks Julie for your kind comment! I’m so happy this post was helpful for you 🙂
bruno says
Hi,
A little detail about the maple sirup, it contains a lot more of sucrose and sucrose is metabolised in 50/50% of glucose/fructose –> see here http://archive.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/nuttab2010/nuttab2010onlinesearchabledatabase/onlineversion.cfm?&action=getFood&foodID=12A10069
Other important thing, fructosemics must also care to the sucrose starch, for example it is important in the potatoe.14,1g and fructosemics must stay under 3 g / meal…
regards
Daniel says
Hi.
Why do you write that fennel is high FODMAP when most other sites write it’s low FODMAP?
Example 1 (check Low FODMAP food (good to eat food) list in green where fennel is).
https://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/
Example 2 (google search with x number of sites and Google’s own summations)
https://www.google.se/search?ei=k7LgW9vIF-v1qwGvzrWwCg&q=fodmap+fennel+good+or+bad+for+ibs&oq=fodmap+fennel+good+or+bad+for+ibs&gs_l=psy-ab.3…481309.487235..487661…0.0..0.156.1490.25j1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0j0i71j0i22i30j33i160j33i21j33i22i29i30.cL8gnFlxU90
Thanks.
Lauren says
Hi Daniel. This blog post is about types of tea. Monash has fennel tea as high FODMAP. Fennel bulb has a low FODMAP serve and I use it in many soup recipes on my blog.
Daniel Haglund says
Hi again.
Yes, I have since my previous post found many different results from different sites regarding different items. It seems to be hard to find consistent results regarding some of the items since we all seem to be a bit different.
So site A may write these items are low FODMAP and site B says these items are high FODMAP. Then some of the items are the same but low on some sites and high on some other sites. But most items are on the same side of the high/low list thankfully. 🙂
Lauren says
I recommend always using the Monash University Low FODMAP Diet app because it has the most up to date information on FODMAP content 🙂
Aimee says
Great and useful article! I was wondering. I have some pre fodmap teas that have “natural flavors” that I would like to determine as safe or not. What would you recommend asking the manufacturer about? Definitely honey, chicory root, which fruits and veggies, but is there anything else I am missing. Would the fruits and veggies that are safe at small amounts be okay for tea? Much appreciated.
Lauren says
Hi Aimee, I think for teas that are the key foods to ask about. Now that Monash has been testing smaller quantities of fruits and veggies I think it’s safe to assume that any fruit or veggie that has a safe serving size would be fine in tea.
Nikki says
Hi Lauren, thank you for this article!
I was wondering if hibiscus was low in fodmaps as I have googled extensively but can’t seem to find an answer. Hibiscus is in so many herbal teas, especially ones without apple. I’ve also found a yummy tea that contains Manuka leaf as one of its ingredients but can’t seem to find any indication about its fodmap level. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Nikki
Lauren says
Hi Nikki,
I love hibiscus too! I don’t believe it has been tested yet so we don’t know FODMAP content. It is something each individual can try out for themselves. Personally I can drink hibiscus and feel fine! I love iced hibiscus tea.
Atika says
Hi !
If you love Hibiscus, like 100%organic one, you must love the one from VitAfrica.com. It is a bit different and more testy as it comes form Africa! When my friend recommended it to me, I have checked as well if it is low Fodmap but didn’t find out. All I know is that when I drink it, it helps a lot with digestion and belly pain. In general I follow this FodMap diet from Monash App.
Shannon says
Honey works for me! You recommended maple syrup and sugar over honey with tea. Personally, I can tolerate some honey but not maple syrup, table sugar or artificial sweeteners. Honey is the only sweetener that is fully absorbed by the small intestine. All others are only partially broken down and thus, make it to the colon to feed “bad” bacteria. (See SCD diet)
Lauren says
Hi Shannon, thanks for your comment. I am glad honey works for you!
My website is specifically focused on the low FODMAP diet. Honey is high in fructose.
Gayden says
Hi, thank you so much for this informative article. I got more out of this than any of the other articles about tea I’ve found. I’ve just been told by my doctor to test an elimination FODMAP + gluten free diet for a month to determine the cause of my symptoms. Strong black tea is one of my favorite beverages so I think I will miss it for a while 🙁 But glad to know I can substitute green and white to at least have something to sip!
Tony Collings says
Just a word on Chamomile Tea. Monash has stronger infusions listed as high FODMAP. Chamomile is often recommended for it’s soothing effect on the digestive tract/IBS, but some may not tolerate stronger infusions well.