Toots & Trots

Toots & Trots / FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The short version: Toots & Trots is a transparent guide to how gentle foods are likely to be on a sensitive gut — a modelled estimate, not medical advice.

The basics

Is Toots & Trots medical advice?
No. Toots & Trotsis an independent, informational tool. We're not doctors making clinical claims, and the scores are modelled estimates — our opinion of how foods may affect gut comfort — not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Always work with your own clinical team, especially for new or worsening symptoms.
What does the score actually mean?
Each food is rated on a 0–10 scale where lower is gentler. It estimates the short-term “gut load” of a normal serving — how likely it is to cause gas, urgency, irritation or loose/coarse output. A traffic-light band (green / yellow / orange / red) sums that up at a glance. See how it works for the full method.
What do the letters G, A, S, P and B mean?
Gas, Agitation (irritation/urgency), Stool-loosening, Particle load (coarse residue), and Binding (the protective, output-thickening axis). The first four are risks; binding works in your favour. Full breakdown on the how-it-works page.
Is it free?
Yes — browsing and scoring foods and meals is free, and you don't need an account.

Reading the scores

Does a low score mean a food is safe for me?
No — and this is the most important thing to understand. A low score means a food is generally gentler for most sensitive guts. Tolerance is deeply individual and changes over time. Treat a low score as a good place to start, reintroduce foods one at a time, and trust your own body over our number.
If a sauce scores low, can I have as much as I want?
No. The score is for a normal serving— a tablespoon of sauce, a teaspoon of spice. A low number on fish sauce is correct for a splash, but a whole bowl of it is a different thing. That's why low-but-concentrated foods carry a “don't scale it up” note, and alcoholic drinks never show green no matter how low the number.
Why does cooking or preparation change the score?
Because it genuinely changes how a food behaves. Boiling and draining leaches out water-soluble fermentable carbs; powdering concentrates them; infused oils carry flavour without much of the burden; raw and peel-on forms add coarse residue. We score each form separately, as an adjustment — never as a guarantee that “cooked = safe”.
Why score per serving instead of per 100 g?
Per-100 g works for rice and carrots but breaks for seasonings — nobody eats 100 g of onion powder. Scoring against a realistic reference serving keeps potent small-quantity foods honest and stops big-volume foods from looking artificially risky.

Calories & living without a colon

Without a colon, am I absorbing fewer calories from my food?
Usually not — for most everyday foods. Most of the calories in sugar, white starches (rice, bread, pasta), fats and protein are absorbed up in your small intestine, which you still have. Your colon's main jobs were reclaiming water and salt, and salvaging a little extra energy from fibre and resistant starch your small intestine didn't break down. So “no colon” doesn't automatically mean every meal gives you fewer calories. (A modelled, general explanation — not medical advice.)
So where does the difference actually show up?
Mostly in hydration and output, not in your everyday calories. The bigger gaps tend to come from foods that rely on fermentation — high-fibre, resistant-starch or fibre-fortified foods (green-banana starch, bran-heavy cereals, fibre bars) — and during times when your output is fast or watery. That's why we look at both the type of foodand your own output and tolerance pattern, rather than your surgery label alone. It's also why a gentle, lower-residue meal can still nourish you well.
I'm losing weight — what should I do?
If you're losing weight, getting dehydrated, or having very high or watery output, your real absorption may be lower than usual — and you may need more calories, more fluids, or a different mix of foods. Use your weight trend, output and how you feel as your reality check, and talk to your clinician or dietitian if things change quickly.

Trust & accuracy

How accurate is this? Where do the numbers come from?
They're built from FODMAP food-composition data, J-pouch/ostomy and IBD/IBS dietary guidance, gut-gas physiology and USDA nutrient data — combined with reasoned modelling where the evidence runs out. Every food carries a confidence grade (A–D) so we're honest about what's well-supported versus an educated guess. It's good enough to rank and compare foods; it is not laboratory-grade.
Why don't your scores match Monash or my dietitian?
Most FODMAP tools answer “how fermentable is this carbohydrate?” We try to answer a broader question — “how will a serving of this affect gut comfort overall?” — which folds in fat, capsaicin, caffeine, coarse residue and binding too. Different question, sometimes different answer. Where we made a judgement call, we say so.
Is the lowest-scoring diet the healthiest one?
No. A low-GASP diet predicts short-term symptomcomfort, which is not the same as long-term nutrition. A very restricted low-residue pattern can be the right move early after surgery or during a flare, but most people should broaden toward a varied, Mediterranean-leaning diet as they settle. That's why the tool has both an Adaptation mode and a Long-Term Health mode. See eating green isn't the whole diet for the gaps to watch and how to fill them.
Who made Toots & Trots — are you medical professionals?
Toots & Trotsis an independent project, not a medical service. It was built by someone living with a J-pouch who wanted a transparent way to compare foods. We lean on published research but we don't claim clinical authority — the tool is our considered opinion, offered for you to use as you see fit.

AI & how we made this

Are the recipe photos AI-generated?
Yes — and we're upfront about that. Professional food photography costs thousands of dollars and days of studio time. Our goal is to help people with pouches live a full, satisfying life, and spending that on getting the perfect shot of a rice bowl isn't the best use of what we have. The photos are visual context, not instructions — they're there to make the page feel warm and appealing. The recipe itself tells you everything you need to cook it. We use Claude and ChatGPT to generate them, and yes, they sometimes look a little AI-ish. We'd rather be honest about that than pretend otherwise.
Is this just AI slop? Did a machine make up all the scores?
No — and this is worth explaining properly. The scoring model was built by a person living with a J-pouch, drawing on published research: USDA FoodData Central nutrient data, Monash University FODMAP research, published IBD and J-pouch dietary guidance, and gut physiology literature. AI was used to help process and cross-reference large datasets quickly — analysing hundreds of foods, flagging gaps, and helping surface patterns — but every scoring decision was checked against real data sources and human judgement. The scores are our considered estimates, not hallucinations. Where the evidence is thin, we say so (that's what the A–D confidence grade is for). Recipe content is AI-assisted and then edited; the scoring is human-curated.
What sources did you draw on to build the model?
The main ones:
  • USDA FoodData Central — nutrient composition database, the backbone of our fibre, fat, and carb figures.
  • Monash University Low FODMAP Diet — the gold standard for fermentable carbohydrate thresholds and serving sizes.
  • Crohn's & Colitis Foundation — dietary guidance and IBD research summaries.
  • Crohn's & Colitis UK — practical guidance including low-residue and post-surgery eating.
  • Published clinical literature on J-pouch function, dietary fibre and gut transit, capsaicin and gut motility, osmotic effects of carbohydrates, and fat-stimulated bile output.

The information on this site is our own synthesis and interpretation — we're not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these organisations. Use them as starting points for your own reading.

Personalising & privacy

Can I tailor the scores to me?
Yes. Set your sensitivities (lactose, fat, caffeine, spice, fibre, FODMAPs and more) and the scores bend around them, with the base score still visible. You can also note diet filters and per-food adjustments. Start on the profile page.
Does it handle food allergies?
We labelcommon allergens on foods so you can spot them, but we deliberately don't let you “block” an allergen. We score generic foods from AI-suggested tags and can never guarantee a real product is free of an allergen. For a diagnosed allergy, the product label and your medical advice are the authority — always.
Is my data private?
Yes. Your profile lives in your own browser (local storage) — no account, no sign-up, and it isn't sent to us. Clearing your browser data clears your profile.
Who is the tool for?
People managing a sensitive or surgically-altered gut: J-pouches, ileostomies/stomas, Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, IBS and anyone following a low-FODMAP approach. Each group can use it a little differently — see who it's for.
How the scores are built →Who it's for →Browse food scores →