Fig (fresh)
Fruits · Other Fruits
One small fig, about 40 g, is rated amber, and two medium figs, 100 g, are rated red. What sets figs apart is the group behind that rating: fructans, the same FODMAP that keeps wheat, onion and garlic off the list, rather than the fruit sugars that catch out most fruit. A fig has more in common with the bread bin than with the fruit bowl.
Last updated 4 September 2026Serving sizes for fig (fresh)
One small fig (40 g) is amber; two medium figs (100 g) are red. Fructans lead.
Tested serving sizes
| Serving | Amount | Main FODMAP | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 small fig | 40 g | Fructans 0.18 g | |
| 2 medium figs | 100 g | Fructans 0.45 g |
Breakdown for 0.8 figs
Is fig (fresh) low FODMAP?
Fructans are chains of fructose units joined by a bond the human gut has no enzyme for, so they arrive in the colon intact and are fermented there by everyone, sensitive or not. One small fig carries 0.18 g of them, in the moderate band above 0.1 g, with 0.12 g of excess fructose beside it. Two figs lift the fructans to 0.45 g, past the 0.3 g high line, and the fructose to 0.3 g. Sorbitol, mannitol, lactose and GOS are all absent, so the rating rests on an oligosaccharide rather than a polyol.
Fig (fresh) and IBS: what to know
Because fructans do the damage, figs stack with the parts of the diet that are already hardest. A fig on a cheese board after a lunch of sandwiches meets a fructan load well under way, while the same fig after a rice-based dinner starts much lower down. It also means a bad reaction to figs may tell you something you already knew from bread and onion, rather than opening a new line of enquiry. Fresh figs have a short season and bruise within days, which is how a punnet gets finished in one sitting.
Gut-friendly ways to eat fig (fresh)
A fig quartered goes considerably further than a fig eaten whole: a quarter each on four pieces of toast with ricotta, or torn through a salad with rocket and something salty, keeps the portion where the data has it. When you want that jammy sweetness in bulk instead, 15 grapes, 75 g, are rated green, and a tablespoon of dried cranberries scattered over the same salad does a similar job. Fig jam holds its own entry here and is rated red, so the spread is no way around the fruit.
Frequently asked questions
Are fresh figs low FODMAP?
Not at any amount that has been tested. The smallest portion measured is one small fig and it is already amber, with two figs rated red. Amber means a food to try carefully once you are past a strict elimination phase, watching what follows, rather than one to eat freely. Half a fig has no figure attached to it, so it is a sensible thing to try under guidance rather than a known safe serve.
Why are figs high FODMAP when other fruit is fine?
Because the group is a different one. Most fruit that causes trouble does it through excess fructose or sorbitol, which are a single sugar and a sugar alcohol respectively. Figs lead with fructans, which are chains rather than single units, and the same molecules turn up in wheat, rye, onion and garlic. That is why a fig can go badly for someone who handles grapes and strawberries without any bother.
Are dried figs the same as fresh figs?
No, and this entry does not cover them. Taking the water out leaves the fructans behind in a far smaller piece, so a dried fig carries what a much larger fresh one held, in a chewy lump about the size of a walnut. There is no tested serve for dried figs here, which makes scaling these numbers by weight in your head guesswork. Fig rolls and fig bars are built on the dried version.
Is fig jam low FODMAP?
Fig jam has a separate entry in this guide and is rated red there, which is what you would expect of a spread that concentrates several figs into a jar and then adds sugar. Boiling drives off water and leaves the fructans more tightly packed; it does not remove them. If you are building a cheese board, fruit pastes and chutneys deserve the same suspicion as the jam.
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