Overview
About Turnip root
The turnip root is the pale, purple shouldered bulb of Brassica rapa, and on our grades it is one of the mildest vegetables in the brassica family.
It is low across every FODMAP column, clean of gluten, lactose, nightshades, sulfites and caffeine, and only moderate on the handful of things it registers at all: histamine, tyramine, salicylate, oxalate, nickel and free glutamate. That combination makes it genuinely useful as a mashing and roasting vegetable when the usual suspects are out, because unlike potato it is not a nightshade and it does not carry potato's oxalate load. The oxalate that turnip has a reputation for is mostly in the leaves, which we grade as a separate food.
Sensitivities
How Turnip root scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Graded low on fructans, polyols and overall FODMAPs, but it is still a fibrous brassica: a whole tray of roasted turnip can produce wind by fermentation alone, which is why it is only middling for SIBO protocols
- Moderate rather than absent on histamine, tyramine, salicylate, nickel and free glutamate. Nothing high, but enough that a very sensitive eater should log portion size instead of treating it as a free food
- Moderate oxalate. Lower than potato and far lower than the leafy tops, but not a zero
- What goes on it usually matters more than the turnip: butter and cream, stock cubes and yeast extract in the mash, or onion and garlic softened into it will outweigh anything the root itself carries
- If your bunch came with the greens attached, the tops are a different food with a different profile. Do not log them as one entry
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Turnip root
Is turnip root low FODMAP?
Yes as we grade it: fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides, excess fructose and polyols all come out low for the root. That makes it one of the more flexible root vegetables during an elimination phase. As with any vegetable, hold to a normal serving rather than a whole roasting tray, since bulk fibre can cause symptoms that have nothing to do with FODMAPs.
Is turnip a nightshade?
No. Turnip is a brassica, related to cabbage, mustard and rocket, with no glycoalkaloid content at all. It grades clean on nightshade, which is exactly why mashed or roasted turnip is a common stand in for potato: potato is both a nightshade and high in oxalate, and the turnip root is neither.
What is the difference between a turnip and a swede or rutabaga?
They are different species. The turnip is Brassica rapa, small, white fleshed and peppery, while swede or rutabaga is Brassica napus, larger, yellow fleshed and sweeter. Both are mild, but they are graded separately here, and rutabaga carries slightly more FODMAP load than the turnip root does.
Do turnip root and turnip greens trigger the same things?
Not quite. The root is the milder half and grades low on FODMAPs, while the greens carry the oxalate, the vitamin K and the sulfurous bite. If you have reacted to "turnip" in the past, check which part you actually ate, because the two go into a food journal as separate entries for good reason.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.