Nerva vs Fodmi: gut-directed hypnotherapy or a low FODMAP app?

Nerva and Fodmi aim at the same IBS symptoms from opposite ends. Nerva is a gut-directed hypnotherapy program: daily 15-minute sessions meant to calm how your gut and brain talk to each other. Fodmi is a low FODMAP meal log: photograph your plate, see its FODMAPs across the six groups, and check in later on how it sat. Both approaches have evidence behind them, and a randomised trial found they helped by a similar amount. The right one depends on whether you’d rather change what you eat or work on how your gut reacts, and that is a good question to take to your doctor or dietitian.

We make Fodmi, so take our view with that in mind. Everything below about Nerva comes from its US App Store listing, which we read on 28 October 2026. Listings and prices change; check the current one before you decide. Neither app is a treatment for IBS on its own; see a doctor for a diagnosis before trying either.

Side by side

	Fodmi	Nerva
Approach	The low FODMAP diet: find which foods and amounts set you off	Gut-directed hypnotherapy: daily sessions for the gut-brain connection
What you do each day	Log meals by photo, voice or text and answer a check-in after eating	A 15-minute audio session
Food	Each meal’s FODMAPs across the six groups; more than 900 foods and a barcode and label scanner	Its listing doesn’t mention food tracking
Symptoms	Check-ins a few hours after each meal, with the Bristol stool scale	Flare-up tools for pain, bloating, constipation, reflux and diarrhoea
Over time	Weekly trends and a PDF report for your doctor	A long-term maintenance plan after the program
Devices	iPhone	iPhone and iPad
Price	Free download, full access by subscription	Free download, 7-day free trial, then a subscription

What Nerva does

Nerva’s listing describes a structured gut-brain program for IBS and other disorders of gut-brain interaction. You listen to daily sessions of about 15 minutes, and there are tools for flare-ups and a maintenance plan for after the program. The listing says the program adapts to your symptoms and progress using AI, and that it was built by a GI psychophysiologist with clinicians, dietitians and researchers.

Its listing cites a randomised controlled trial run at Monash University. Fodmi is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nerva or Monash University.

What the research says

Gut-directed hypnotherapy is a recognised option for IBS. The British Society of Gastroenterology’s guideline and the American College of Gastroenterology’s guideline both include gut-directed psychological therapies, such as hypnotherapy, among the treatments for IBS symptoms.⁴⁵

The trial most relevant to this choice compared the two approaches directly. People with IBS had six weeks of gut-directed hypnotherapy, the low FODMAP diet, or both. Symptoms improved by a similar amount in all three groups, and combining the two added no extra benefit on average.³ That suggests one approach is often enough, and you can pick the one that fits your life.

What Fodmi does

Fodmi starts from the meal on your plate. Take a photo, say what you ate, or type it. Fodmi picks out the ingredients, including hidden garlic and onion, and shows the whole meal across the six FODMAP groups, because FODMAPs from different foods add up. A few hours later it asks how the meal sat, so over a few weeks you can see which foods line up with bad days. You get weekly trends and a PDF report for your doctor or dietitian, and you can look up more than 900 foods with the amount where each stays low (see the food list). It also scans packaged food by barcode or label.

What it doesn’t do: there are no hypnotherapy or relaxation sessions, and it’s iPhone only. How Fodmi works out its answers.

Which should you pick?

• Want to understand which foods and amounts trigger you? Fodmi, alongside the low FODMAP diet.
• Already eat carefully, or find restricting food hard or stressful? Nerva’s sessions don’t ask you to change what you eat.
• Symptoms seem to rise with stress more than with particular meals? Nerva is built around the gut-brain connection.
• Need a record of meals and symptoms for your doctor? Fodmi’s PDF report.
• Not sure? The trial found both helped about equally, so start with the one you’re more likely to keep up, and talk it through with your doctor or dietitian.

If you do try the diet, it works best as a short trial followed by reintroduction, ideally with a dietitian, rather than a permanent restriction. For other apps, see the best low FODMAP apps for iPhone.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nerva a diet app?

No. Nerva’s listing describes a gut-brain program of daily audio sessions and flare-up tools, not food tracking. Fodmi is the one that works out the FODMAPs in your meals.

Is hypnotherapy as good as the low FODMAP diet for IBS?

A 2016 randomised trial found that gut-directed hypnotherapy and the low FODMAP diet improved IBS symptoms by a similar amount, and that combining them added no extra benefit on average. Which suits you is worth discussing with your doctor or dietitian.

Can I use Nerva and Fodmi at the same time?

Yes, they do different things. That trial found no extra benefit from doing both on average, so some people start with one and add the other only if they need to.

How much does Nerva cost?

Its listing shows a free download with a 7-day free trial, then a subscription. Fodmi is a free download with full access by subscription.