The Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet was originally designed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to treat autism, dyspraxia, ADD, dyslexia, ADHD, depression, schizophrenia and other psychological disorders. Because GAPS heals and seals the gut, it has found a following amongst those with celiac, Hashimoto's and other autoimmune disorders. Recent research indicates T2 diabetes may be an autoimmune disorder, thus my experiment of n=1 to see if GAPS improves my health after 25 years as a T2.
The GAPS program was developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride who developed it first to treat her own child (see references below).
The premise of the GAPS program is that people on the autistic spectrum have inflamed gut lymph nodes and colitis resulting in impaired immunity and leaky gut syndrome. Casomorphins (peptides from casein) and gluteomorphins (peptides from gluten) effect the brain causing psychiatric symptoms.
Treatment consists of diet, supplements and detox, intended to heal and seal the gut and restore the immune system.
The basic premise of SCD is that those with gut issues can easily absorb monosaccharides, but not disaccharides or polysaccharides, which are avoided, thus eliminating refined sugar, lactose (most dairy except yogurt), all grains and starches from the diet. Much more information on SCD is available via references.
In a sense, the TF movement was begun by Weston A. Price, a dentist who's curiosity about the lack of dental issues in primitive societies led him to research diet and nutrition and resulted in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. The modern TF movement was begun by Sally Fallon (Morell) and Mary G. Enig who wrote Nourishing Traditions and founded WAPF. The movement has since expanded to non-WAPF groups and has a large Internet presence.
TF emphasizes nutrient-rich foods such as healthy fats (animal fats from meat and dairy, palm and coconut oils), pastured or wild-caught meat, fish and eggs, raw dairy products, homemade broths made from bones, fruits & vegetables, fermented foods, and reduction of anti-nutrients such as phytic acid and lectins via soaking, sprouting or fermenting grains, seeds and nuts. Cod liver oil and butter oil are highly-prized foods in TF.
As a cross between SCD and TF, GAPS eschews processed foods, emphasizing consumption of animal fats and meat broths to heal the gut, fermented foods and probiotics to correct the gut flora, and avoidance of disaccharides and polysaccharides.
detailed description of GAPS diet
In the following sections, I describe my impression of the diet followed by links that include Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's description within each section. This allows both a brief summary and the details, depending on your choice.
One can begin either with the introductory diet or the full diet. The six-stage introductory diet is intended to heal and seal the gut very quickly, thus reducing gastrointestinal dysfunction rapidly and allowing the introduction of dairy products earlier than otherwise. It also behaves like an elimination diet, having you gradually add foods and check for reactions as you go. Some start on the introductory diet first, but other start on the full diet and may later choose to do the introductory diet. Some have great results on the full diet and never do the intro. The introductory diet may last only a few days per stage, or up to several months, depending on symptoms as one goes along.
The full diet is expected to continue for up to 2 years, again depending on how one reacts to it.
Finally, the program contains directions for how to transition from the full diet.
stage 1
Stage 1 basically is soup, soup and soup, with a bit of ginger tea for variety.
The allowed foods are
meat, poultry and fish broths
boiled meats, poultry and fish
well-boiled non-fibrous veggies (artichoke, asparagus, beets, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, green beans, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, onion, parsley, peas, pumpkin, rutabagas, spinach, summer squash, turnip, winter squash and zucchini - exclude all types of cabbage and celery)
garlic
sauerkraut juice or whey
ginger tea made with grated ginger root and sweetened to taste with honey
Meat and fish stocks provide building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining and they have a soothing effect on any areas of inflammation in the gut. That is why they aid digestion and have been known for centuries as healing folk remedies for the digestive tract. Do not use commercially available soup stock granules or bullion cubes, they are highly processed and are full of detrimental ingredients. Chicken stock is particularly gentle on the stomach and is very good to start from. To make good meat stock you need joints, bones, a piece of meat on the bone, a whole chicken, giblets from chicken, goose or duck, whole pigeons, pheasants or other inexpensive meats. It is essential to use bones and joints, as they provide the healing substances, not so much the muscle meats. Ask the butcher to cut in half the large tubular bones, so you can get the bone marrow out of them after cooking. Put the bones, joints and meats into a large pan and fill it with water, add natural unprocessed salt to your taste at the beginning of cooking and about a teaspoon of black peppercorns, roughly crushed. Bring to boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for 2.5-3 hours. You can make fish stock the same way using a whole fish or fish fins, bones and heads. After cooking take the bones and meats out and sieve the stock to remove small bones and peppercorns. Strip off all the soft tissues from the bones as best as you can to later add to soups or encourage your patient to eat all the soft tissues on the bones. Extract the bone marrow out of large tubular bones while they are still warm: to do that bang the bone on a thick wooden chopping board. The gelatinous soft tissues around the bones and the bone marrow provide some of the best healing remedies for the gut lining and the immune system; your patient needs to consume them with every meal. Take off all the soft tissues from fish bones and heads and reserve for adding to soups later. The meat or fish stock will keep well in the fridge for at least 7 days or it can be frozen. Keep giving your patient warm meat stock as a drink all day with his meals and between meals. Do not use microwaves for warming up the stock, use conventional stove (microwaves destroy food). It is very important for your patient to consume all the fat in the stock and off the bones as these fats are essential for the healing process. Add some probiotic food into every cup of stock (the details about introducing probiotic food follow).
Homemade soup with your homemade meat or fish stock.
Please look for some recipe ideas in the recipe section of the book. Here we will go through some details, specific for the Introduction Diet. Bring some of the meat stock to boil, add chopped or sliced vegetables: onions, carrots, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, courgettes, marrow, squash, pumpkin, etc. and simmer for 25-35 minutes. You can choose any combination of available vegetables avoiding very fibrous ones, such as all varieties of cabbage and celery. All particularly fibrous parts of vegetables need to be removed, such as skin and seeds on pumpkins, marrows and squashes, stalk of broccoli and cauliflower and any other parts that look too fibrous. Cook the vegetables well, so they are really soft. When vegetables are well cooked, add 1-2 tablespoons of chopped garlic, bring to boil and turn the heat off. Give your patient this soup with the bone marrow and meats and other soft tissues, which you cut off the bones. You can blend the soup using a soup blender or serve it as it is. Add some probiotic food into every bowl of soup (the details about introducing probiotic foods follow). Your patient should eat these soups with boiled meat and other soft tissues off the bones as often as he/she wants to all day.
Probiotic foods are essential to introduce right from the beginning.
These can be dairy based or vegetable based. To avoid any reactions introduce probiotic foods gradually, starting from 1-2 teaspoons a day for 2-5 days, then 3-4 teaspoons a day for 2-5 days and so on until you can add a few teaspoons of the probiotic food into every cup of meat stock and every bowl of soup. If your patient is ready to introduce dairy, then use your homemade yogurt or kefir. If dairy is still out [by results of sensitivity test or negative reaction when introducing it], then into every cup of meat stock or soup add juice from your homemade sauerkraut, fermented vegetables or vegetable medley (please look in the recipe section of the book). Make sure that the food is not too hot when adding the probiotic foods, as the heat would destroy the beneficial probiotic bacteria.
Ginger tea with a little honey between meals.
To make ginger tea, grate some fresh ginger root (about a teaspoonful) into your teapot and pour some boiling water over it, cover and leave for 3-5 minutes. Pour through a small sieve and add honey to taste (optional).
Keep giving your patient the soups with bone marrow, boiled meats or fish and other soft tissues off the bones. He or she should keep drinking the meat stock and ginger tea. Keep adding some probiotic food into every cup of meat stock and every bowl of soup: juices from sauerkraut, fermented vegetables or vegetable medley, or homemade kefir/yogurt.
Add raw organic egg yolks.
It is best to have egg yolks raw added to every bowl of soup and every cup of meat stock. Start from 1 egg yolk a day and gradually increase until your patient has an egg yolk with every bowl of soup. When egg yolks are well tolerated add soft-boiled eggs to the soups (the whites cooked and the yolks still runny). If you have any concerns about egg allergy, do the sensitivity test first. There is no need to limit number of egg yolks per day, as they absorb quickly almost without needing any digestion and will provide your patient with wonderful and most needed nutrition. Get your eggs from a source you trust: fresh, free range and organic.
Add stews and casseroles made with meats and vegetables.
Avoid spices at this stage; just make the stew with salt and fresh herbs (look for a recipe of Italian Casserole in the recipe section of the book). The fat content of these meals must be quite high: the more fresh animal fats your patient consumes, the quicker he or she will recover. Add some probiotic food into every serving.
Increase daily amount of homemade yogurt and kefir, if introduced. Increase the amount of juice from sauerkraut, fermented vegetables or vegetable medley.
Introduce fermented fish, starting from one piece a day and gradually increasing. Look for recipes in recipe section.
Introduce homemade ghee, starting from 1 teaspoon a day and gradually increasing. Look for recipe in recipe section.
Add ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting from 1-3 teaspoons and gradually increasing the amount.
Add pancakes, starting from one pancake a day and gradually increasing the amount.
Make these pancakes with three ingredients: 1) organic nut butter (almond, walnut, peanut, etc); 2) eggs; 3) a piece of fresh winter squash, marrow or courgette (peeled, de-seeded and well blended in a food processor). Fry small thin pancakes using ghee, goose fat or duck fat. Make sure not to burn them.
Egg scrambled with plenty of ghee, goose fat or duck fat.
Serve it with avocado (if well tolerated) and cooked vegetables. Cooked onion is particularly good for the digestive system and the immune system: melt 3 tablespoons of duck fat or ghee in the pan, add sliced large white onion, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes on low heat.
Introduce the sauerkraut and your fermented vegetables (your patient has been drinking the juices from them for a while now).
Start from a small amount, gradually increasing to 1-2 tablespoons of sauerkraut or fermented vegetables per every meal.
Gradually add meats cooked by roasting and grilling (but not barbecued or fried yet).
Avoid bits, which are burned or too brown. Let your patient eat the meat with cooked vegetables and sauerkraut (or other fermented vegetables).
Start adding cold pressed olive oil to the meals, starting from a few drops per meal and gradually increasing the amount to 1-2 tablespoons per meal.
Introduce freshly pressed juices, starting from a few spoonfuls of carrot juice.
Make sure that the juice is clear, filter it well. Let your patient drink it slowly or diluted with warm water or mixed with some homemade yogurt. If well tolerated gradually increase to a full cup a day. When a full cup of carrot juice is well tolerated try to add to it juice from celery, lettuce and fresh mint leaves. Your patient should drink the juice on an empty stomach, so first thing in the morning and middle of afternoon are good times.
Try to bake bread with ground almonds or any other nut and seeds ground into flour.
The recipe (please look in recipe section of the book) requires only four ingredients: 1) nut flour; 2) eggs; 3) piece of fresh winter squash, marrow or courgette (peeled, de-seeded and finely sliced); 4) some natural fat (ghee, butter, goose or duck fat) and some salt to taste. Your patient should start from a small piece of bread per day and gradually increase the amount.
If all the previous foods are well tolerated try to add cooked apple as an apple puree.
Peel and core ripe cooking apples and stew them with a bit of water until soft. When cooked add some ghee to it and mash with a potato masher. If ghee has not bee introduced yet add duck or goose fat. Start from a few spoonfuls a day. Watch for any reaction. If there is none gradually increase the amount.
Add raw vegetables starting from softer parts of lettuce and peeled cucumber.
Watch your patient's stool. Again start from a small amount and gradually increase if well tolerated. After those two vegetables are well tolerated gradually add other raw vegetables: carrot, tomato, onion, cabbage, etc.
If the juice made from carrot, celery, lettuce and mint is well tolerated, start adding fruit to it: apple, pineapple and mango. Avoid citrus fruit at this stage.
If all the introduced foods are well tolerated try some peeled raw apple. Gradually introduce raw fruit and more honey.
Gradually introduce baking cakes and other sweet things allowed on the diet. Use dried fruit as a sweetener in the baking.
As I mentioned before, your patient may be able to move through the Introduction Diet faster or slower depending on the stool changes: let the diarrhea start clearing before moving to the next stage. You may have to introduce some foods later than in the program depending on his/her sensitivities. Make sure that you carry on with the soups and meat stock after your patient has completed the Introduction Diet at least once a day.
After the Introduction Diet is completed and when your patient has more or less normal stools move into the Full GAPS Diet.
IMNSHO, the best thing about the full diet after the intro is that COFFEE is allowed! ;) Others will be more pleased to see tea and alcohol (dry wine and spirits).
The full diet also adds nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants and peppers, but no potatoes). It allows some dried beans, mostly white navy beans, and cheeses (see lists of recommend foods and foods to avoid for details).
For many GAPS patients, the diet should be followed for two years at least. The book Gut & Psychology Syndrome will provide recipes and more explanation about the diet.
The best foods are eggs (if tolerated), fresh meats (not preserved), fish, shellfish, fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds, garlic and olive oil. Apart from eating vegetables cooked, it is important to have some raw vegetables with meals, as they contain vital enzymes to assist digestion of the meats. Fruit should be eaten on their own, not with meals, as they have a very different digestion pattern and can make the work harder for the stomach. Fruit should be given as a snack between meals.
It is very important to have plenty of natural fats in every meal from meats, butter, ghee, coconut (if tolerated) and cold pressed olive oil. Animal fats on meats are particularly valuable. Fermented foods (sauerkraut, yogurt, and kefir) are also a very important part of this diet in addition to homemade meat or fish stock. It is recommended to take a cup of warm meat or fish stock with every meal as a drink as well as soups and stews made with the meat or fish stock. The stock, kefir and fermented vegetables will over time restore the stomach acid production, which will improve digestion.
It is best to avoid processed foods (any packet or tinned foods). They are stripped from most nutrients that were present in the fresh ingredients used for making these foods. They are a hard work for the digestive system and they damage the healthy gut flora balance. On top of that they usually contain a lot of artificial chemicals, detrimental to health, like preservatives, colorants, etc. Try to buy foods in the form that nature made them, as fresh as possible.
A Typical Menu:
Start the day with a glass of still mineral water or filtered water with a slice of lemon.
It can be warm or cold to personal preference.
If you have a juicer your patient can start the day with a glass of freshly pressed fruit/vegetable juice diluted with water.
A good juice to start the day is 40% apple + 50% carrot + 10% beetroot (all raw of course). You can make all sorts of juice mixes, but generally try to have 50% of therapeutic ingredients: carrot, small amount of beetroot (no more than 5-10% of juice mixture), celery, cabbage, lettuce, greens (spinach, parsley, dill, basil, fresh nettle leaves, beet tops, carrot tops), white and red cabbage, and 50% of some tasty ingredients to disguise the taste of therapeutic ingredients: pineapple, apple, orange, grapefruit, grapes, mango, etc. Your patient can have these juices as they are, with some yogurt or diluted with water.
Every day our bodies go through a 24 hour cycle of activity and rest, feeding and cleaning up (detoxifying). From about 4 am until about 10 am the body is in the cleaning up or detoxification mode. Drinking water and freshly pressed juices will assist in this process. Loading the body with food at that time interferes with the detoxification. That is why many of us do not feel hungry first thing in the morning. It is better to have breakfast around 10 am when your body has completed the detox stage and is ready for feeding. At that stage we usually start feeling hungry. Children may be ready for their breakfast earlier than adults.
breakfast choices
A variation of English breakfast: eggs cooked to personal liking and served with sausages and vegetables, some cooked, some fresh as a salad (tomato, cucumber, onions, celery, and fresh salad greens, etc.) and/or avocado and/or meat. The yolks are best uncooked that the whites cooked. Use plenty of cold pressed olive oil as a dressing on the salad and eggs. Mix a tablespoon of pre-soaked or sprouted sunflower and/or sesame and/or pumpkin seeds with the salad. Sausages (full fat) should be made of pure minced meat with only salt and pepper added. Make sure that there are no commercial seasonings or MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) in the sausages. I recommend finding a local butcher, who would make pure meat sausages for you on order.
Avocado with meat, fish or shellfish, vegetables raw and cooked, lemon and cold pressed olive oil. Serve a cup of warm meat stock as a drink with food.
Pancakes made with ground nuts. These pancakes are delicious with some butter with honey, or as a savory snack. If you blend some fresh or defrosted berries with honey, it will make a delicious jam to have with pancakes. Weak tea with lemon, ginger tea or mint tea.
Any of the home baked goods: muffins, fruit cake and bread.
lunch choices
Homemade vegetable soup or stew in a homemade meat stock.
Avocado with meat, fish, shellfish and raw and/or cooked vegetables. Use olive oil with some lemon squeezed over it as a dressing. Serve a cup of warm homemade meat stock as a drink.
Any meat/fish dish with vegetables.
dinner choices
One of the dishes from the lunch or breakfast choices.
There are many recipes found in the book. You can also take old recipes and give them your own GAPS diet update.
Almonds, including almond butter and oil
Apples
Apricots, fresh or dried
Artichoke, French
Asiago cheese
Asparagus
Aubergine (eggplant)
Avocados, including avocado oil
Bananas (ripe only with brown spots on the skin)
Beans, dried white (navy), string beans and lima beans properly prepared
Beef, fresh or frozen
Beets or beetroot
Berries, all kinds
Black, white and red pepper: ground and pepper corns
Black radish
Blue cheese
Bok Choy
Brazil nuts
Brick cheese
Brie cheese
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Butter
Cabbage
Camembert cheese
Canned fish in oil or water only
Capers
Carrots
Cashew nuts, fresh only
Cauliflower
Cayenne pepper
Celeriac
Celery
Cellulose in supplements
Cheddar cheese
Cherimoya (custard apple or sharifa)
Cherries
Chicken, fresh or frozen
Cinnamon
Citric acid
Coconut, fresh or dried (shredded) without any additives
Coconut milk
Coconut oil
Coffee, weak and freshly made, not instant
Collard greens
Colby cheese
Courgette (zucchini)
Coriander, fresh or dried
Cucumber
Dates, fresh or dried without any additives (not soaked in syrup)
Dill, fresh or dried
Duck, fresh or frozen
Edam cheese
Eggplant (aubergine)
Eggs, fresh
Filberts
Fish, fresh or frozen, canned in its juice or oil
Game, fresh or frozen
Garlic
Ghee, homemade (many store varieties contain non-allowed ingredients)
Gin, occasionally
Ginger root, fresh
Goose, fresh or frozen
Gorgonzola cheese
Gouda cheese
Grapefruit
Grapes
Haricot beans, properly prepared
Havarti cheese
Hazelnuts
Herbal teas
Herbs, fresh or dried without additives
Honey, natural
Juices freshly pressed from permitted fruit and vegetables
Kale
Kiwi fruit
Kumquats
Lamb, fresh or frozen
Lemons
Lentils
Lettuce, all kinds
Lima beans (dried and fresh)
Limburger cheese
Limes
Mangoes
Meats, fresh or frozen
Melons
Monterey (Jack) cheese
Muenster cheese
Mushrooms
Mustard seeds, pure powder and gourmet types without any non-allowed ingredients
Nectarines
Nut flour or ground nuts (usually ground blanched almonds)
Nutmeg
Nuts, all kinds freshly shelled, not roasted, salted or coated (any roasting must be done at home)
Olive oil, virgin cold-pressed olives preserved without sugar or any other non-allowed ingredients
Onions
Oranges
Papayas
Parmesan cheese
Parsley
Peaches
Peanut butter, without additives
Peanuts, fresh or roasted in their shells
Pears
Peas, dried split and fresh green
Pecans
Peppers (green, yellow, red, and orange)
Pheasant, fresh or frozen
Pickles, without sugar or any other non-allowed ingredients
Pigeon, fresh or frozen
Pineapples, fresh
Pork, fresh or frozen
Port du Salut cheese
Poultry, fresh or frozen
Prunes, dried without any additives or in their own juice
Pumpkin
Quail, fresh or frozen
Raisins
Rhubarb
Roquefort cheese
Romano cheese
Satsumas
Scotch, occasionally
Seaweed fresh and dried, once the Introduction Diet has been completed
Shellfish, fresh or frozen
Spices, single and pure without any additives
Spinach
Squash (summer and winter)
Stilton cheese
String beans
Swedes
Swiss cheese
Tangerines
Tea, weak, freshly made, not instant
Tomato puree, pure without any additives apart from salt
Tomato juice, without any additives apart from salt
Tomatoes
Turkey, fresh or frozen
Turnips
Ugly fruit
Uncreamed cottage cheese (dry curd)
Vinegar (cider or white); make sure there is no allergy
Vodka, very occasionally
Walnuts
Watercress
White navy beans, properly prepared
Wine dry: red or white
Yogurt, homemade
Zucchini (courgette)
Acesulphame
Acidophilus milk
Agar-agar
Agave syrup - main carbohydrate is a complex form of fructose
Algae - can aggravate an already disturbed immune system
Aloe Vera - please go to "FAQs" for additional information on when it can be introduced
Amaranth - is a grain substitute, contains starches
Apple juice - usually has sugar added during processing
Arrowroot - is a mucilaginous herb and loaded with starch
Aspartame
Astragalus - contains polysaccharides
Baked beans
Baker's yeast - contains saccharamyces cerevisae
Baking powder and raising agents of all kind - baking soda can be used for specific medical issues, please view the "FAQs" section
Balsamic vinegar - most found in stores have added sugar
Barley
Bean flour and sprouts
Bee pollen - irritating to a damaged gut
Beer
Bhindi or okra
Bicarbonate of soda
Bitter Gourd
Black-eye beans
Bologna
Bouillon cubes or granules
Brandy
Buckwheat
Bulgur
Burdock root - contains FOS and mucilage
Butter beans
Buttermilk
Canellini beans
Canned vegetables and fruit
Carob
Carrageenan - is seaweed and high in polysaccharides
Cellulose gum
Cereals, including all breakfast cereals
Cheeses, processed and cheese spreads
Chestnuts and chestnut flour
Chevre cheese
Chewing gum - contain sugars or sugar substitutes
Chick peas
Chickory root - contains high amounts of FOS
Chocolate
Cocoa powder - please see "FAQs" for more information
Coffee, instant and coffee substitutes
Cooking oils
Cordials
Corn
Cornstarch
Corn syrup
Cottage cheese
Cottonseed
Cous-cous
Cream - contains lactose
Cream of Tartar
Cream cheese
Dextrose - in commercial products it is not the pure form
Drinks, soft
Faba beans
Feta cheese
Fish, preserved, smoked, salted, breaded and canned with sauces
Flour, made out of grains
FOS (fructooligosaccharides)
Fructose - extracted from corn and has a mixture of other trisaccharides
Fruit, canned or preserved
Garbanzo beans
Gjetost cheese
Grains, all
Gruyere cheese
Ham
Hot dogs
Ice-cream, commercial
Jams
Jellies
Jerusalem artichoke
Ketchup, commercially available
Lactose
Liqueurs
Margarines and butter replacements
Meats, processed, preserved, smoked and salted
Millet
Milk from any animal, soy, rice, canned coconut milk
Milk, dried
Molasses
Mozzarella cheese
Mungbeans
Neufchatel cheese
Nutra-sweet (aspartame)
Nuts, salted, roasted and coated
Oats
Okra - mucilaginous food
Parsnips
Pasta, of any kind
Pectin
Postum
Potato white
Potato sweet
Primost cheese
Quinoa - 60% starch
Rice
Ricotta cheese
Rye
Saccharin
Sago
Sausages, commercially available
Semolina
Sherry
Soda soft drinks
Sour cream, commercial
Soy
Spelt
Starch
Sugar or sucrose of any kind
Tapioca - starch
Tea, instant
Triticale
Turkey loaf
Vegetables, canned or preserved
Wheat
Wheat germ
Whey, powder or liquid
Yams
Yogurt, commercial
The strict GAPS diet should be adhered to for at least 1.5 – 2 years. Depending on the severity of the condition, some people recover quicker, others take much longer. Your patient needs to have at least 6 months of normal digestion before you start introducing foods not allowed on the GAPS diet. Do not rush with this step.
The first foods you will be able to introduce are new potatoes and fermented gluten-free grains (buckwheat, millet and quinoa). The recipe section will explain how to ferment grains.
Introduce one food at a time and always start from a small amount: give your patient a small portion of the new food and watch for any reaction for 2-3 days. If there are no digestive problems returning, or any other typical for your patient symptoms, then in a few days try another portion. If there are no reactions, gradually increase the amount of the food. These are starchy foods, so do not forget to serve them with good amounts of fat (butter, olive oil, any animal fat, coconut oil, etc.) to slow down the digestion of starch. Do not rush with the introduction of these new foods, it may take several months to do it properly.
Once new potatoes and fermented grains are introduced, try to make sourdough with good quality wheat or rye flour. You can make pancakes or bread with the sourdough. I would recommend a wonderful book by Sally Fallon "Nourishing Traditions" for a wealth of recipes. Once sourdough is well-tolerated you may be able to buy commercially available good quality sourdough breads.
At that stage you may find that your patient can digest buckwheat, millet and quinoa without fermenting them prior to cooking. Gradually you will find that you can introduce various starchy vegetables, grains and beans.
YOUR PATIENT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO THE TYPICAL MODERN DIET FULL OF SUGAR, ARTIFICIAL AND PROCESSED INGREDIENTS AND OTHER HARMFUL FOODS. USE THE YEARS OF FOLLOWING GAPS NUTRITIONAL PROTOCOL FOR DEVELOPING HEALTHY EATING HABITS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!
When reading online, one mostly hears about the diet. However, in the book, it is clear that the program is a three-prong approach; supplements and detox are important to recovery also. There is an entire section devoted to supplements, with a chapter on each.
The basic supplements recommended are:
probiotics
In addition to the probiotics consumed in fermented foods; it is recommended to take a good probiotic product. The criteria are that it should contain as wide a variety of types of known beneficial bacteria as possible (lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, saccaromyes-type yeast, non-pathogenic e. coli, peroxide-producing bacteria, and soil bacteria). Within each type, the widest variety of bacteria species should be included. Finally, for adults, the dose is 15-20 billion cells/day.
Bio-Kult is the officially recommended GAPS probiotic supplement but is very expensive; I plan to use a similar but cheaper product called GUTPro.
fats
The book makes the point that human milk, presumably an ideal food for humans, contains 48% saturated fat, 33% monounsaturated fat and 16% polyunsaturated fat (PUFA). A large portion of this is handled by the diet with the inclusion of lots of animal fats, coconut oil and olive oil.
Within the category of PUFAs, most of us get plenty of omega-6 fatty acids but are lacking in omega-3s. So generally, we need to supplement omega-3s.
Furthermore, most GAPS people cannot convert from the parent fatty acids to the useful forms we need most, from LNA to EPA and DHA (omega 3 fatty acids) and from LA to GLA and DGLA (omega 6 fatty acids).
Finally, there is evidence that we need more EPA than DHA.
Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends CLO not only as a source of EPA than DHA but as necessary sources of vitamins A and D. She specifically recommends fermented CLO and most seem to use Blue Ice Fermented CLO. For those who cannot afford the fermented product, a good choice is Twin Labs emulsified CLO. Though Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends the liquid oils, those who cannot tolerate the taste might try the WAPF-recommended Carlson Super CLO capsules or the similar Swanson product.
digestive enzymes
Low stomach acid prevents pepsin from breaking down proteins and also interferes with the hormones secretin and cholecystokinn, which signal the stomach, liver, gall bladder and pancrease to do their things. As such, a supplement containing Betaine HCl and pepsin is recommended.
Though some folks take digestive enzymes as well, Dr. Campbell-McBride feels that straightening out stomach acid will reboot the pancreas to produce them properly.
vitamins & minerals
Due to absorption issues, supplements are largely a waste of money for GAPS people. We generally have lots of deficiencies, whether outright or borderline, but pills are unlikely to help until the gut heals. Once it does heal, the diet is intended to provide necessary nutrition. If one does choose to take supplements, it is important that they don't contain any ingredients from the verboten list.
The third leg of the program is detoxification. In my opinion, the first step of is to stop adding toxins, as there's not much point in detoxing otherwise! Dr. Campbell-McBride makes the following points...
changing up household cleaning products - as those of us with a frugal mindset already knew, most cleaning can be accomplished with vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda
changing personal care and makeup products - the skin absorbs what is put on it, directly to the bloodstream (many pharmaceuticals are using this method of delivery), thus you really should not be putting anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat - that a cosmetic is labeled non-toxic is not good enough, it should be edible!
juicing begins in stage 4 and is a big part of the detox - some of the recommended combos are:
pineapple, carrot & beet stimulates stomach acid and pancreatic enzymes
carrot, apple, celery & beet is liver-cleansing
green leafy vegetables, tomato and lemon chelates heavy metals
cabbage, apple & celery cleanses the kidneys
black elderberry is recommended, especially during flu season, a few TB added to juice or a tea made from the dried flowers - I personally use elderberry syrup
detox baths are recommended, on one night add either a cup of apple cider vinegar, baking soda or seaweed powder to the tub and on the next add a cup of Epsom salts
houseplants detox the air and are especially helpful in bedrooms - but make sure they don't get moldy
Should you buy the book?
IMO, the most annoying thing is that there is not a Kindle version available. I have been through this book in it's entirety 3 or 4 times, plus gone back to look up information repeatedly. For a book I use this much, it is annoying not to be able to search it instantly!
And my criticism of the book is simultaneously my primary reason for recommending it: I own few books I have read so much.
You can certainly do the program without the book; there is enough information to do so on the web. Even the official GAPS web site has enough information to allow you to follow the program without the book. But there are several reasons I think you should get the book.
First is motivation, as this program is a HUGE lifestyle change. The book "sells" you on the program, which I really feel needs to be done so you fully get it. I think it would be difficult to commit to the program, and stay committed, without the book.
Second is really understanding the program thoroughly. That's not just about motivation, but about making decisions that are not specifically covered. When you understand the reasoning behind the program, it is much easier to use your judgement about items not explicitly covered in the book or GAPS FAQS
Finally, there is just SO much info in the book that can't possibly be covered by any of the online summaries. Every time I pick it up, I learn something. I could run this blog just discussing ideas in the book for years!
