Note: A longer discussion regarding unexplained relapses is offered in the book.
In Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Elaine Gottschall explained that no matter how perfectly one does the diet, one may well see periods of relapse: frightening yet temporary returns of old symptoms. Interestingly, this often occurs around the three-month mark. For some, it occurs every three months for some time.
I think my son is one of those people.
Remember that “two apples, two bananas” story I told a few days ago? The pain lasted five days, then ended almost as suddenly as it had started.
I can’t speak for my son, but I know that by the fifth night, I was cracking. I was sobbing and wondering how I was going to take care of this little man for all the terrible years to come…
I do believe the extra fruit triggered the relapse, but this was so beyond beyond beyond… He also had the tell-tale yeast rash on his bum, a mark otherwise unheard of in him.
True to form, when it ended, he was in better shape than ever! His language and expression have improved that much more and, despite our move, he has been profoundly happy, cheerful and easygoing.
I only wish I had realized earlier what was going on because while I knew to remove the excess fruit, if I had really been on the ball, I would have given him way more detox baths –and patience, too.
Again, watch for those 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, etc, marks. You or your child may breeze through them with nary a hitch, but for those that stumble at these momentous points in the Great Pathogen Battle, awareness will give you extra strength, patience and arsenal!
Baden,
My daughter had exzema on one of her hands and at the same time a rash came on her buttocks. I thought they were both exzema but based on the above comment I am thinking maybe it was a yeast rash instead of exzema on her buttocks. I didn’t know that I shoud remove excess fruit from her diet when she has a rash on her buttocks assuming that it is yeast. What do you mean by excess fruit? She has had this several times. They seem to appear together.
Also, I didn’t know about the extra detox baths during this time until I read it here. I have learned so much from you and I am so thankful. There is still so much to learn and it is sometimes overwhelming. I just can’t seem to figure out the pieces of the puzzle with the behavior and its very discouraging. Again, thanks so much for the information.
Jackie
Hi Jackie,
For some people, a single blueberry is “excess fruit”. For others, half a cup per day may be fine, but not more. Etc.
And you’re welcome
Thanks so much for letting me know the blog is helpful to you!
Best,
Baden
I thought that certain fruit was permitted on this diet!! Blueberries being one of them. On the legal food list, there is alot of fruit listed…i was so grateful that aleast blueblerries and apples were permitted as these are my sons favorite snacks…and for me not labor intensive ones. If you could pass on any more information on this matter that would be great!! cheers kasia
Hi Kasia,
Yes, fruit is a recommended food -for those that tolerate it.
Not everyone tolerates all GAPS foods, especially near the beginning. My son can eat a limited amount of fruit every day -and unlimited once in awhile- with no problem.
Best,
Baden
hi baden, thanks for the response!! Any thoughts on how to curb my son’s fruit cravings…he asks for fruit every ten minutes or so. He just seems so hungry and fruit or almond butter are his fixes. He is 6 years old with a brain abnormality and certain food has always been a bad drug for his brain. We have omitted so much already, i can’t imagine limiting fruit….nor can he….he is not a veggie kid, so i finding this diet hard…we are doing it though. I am experimenting alot with coconut flour and dill cucumbers. Any continued thoughts and words of wisdom would be great!! blessings kasia
Hi Kasia,
To end a craving, simply stop eating the food. After awhile, the craving will disappear and a smaller amount will feel much more satisfying. See also: http://gapsguide.com/2008/12/18/on-recalibration/
For hunger, the best fixes are protein and fat, ie. a big fatty meat stew.
Where there is obsession over nuts and fruits, I would suspect candida overgrowth (which almost everyone coming to GAPS has). Have you guys done intro?
Best,
Baden
yes, we have done intro and onto to the full gaps diet now we also are doing a DAN protocol for killing off yeast and bacteria in the gut!! The fruit for me is definitely the sugar talking.. should i do more detox baths? I am not the greatest cook and he is not the most adventurous eater and cognitively the restrictions are hard for him to understand..he takes it personally. I am trying your butternut squash pancakes on him today and just made a big batch of coconut flour bread. Is there a information page here on detox baths? Thanks for your supoort baden!! kasia
Hi Kasia,
During intro, when your son was 6-8 weeks without fruit, how were his cravings?
Ideally, one would do one detox bath daily, more during acute die-off. Yes, in this site’s search engine you can punch in the words ‘detox bath’ or ‘baths’ to find a post about that. I also suggest typing in ‘candida’. There is a list of modifications to make re: candida overgrowth. Again, I would remove all fruits and anything else a person desires “every ten minutes”. After doing that for several weeks, you might also want to start him on s boulardii.
Best,
Baden
Thanks baden!
Wow! I just had a relapse at the three month mark as well! I attributed it to too much dairy (yogurt), but I had no idea these three month periods existed. Thanks for the info!
Wonderful that you found this, Tara! (It’s mentioned specifically in the GAPS Guide book, too.) I’m so glad the info is helpful to you! Just do lots of extra die-off relief support at those points.
All my best,
Baden
Baden, so would you think then once introducing more fruits, just keep detoxing bath more often? Do not reduce fruits?
Fruits are very cleansing…And I am struggling a lot…
What are your thoughts?
Thank you, Marina
Hi Marina,
Fruits are cleansing and can assist with overall detoxification, yes. In this case, the baths can help process out the toxins.
This said, in most people fruits need to be limited for several reasons: One, using a lot of fruit can result in fewer meals of meats, eggs, veggies, ferments -all of which are important building foods. Two, the carbohydrate count in fruit can be problematic for people with sensitivity to carbohydrates, in which case fruit causes more problems than they heal. (Upon some months of healing, this will likely shift and fruits can then be increased.) Three, early GAPS is already very healing and detoxifying. Adding many detoxifying elements at the same time can overwhelm the body. Cleansing is best done slowly and gently.
What are your specific struggles, Marina, and what is your program currently? Perhaps we can figure out what in your program needs tweaking, if anything.
All my best,
Baden
Hi Baden, Thank you for the reply! My struggle is that after 22 months I am still not asymptomatic. I try to introduce full GAPS and probably dairy and/or fruits are the issue here. But I am not sure if dairy is an issue as awhile ago i was able to eat small amounts (so i do now) with no issues and now it seems that it is. Also I found that anything baked can be problematic, while simple nuts are perfectly fine. And so on. If you have any recommendations, thoughts to share, I will appreciate. Amount of fruits and dairy is small – a few berries and one dry fruit now over the course of the day or a small thinly sliced a slice of an apple. Dairy typicaly around one oz or a bit more.
Marina
Hi Marina,
It’s hard for me to comment, because I don’t know your full background and journey with GAPS (and it’s very hard for me to follow threads through this blog). It’s common for baked items to be harder to digest (which is why they appear later in intro). When problems persist, it can be due to any number of factors. In your GAPS Guide book pages 46-48, can you tell me which of the items you’ve implemented? Maybe that will give us some leads…
All my best,
Baden
Hi Baden, I am sorry , i forget to mention that butter seems to be good food for me, so when i say dairy i mean casein and lactose mostly. Marina
Hi Baden,
I do not have a book now – i gave it to somebody and did not get it back.
I will get to that once i have a source.
Thank you,
Marina
Hi Baden, here are my comments:
I can not drink water if not thursty, it makes me feel not too good. I may try to add sea salt, though when i drink. When I am thursty i can have a few sips, rarely a full glass. It has to be hot outside.
Detox baths: Does not happen. I should do this, but unfortunately I am full time working in the office. It is not always a possibility. I know that it may not be a good execuse but that is the thruth…should I really do that daily?
If I do juice, it is before the breakfast, so before 10 am.
Did parasite cleanse, but at the beginning with Mebendazole. No S. Boulardii, lots and tired of experementation…
Hi Marina,
Have you posted earlier with background/additional information? One glitch with the system I’m using to receive and respond to comments is that I can’t really track whole dialogues. Thus, it’s best if I receive someone’s ‘whole picture’ in one post. As it stands, I’m not sure what you’ve done and haven’t done so far, but in answer to today’s post:
Yes, if you want to heal and to feel good in the meantime, the baths should be daily. Just twenty minutes between work and bed is enough.
It is not critical to drink water. GAPS includes lots of soup, broth, veggies -all of which contain water. If you are having these, it is not necessary for all people to add drinks of water.
All my best,
Baden