…hurts my belly. Or my mind. Or my skin. Or any other part of me.
I seem to be able to eat pretty much anything with no immediate ill effect. Well, okay, for the first months of GAPS, raisins caused loose stools within an hour and eight months in, dried figs were still a problem (gas). But these reactions may have had as much to do with the quantities (heaps!) as anything.
But unlike my son, I don’t feel the need to bash my head on the floor after veering from my personal protocol. And yet…Doing SCD/GAPS has virtually eliminated a lifelong depression and anxiety and made my thinking and expression clear as a bell.
Today, I believe I could eat something totally off GAPS and not notice a reaction. This wasn’t always true, though: Years ago, in an earlier healing effort, lentils would leave my muscles so weak that I could not so much as lift my arms, while chocolate would trigger a horrific rush of angry energy. But since starting GAPS, I haven’t had significant trouble with any food. Again, though, avoiding the listed items has dramatically cleared my thoughts and emotions.
So, if the occasional cheat might not hurt me, what would? The slippery slope. For some of us, dabbling in the ‘avoids’would break a mental commitment and cause us to feel freer to experiment. The trouble is, a few days or weeks of such experiments would bring me back to the horrible mental space I’d rather not hang out in any more. And, once there, it is that much harder to get back on track.
Many folks find something similar. One fellow with Crohn’s did SCD for some time, then had surgery to address the final level of his issue. He found that at this point, he was able to eat whatever he encountered. Interestingly, after a few months he chose to return to SCD because, although in terms of intestinal bleeding, etc, he could now eat freely, he noted that mentally he’d felt significantly better while on SCD!
I am grateful that I am enjoying SCD/GAPS so much. I am aware that I am enjoying it for two reasons: one, because the food is really, really good and two, because SCD/GAPS allows our minds to function as they were intended to –joyfully and easily!
thanks for this post. does SCD blend well with GAPS? provide useful info? I am re-starting the intro and also want to keep this simple. I have never cultured anything except goats milk into kefir.
thanks for sharing your stories.
franco
Hi Franco,
Thanks so much for your comment.
I’m not sure I understand your question. GAPS is based on the SCD. That is, of GAPS’three-part program of diet, detox and supplementation, the diet is simply a slightly modified SCD.
For a comprehensive discussion of the differences, please see this post.
Well here I go again, broken record that I am. So much of what you write is often so specifically useful to me, Baden. The extremity of your emotional history matched with a relatively unfreakoutable digestion is what strikes a chord here. The fact that my immediate gut sensitivities are not as bad as others sometimes makes me wonder if GAPS is the road that will heal my mood issues. But oh how I know how south I’ve gone eating indiscriminately in the past, and oh how familiar I am with the slippery slope. Right now I’m trying to let go of minutely connecting mood fluctuation to this food are that food, and to trust more in the whole. There you go being helpful again to exactly where I am.
The usual copious thanks, Eloise
Eloise,
Thank you! Feedback like yours keeps me writing. It is super helpful to me to know when a post is resonating with someone.
And your reply has just inspired a future post, by the way
Hi Baden,
If I understand it correctly, people might have mental issues after eating certain food even if the gut seems fine. Four months into Intro I ate something cooked by someone else that I suspect had some gluten and other illegal stuff in it. I had loose stools afterwards but especially a huge angry energy as you call it. I could not stop blaming myself for not investigating better or sticking to my food as I always do. But what surprised me was that I really felt ‘the need to bash my head on the floor’like you described in the case of your son. And then suddenly I remembered my older sister was doing that each time she was making a mistake (one of the reasons as a kid I was very afraid of her). After a day I am still immersed in that powerful angry energy and the blame towards myself. Am I up to something? Perhaps this is one of those beautiful opportunities where mental and physical healing cross and I can learn something more about my journey? Your post and comments seem to be pointing me to that direction.
Jo
Awesome, Jo!! Emotions and food/gut are so interconnected! I totally agree with your assessment of this as an opportunity!
All my best,
Baden