From my teens, perhaps earlier, I had intense foot pain. The arches and ankles ached intensely. At some points, I could not bear to be on my feet at all.
Despite the pain coming and going, this was chalked up to a structural problem, so I tried many kinds of inserts. Some helped, but none resolved it. Two years ago, the pain became so extreme that for several days I could barely walk. When I managed to reach a physiotherapist, he prescribed custom in-soles and excellent (read: expensive) running shoes. Again, these did indeed help.
Before starting GAPS, I was still, however, dealing with some pain. Imagine my surprise when, shortly after beginning SCD, the pain disappeared. There was no more ache and no more related fatigue. My feet suddenly didn’t care what shoes I was or was not wearing.
This past week, I have had a cold. With no change in footwear and no additional walking, the pain has returned. My soles and ankles really, really hurt. But I’m pleased! I’m pleased because having zero pain for over nine months, except during this one cold, demonstrates the impact that GAPS has on funny body parts. And I’m pleased because the return of pain supports a theory some friends recently laughed at.
I truly believe that foot pain is often due to toxic overload. In some cultures, it is said that the feet are the receptable of toxins, allowing those to be kept as far from the vital heart organ as possible. This is why remedies for all sorts of body ailments focus on the feet, manipulating their subsections to assist corresponding organs, attaching absorbers to them, or soaking them in specific solutions.
GAPS’approach does not discount these, but it works from a different angle. It is centered on readily-digested foods, such that the body can focus on healing and cleansing, and includes detoxifying baths and juices. It also strongly recommends the use of natural, vs chemical, products. Combined, these practices relieve one’s body of excess burden. Symptoms naturally resolve.
For a list of conditions addressed by GAPS, many equally surprising, click here.
I just posted this (below) a few days ago on the Gaps Help yahoo group. And just happened to find this blog tonight after searching for detox bath questions. It nice to know he’s not alone! He is off still but is better. He was just in so much pain. I’m glad he feels well now.
“So my 3 year old took a nice bite out of daddies potato this afternoon and tonight he is hysterical and is in shreaking pain. He says his
feet hurt and his (“mee’s”) knee’s really hurt. What do you think causes this? Now that this happened, I remembered him always pointing at his feet pre-gaps, tip toeing around and crying at night. My husband always
thought he was hurt, then thought growing pains but then gave up guessing. Idea’s?? My 8 year also complains of bad bad leg pain whenhe has illegal..hmm
Help! And how do I explain this to my husband?”..
Christin: Neat! Yes, foot pain (as well as pain of other muscles and joints) is common in the toxic body. Keep up the good work! Over time, your husband will see the results for himself and become confident in the program. When I started my son on this, some family members thought I was off the wall, but within a few months, all were approving it heartily, based entirely on the results.
Best,
Baden
Baden, I was very happy to come across this post of yours about hurting feet. It is Day 14 for me (I haven’t done intro, just eliminating a lot of foods like dairy, grains, gluten, sugars) but my feet aren’t hurting. I have had to wear these ugly men’s casual shoes for over a year because they are the only thing I could tolerate standing on. I am hoping my feet will remain well, and I guess will be something to pay attention to as I begin to add foods. Actually we are probably going to start intro in another week or so. But thanks!
Whoops, it’s actually Day 15.