1. Our Stories
2. The Program
- What is GAPS?
- A Very Brief Overview
- The Program
3. Implementing The Program
- Phase 1: Preparing for GAPS
- Phase 11 : The Intro Diet
- Phase 111: Progressing Further
4. Frequently Asked Questions
- [See appendix below.]
5. Troubleshooting
- School/Work Lunches
- Hallowe’en
- Slow and Methodical : How?!
- Bloating or Gas
- Die-Off
- Constipation
- Unexplained Relapse
- Finding Time for GAPS
6. Enemas
7. Probiotics
8. Detoxing
9. Juicing
10. Shopping Guide
11. GAPS on a Budget
12. Supplementation
13. Recipes For Intro
14. SCD Recipe Sources
15. What to Eat
16. More Stories
Frequently Asked Questions
The following are answered in Chapter 4:
- “What’s the difference between SCD and GAPS?”
- “SCD sounds simpler. Can I just do that?”
- “What conditions do SCD and GAPS address?”
- “There’s a connection between Celiac and autism?!”
- “Should I pursue a diagnosis before starting?”
- “I thought Celiacs just needed to avoid gluten.”
- “I saw all about this on Oprah.”
- “If all this is true, why don’t they tell us?”
- “I followed an elimination diet in the past and got very sick.
I don’t have time to get sick like that again!” - “I’ve never noticed a reaction to dairy. Do I really have to eliminate dairy for awhile?”
- “Why on GAPS do I react to foods I didn’t react to pre-GAPS?”
- “I’m allergic to phenols.”
- “I’m sensitive to eggs/yogurt/fruit/carrots…”
- “I think I need to get rid of Candida first.”
- “But I also have adrenal burnout, chronic fatigue and…”
- “My child won’t eat.”
- “Did you vaccinate your son?”
- “What causes an imbalance of gut flora?”
- “How do I move toxins out?”
- “How long do I need to stay on the program?”
- “I don’t feel full unless I eat bread/pasta/grain.”
- “But I need carbs!”
- “Where will I get my B Vitamins from?”
- “What about chocolate/sugar/Twinkies?”
- “I’m hypoglycemic.”
- “Fats?! Won’t I die of a heart attack?”
- “How fat will I get?”
- “Why can’t people on GAPS eat potatoes?”
- “My daughter is in daycare/school.”
- “What about birthdays, Hallowe’en, playcare?”
- “My husband seems pretty healthy. Do you think he should do it?”
- “I work or go to university full-time and have no one to make my meals…”
- “I travel for work, so I’m screwed.”
- “How young can a person start?”
- “I’ve heard I shouldn’t detox while pregnant.”
- “Is there someone famous who’s done it?”
- “Are there medical authorities I can consult with about it?”
- “Kraft dinner is cheaper and all I can afford.”
- “Can one be vegetarian on this program?”
- “How can I expect to feel on this program?”
- “What do you eat?”
- “Where can I get more info on SCD/GAPS?”
Does the book contain step by step receipes how to make sauerkraut and other foods such as yoghurt culture or whatever is required? does it also advise what foods can be eaten together and what foods are OK to be juiced together? Thanks Ann
Hi Ann,
GAPS Guide gives recipes or instructions for meat broth, bone broth, sauerkraut, fermented fish, ghee and a few other basics. If you Google ‘gapsguide fermented veggies’ (without the apostrophes), though, you will get better recipes for the krauts. GAPS Guide inadvertently left out instructions for yogurt-making, but as noted on the book updates page, you can find that here. Finally, GAPS Guide takes the juicing info from the Gut and Psychology book and presents it in a simpler chart. Generally speaking, GAPS foods can be eaten together, but from individual to individual, some people find fruit to be taken in varying combinations or separations helpful. There is a short note detailing this on page 48.
All my best,
Baden
Hi Baden,
My friend’s daughter has PANDAS – Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.
She is 14 and had a strep infection last year that then turned into OCD, tics and turetts like symptoms, it has now progressed to anxiety, suicidal depression and agression. She has been out of school for a year. The parents believe she had it at age 5 after a bout of strep and then showed signs of anxiety. The doctors are still studying it and have no real treatment. She is of course a junk food junkie, weighs 90lbs. Her various tests have showed leaky gut. The parents are considering some invasive blood transfusion protocols.
Have your or anyone had any success with GAPS and curing PANDAS?
Thanks!
Hi Tammany,
I typed GAPS PANDAS into Google and found this page: http://www.facebook.com/GAPSDiet/posts/10150389104822840
All my best,
Baden
Hi Baden,
I have some difficulty with some parts of the GAPS diet. I am very sensitive to probiotics. I get postural hypertension, fatigue and a general feeling of being unwell whenever I take them. I have tried having it in the form of sauerkraut, yoghurt, capsules. I have used the ones designed by Dr Natasha and others all with the same results.
I also have the same symptoms when I eat amine rich food such as aged meats, cheese, red wine etc. I have always been sensitive to amines, but in recent years it has got really bad. I have to eat soup quickly or freeze it to reduce the amine build up. I also can’t eat eggs. They are one of the worst things for me – they also cause a wooshing sound in my ears that goes with the dizziness when I stand up.
Do you know of others that have this problem, and what might be the mechanism behind this? I really like the science behind the gaps diet, as I studied ecology at Uni, but there are some things that just don’t work for me, even if I try it for weeks.
Thanks
Very tired Sarah.
Dear Very Tired Sarah,
I feel for you..!
1. When you take the probiotic sources, how much do you take? Some people are indeed very sensitive to these. In the GAPS Guide book, I recommend that children or sensitive or very ill adults start with just 1/10th capsule of BioKult (or whatever capsule of a similar probiotic count). Some people need to start with even less. Please review especially the information in GAPS Guide page 109 Q. 14. The same holds true for any other probiotic source, such as sauerkraut or yogurt, with some people needing to start with just the amount of yogurt that sits on the tip of a dipped butter knife, for example. As noted in the Guide’s ‘probiotics’ section, it can take a good four months to reach a therapeutic dose.
2. Reactions to foods – Many people coming to GAPS are intolerant of a number of foods or food elements, such as amines, eggs, etc. The intro protocol often helps resolve these. In some cases, it’s a matter of allowing your body to heal -eating just non-reactive foods for a few weeks or months (such as intro or a modified intro facilitates), then introducing the problematic foods into a stronger body. I also recommend reviewing and applying the approach set out in your GAPS Guide book pages 58, 59, 60.
3. Science – For the science, you might delve into the resources (especially #18) listed here: http://gapsguide.com/2009/02/16/how-to-find-answers/
All my best,
Baden
Hi,
I have mercury and possible lead posioning with adrenal and candida overgrowth. My secreatory IgA is very low at 3.5mgd/l. I would like to try the GAPS diet. The bone broths sound like an effective treatment for my leaky gut. What concerns me is high sulphur foods that GAPS incorporates in the diet. Sulphur is known to feed candida, so would the diet benefit me. I need to to heal my leaky gut before chelating.
Justin
Hi Justin,
Glad to have you with us!
As noted in the GAPS Guide book, please start with meat broths as opposed to bone broths.
GAPS is an excellent anti-candida program. There are many theories about what feeds candida overgrowth -some say fats, some say mushrooms, some say fruit, and so on. People have had excellent results in addressing candida overgrowth while including all GAPS foods. Some have, though, needed to temporarily limit or avoid sweet foods such as orange vegetables, fruit and honey. Dr Natasha strongly recommends keeping sulphur-containing foods in the diet, noting that it’s essential for rebuilding the gut, immunity and liver function, and that the program will allow beneficial microbes to normalize your sulphur metabolism.
This said, feel free to avoid any food on the list of GAPS recommended foods that you feel you should. The list is just a starting point; from the list, one will eat what they are tolerant of and skip the rest. As your body heals, test the skipped foods.
On the email support lists linked to from this blog’s ‘Support for You’ page you will find other people who’ve looked into or done chelation. You might enjoy connecting with them.
All my best,
Baden
Hi Baden,
why meat broths as opposed to bone broths?.
I would of thought that both were effective at helping to heal the gut.
Thanks for your previous response Baden.
Hi Justin,
While Dr Natasha supports the use of both meat broth and bone broth in GAPS, a number of people do react to the long-simmered bone broths early in healing. Starting with meat broth is best.
All my best,
Baden
My doctor says bone broth has polysaccharides and would feed bacteria.
Hi San Jxn,
GAPS does allow some sources of polysaccharides. Both bone broth and meat broth are approved for GAPS use. This said, some people react to bone broth and do best starting with just meat broth.
All my best,
Baden p.s. I’m happy you received replies from Justine! She is super smart, and really knows her stuff!
hello, would this book help me address the combination of chronic fatigue, hypoglycemia, issues with digesting fats and heart palpitations? They all seem to be working against each other and I’m on the intro diet trying to figure out what to do as i lose too much weight. obviously your book would be helpful to some extent but would I be better off calling a practitioner for specific help? Thanks.
Hi, i,ve bought the gaps book, and now looking at the guide book to help understand all,i have food intolerance, also have bad reactions to most medicine, like peeling and blistering skin to palpation’s, been ill for years, at last there seems to be help, i,m hoping i,ll get better, not sleeping most nights, then feel so bad next day. With this diet i don,t understand how long to do anything, does the guide book tell you step by step and how long to do it for, also a friend said you can eliminate something each week, would that be easier. Also i,m travelling in a couple of months to US, what do people do when they,re away from home for a month or so.
Thanks, can,t wait to hear from you. Gabby
Hi Gabby,
Yes, there is help for you!
Yes, the GAPS Guide book provides a step-by-step -especially for transitioning to GAPS- plus helpful tips.
Yes, one approach to food intolerances is to rotate out (eliminate) one food each week, and see what differences occur. Some people do see significant benefits upon removing just, say, wheat and sugar, for example. GAPS does this, but also goes beyond this, to eliminate problematic foods while also adding in deeply nourishing ones. The “adding in” is just as crucial for deep healing.
When away from home, the key is to simply set up a simple kitchen wherever you go. This is easier if you have a temporary “home base” in the region you are travelling to, but can also be done “on the road”. You can use a motel room, a traveller’s hostel, a home exchange, or a friend’s house -using the supplies there or setting up a crock pot or hot plate plus mini-fridge. Alternatively, bring a camping stove and shop every day or so. By the time you head out for your trip, you will have read your GAPS Guide book and will know how simply a day can be done. For example, you can cook a stew in one pot on your motel hot plate, shut it off, fill Thermoses for the day, and head out for your day.
All my best,
Baden
The book is unavailable right now. Is there any way to purchase the downloadable version?
Thanks,
Melinda