GAPS is a temporary gut healing protocol, designed to heal digestive problems.
Standing for ‘Gut and Psychology Syndrome’ this is a really successful diet now, used to treat seasonal allergies, right through to leaky gut, Inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerated colitis, depression, anxiety, autoimmune conditions, autism, ADHD and the list goes on and on…
And just between you and I, GAPS have healed people when their doctors have said it’s impossible.
Let’s just say the ‘sickness industry’ is way to profitable.
Now, the word ‘diet’ has always made me cringe… It says to me that there’s a whole lot of giving up stuff! – which isn’t a fun prospect.
But if you look at it this way… At what cost do you put on waking up every day feeling great, looking great, and knowing that this sense of well-being is going to keep improving?
I was just thinking how fast this year has gone and how short life is. Do we want to live it feeling mediocre or even worse – when there is something we can do about it?
Even if you don’t suffer from the conditions above, Dr. Campbell-Mcbride’s GAPS diet will do a lot to prevent your health deteriorating down the track.
It can be hard core though. Depending if you’ve got a minor or major health condition or maybe you just want to adopt the foods in a general way to keep on top of things.
It’s so nourishing and healing that many of the health conditions we have today wouldn’t be an issue. A big call I know, but that’s how powerful this whole food thing is!
In my practice, everyone has needed to re-balance and repair to feel better no matter what they came for!
This is like starting from foundation level, regardless of the ‘label’ of the disease or problem:
Re-balancing good gut bacteria and stopping the toxic overload of bad bacteria
Repairing the gut wall (leaky gut) to stop toxins from going into the bloodstream which starts off a range of autoimmune disorders.
In a nutshell GAPS gives you easy to digest foods, so that your gut and body can rest and heal itself (before the next ‘aggravating food’ hits it causing inflammation.)
Benefits of GAPS?
So the first benefit you’ll feel is healthier, regular digestion.
Other benefits that people find are:
Better immune and reversal of autoimmune conditions and fewer symptoms
Less food sensitivity
Better mental health from anxiety and depression
Actually known to heal inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Reverses Type Diabetes (both Type I and Type II)
Gets rid of Candida
Detoxes the system
Improves autism
We not only see the wide array of diseases it can reverse, but it’s so exciting… as these combined health benefits can come together to give us our ultimate health back!
Think of these benefits as having a continual ‘knock-on effect’ through all parts of our health… including the no. 1 basic: Having heaps more energy.
What do you eat on GAPS?
If you’re in my group (Nutrition For Life Community) or you subscribe to this blog, then you would know about bone broth and fermented foods… so your job just got easier 🙂
The thing with GAPS is that you introduce foods depending on the healing speed of your body.
Firstly it’s the intro diet which has heaps of bone broth, boiled meat, veggies and heaps of saturated fats which help detox and heal.
Then slowly you add one new food, monitoring the symptoms as you go. Some people really notice the lack of carbs, so they might start feeling dizzy, so make sure you eat enough carbs for your needs.
Over time, you’ll move on to the full GAPS, which is pretty much the same as a real food diet and eventually when your body is ready, you can go back to normal eating again…. SYMPTOM FREE!
Yes To These Foods…
Organic wild meats including fish
Steamed (non-starchy) vegetables
Fruit and Avocados
Bone Broth
Egg yolks
Healthy fats: coconut oil, olive oil, ghee
Probiotic rich food: fermented vegetables
Sea Salt
Sprouted nut butter
No To These Foods…. (nothing new here!)
Processed foods
Grains
Processed sugar
Starchy carbs and potatoes
Artificial chemicals and preservatives
Grain fed meats and conventional dairy
How long do you do GAPS for?
Everyone goes through GAPS at their own pace as we all have different things going on with us. Those who have serious health conditions will take longer as there’s more damage to repair.
For example some can bring in a new food every few days and others might take weeks or longer to bring in that new food.
2 BIG Mistakes People Make On GAPS…
1. Not having enough home made broth. If you don’t have 1 small cup of broth with every meal, then healing won’t happen. Broth contains so many easy to assimilate minerals, vitamins, and amino-acids. It is a very soothing food to the intestine and has been known for centuries to aid digestion due to the natural gelatin that attracts digestive juices.
2. Giving up too early
Success with the GAPS takes time. In most cases, it took years for the gut to get in bad shape and it’s going to take months or even a year or two to get it back in shape. This may seem like a long time, but it’s really quiet short considering living the rest of your life with an ever worsening auto-immune disease.
Hope this helps you and please let me know if you’d like more info.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions on our own personal situation, go to the Nutrition For Life Community and ask me a question in the forum OR you can private message me.
P.S. And don’t forget to share and subscribe to this blog for weekly help with your health.
留言