A wonderful blog reader let me borrow her ‘Gut and Psychology Syndrome’ book. (Thanks Sarah! I mailed it back to you today!) The GAPS diet is great for people who need digestive healing, beyond the traditional diet outlined in NT.
I found it to be a fascinating read. I was amazed to learn more about the complex workings of the digestive system and how it affects every part of our bodies. To be healthy, we need to have healthy digestive systems, and that means being populated by a plethora of beneficial bacteria! There are many things that kill the beneficial bacteria in our digestive tracts, such as- antibiotics, birth control pills, and drinking chlorinated water. When the beneficial bacteria is killed off, the pathogenic bacteria takes over and starts causing lots of health problems. The purpose of the GAPS diet is to remove foods that feed the pathogenic bacteria (grains, starches, sugars, certain dairy) and fill it with foods that promote beneficial bacteria (raw fermented sauerkraut) and that are healing to the digestive system (bone broths.)
Since we’ve been on the diet…..
Benefits?
-Eliminating grains from our diet has made us feel so much better!
-And has also increased our vegetable consumption a lot, which makes us feel great.
-We can feel our bodies cleansing and detoxifying.
-Our blood sugar levels feel more steady.
-Improved digestion and overall well-being.
Challenges?
-Missing certain foods.
-Very difficult to eat out (though we rarely did that anyways.)
-Die-off symptoms (when the pathogenic bacteria is dying off and the body is eliminating toxins.)
-Staying creative and not falling into a rut in the kitchen.
-Learning new recipes and ways of eating.
Those are just a few things off the top off my head.
We love learning new things (it makes life fun and exciting), but it can be tough to not be a pro at everything right away, huh?
What a food adventure we’re on!
I’m not saying that this diet is right for everyone, but I feel it’s best for us right now. We are finding healing for our bodies on this path, so I wanted to share in case it might help you find healing too.
Blogs I love that write about GAPS are
Nourished and Nurtured,
Health, Home, and Happiness,
and occasionally Nourished Kitchen and Food Renegade.
For those of you already on the GAPS diet, what are your experiences?
It’s nice to have a community of support and sources for new recipes!
I am thankful that you shared this book with us. I have been on the Allergy Elimination Diet for 9 months now. It can be very frustrating finding recipes that accommodate my tolerable foods. It started w/something called the ALCAT food sensitivity blood test @ $800 & a recent blood test through ImmunoLab. I suffered from anxiety attacks for 15 yrs & taking sugar out of my diet was difficult at first. I was crabby & felt irritated for 4 months, but the anxiety attacks went away. Keep sharing your recipes, please. You might find The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook & Survival Guide by Nicollette Dumke helpful. Blessings & I look forward to your food blogs.
@Maria- The author cured her daughter of autism and there is a lot of information about autism in there. I recommend getting the revised (updated) version of the book and it will give you lots of ideas of what to feed your daughter.
I hope this book brings you answers like it has us. Keep me updated. Blessings to you.
@Sarah- It is getting easier and seeing recipes on your blog helps! 🙂
@Lisa- I’ve been feeling inspired to share more of our meals on here lately. Stay tuned! 🙂
@JSM- I would loan you the book if I had it. I need to buy one. Dairy is allowed on GAPS (certain dairy that is.) We just omitted it because we were so allergic (but it was tough at first!)
@Teri- I’m so glad you are reading it and enjoying it. I had a feeling it would be right up your alley because you love learning about nutrition.
And that’s a great point that it’s a good read to learn about the digestive system even if not wanting to follow the diet.
@Jen- That’s awesome you got Nourishing Traditions! Bone broths, beet kvass, and ginger carrots are favorites around here. Enjoy!
Love hearing from you all!
I learn so much from your posts about the foods you are eating. I just got the Nourishing Traditions book two days ago and made my first bone broth. I also have some ginger carrots and beet kvass fermenting. We’ve been going grain and dairy free for about a month over here too. I look forward to reading more about the changes you are making!
reading it now… on your recommendation… enjoying it (and learning lots) so far!
i would probably recommend this book to just about anyone – even those who don’t want to follow the diet – because it gives such a good explanation about how the digestive system works and the role beneficial bacteria plays in the body…
I’ve been thinking about this kind of thing a lot. Might be I need to find a copy of that book for myself.
Though I don’t know I would be able to happily give up dairy. I’ve been known to have a fine cheese plate instead of a birthday treat many a year.
Taryn, I really appreciate everything you write on here. If you have the notion and time I would love to read of your daily food intakes. I would help alot to see what others meals look like.
Be well,
Lisa
I’m glad to hear that you are both seeing good results on GAPS. With time, it gets easier and easier to be on the diet. I can’t imagine ever going back to such a grain-heavy diet as we used to consume.
And thanks for linking to my site!
Taryn,
What do you use instead of grain? My daughter is Autistic and her food is rice based because it needs to be pureed for her to be able to swallow.
I find myself not wanting to give her anymore grain, but I simply don’t know what to give her.
What do you do?
I appreciate any info you would love to share.
Be blessed,
Maria