By Marisa Tolsma, Certified GAPS Coach | Bumblebee Apothecary
Quick Answer
The GAPS diet can produce profound before-and-after changes: cleared skin, more energy, better digestion, improved sleep, calmer mood, and resolved food sensitivities, often within months. In my own GAPS before and after story, the protocol cleared my cystic acne, lifted my chronic fatigue, ended my frequent headaches, and helped me reach a healthy weight after years of struggle. My family and the families I coach have seen their own remarkable transformations. Results vary by person, but real progress is absolutely possible.
Long ago, Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” I don’t think this has ever been more true than it is with the GAPS diet. Today I want to share our GAPS diet before and after story: my life, my husband’s life, how it’s helped my kids, and the transformations I’ve witnessed in the families I coach.
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What is the GAPS diet?
If you’ve never heard of it, I explain what the GAPS diet is in a nutshell here, and I have a full guide on how to start the GAPS diet here.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride originally designed the GAPS diet to help her son, who was diagnosed with autism. She wrote Gut and Psychology Syndrome to help people with a variety of conditions, including autism, dyspraxia, ADD, dyslexia, ADHD, depression, and more. Her later work expanded into the physical healing that comes from following the GAPS diet, not just the mental and neurological.
My GAPS Diet Before and After Story
My personal experience with the GAPS diet began in 2011. Before this, I had tried so many different things, but nothing really helped. I had been struggling with frequent headaches, fatigue, being very underweight, and worst of all, horrible cystic acne.
As a child, I didn’t have any serious health issues, but I didn’t exactly enjoy strong, vigorous health either. In my late teens and early twenties, things got worse. That’s when the cystic acne showed up and the headaches became more frequent. And no matter what I did, I was always too thin.
I experimented with various elimination diets, avoiding certain foods to see if I could get relief. Sometimes it seemed to help a little, but in the long run nothing made a big difference. I also tried going vegetarian for a while, that was really bad news and did not help at all.
Real food is everything
Since vegetarianism wasn’t helping at all, I really did want to look for something else to try. I looked into the GAPS diet, and saw right away that it focuses on lots of animals fats, meats, and other animal foods. This was pretty different from how I had been eating!
At first, I was pretty apprehensive. But, I was desperate for something that would help. I decided to give it a try.
I went into it 100%, and I’m so glad I did. It literally changed my life.
I honestly do not think I would be where I am today without having followed the GAPS diet. I’m able to do so much, I feel so good, with so much energy. My skin is completely clear, with no acne.
As a side note: the skin is a reflection of the condition of the gut. It makes perfect sense that the GAPS diet would clear my acne so well!
And, best of all, I have two beautiful, very healthy children, and a third one on the way in a few months. I am so very grateful. I’m pretty sure none of this would be possible if I hadn’t followed the GAPS diet.
Dr. Natasha recommends following the GAPS diet for two years, and that’s what I did. I began with the introduction diet, and then ate the full diet for the rest of the time.
Real food is everything
Since vegetarianism wasn’t helping, I looked into the GAPS diet, and saw right away that it focuses on lots of animal fats, meats, and other animal foods. This was pretty different from how I had been eating. At first, I was apprehensive. But I was desperate for something that would help, so I decided to give it a try.
I went into it 100%, and I’m so glad I did. It literally changed my life. I honestly do not think I would be where I am today without having followed the GAPS diet. I’m able to do so much, I feel so good, with so much energy. My skin is completely clear, with no acne.
As a side note: the skin is a reflection of the condition of the gut. It makes perfect sense that the GAPS diet would clear my acne so well.
Dr. Natasha recommends following the GAPS diet for two years, and that’s what I did. I began with the Introduction Diet, then ate the Full GAPS diet for the rest of the time.
How I eat today
After two years on GAPS, I transitioned to a Weston A. Price or Nourishing Traditions style diet. This way of eating includes all food groups and leaves nothing out. Source, quality, and proper preparation are key to having a nutrient-dense diet.
Since doing the GAPS diet, I can eat all foods with no problem at all. I experienced true healing. I stick to the Weston A. Price type diet most of the time, but every once in a while, if I want to enjoy other foods at a gathering or a restaurant, I can eat whatever I want with no bad effects. It’s so nice.
How the GAPS Diet Changed My Whole Family
Does the GAPS diet really work? For us, it absolutely has. My husband followed it for two years just like I did, and it helped him immensely. But the part that still amazes me most is watching it play out in my kids over the long haul.
From my original version of this blog post, published in 2019: “My second child (he just turned two years old) has been on the GAPS diet for the last 9 months. Actually, he did the baby version of the GAPS diet when he began solids at about 7 months.
My oldest was able to go on to eat grains and starches at 18 months with no problem. However, my second seems a little more sensitive, and started to have some skin rashes and other behavioral issues when I introduced grains and starches for him. When I saw that, I immediately had him on the GAPS diet, and the skin rashes and behavior issues went right away.
He is so calm, happy, and content now, and sleeps well again. I plan to keep him on GAPS for at least two years.”
That second child I wrote about all those years ago, the one who had skin rashes and behavior changes when I tried introducing grains and starches too early, is now nine years old. He is completely healthy. Clear skin, amazing sleep, excellent digestion, and no health, developmental, or social concerns whatsoever. He has good friends and does extremely well in school. When I think back to those early days of watching him struggle and then seeing it all resolve once I got him on GAPS, and then look at the thriving nine-year-old in front of me now, I just feel so grateful.
My oldest is now eleven and a half. She didn’t have the skin or developmental concerns when she was little that my second did, but she ate this way right along with the rest of the family. What’s been really interesting with her is how much liver support matters. As school and life have gotten more stressful at different times, we’ve noticed what a huge difference it makes for her. Something as simple as drinking beet kvass can turn her from struggling, sad, confused, overwhelmed, and shutting down, to calm, clear headed, friendly, open, communicative, and happy. It’s amazing to watch.
My third is six and a half now, and GAPS has been so helpful for him too. He started on baby GAPS just like my second, and he has grown up with this deep, intuitive sense of the connection between what he eats and how he feels. He transitioned off GAPS after starting solids with it as a baby, and now eats a wide variety of traditionally prepared, nourishing foods in a Wise Traditions style. What gets me is that he, completely on his own, chooses to avoid the foods he knows will, in his own words, “make him struggle.” Things like candy, processed food, anything with dyes or artificial colors and flavors. Nobody is making him do that. He sticks to nourishing foods because he knows how much better he feels when he eats this way.
My fourth child is four years old, and he is extremely healthy and so smart. No concerns at all. He started on baby GAPS as well, and then transitioned to the same full, wide variety of traditionally prepared, ancestral, nourishing foods that the rest of the family eats.
And my fifth just turned two. She’s also extremely healthy and bright, with no concerns at all. She started with baby GAPS too, and has now moved into the same Wise Traditions way of eating as the rest of us.
Why this still amazes me
Here’s the part I can hardly believe sometimes. My husband was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome as an adult. After we met, he got interested in the GAPS diet because I was following it at the time, and he decided to start it himself. It completely transformed his health. He is a different person now than he was before GAPS, and many of his autism symptoms disappeared.
So when I look at our five children, knowing that they came from me, someone who had very poor health as a child and young adult, and my husband, who struggled with poor health and an autism diagnosis, and I see how healthy they are, with no health or developmental concerns at all, it takes my breath away. We are so amazed at the power of nutrient-dense food. This is why I do what I do.
What I’ve seen again and again, in my own home and with the families I work with, is that children often respond to gut healing beautifully. When we nourish the gut, we frequently see changes in skin, sleep, mood, focus, and behavior.
How does the GAPS diet work?
The GAPS diet specifically targets the digestive system. Dr. Natasha teaches that the condition of our gut determines the health of the rest of our body, whether physical or mental. Having a healthy gut is powerful.
GAPS focuses on very nourishing foods: meat stock, meats, eggs, cooked vegetables, lots of animal fats, and fermented foods. It also gives the digestive system a rest from harder-to-digest foods like grains, starches, and sugars. By eating this way for a period of time, Dr. Natasha says a leaky gut can be resolved and the balance of beneficial gut bacteria restored, which means food intolerances and allergies can ease.
How the GAPS diet changed our lives video
More GAPS Before and After Stories from Our Community
My family is just the beginning. Here are real before-and-after transformations from people in our community who committed to recovering their guts with GAPS. (Results vary from person to person.)
Adults who saw change
“My villi was completely gone. I recently had another upper and lower scope, and my villi is back 100%! Your videos were instrumental in giving me back my health.” — celiac disease reversal, YouTube
“I’m on full GAPS now and I’ve completely reversed my fibromyalgia and severe IBS!” — community member
“We’ve been doing GAPS for almost a year. I started bedridden, but at some points I was sleeping 14 to 16 hours a day! I’m about 80 to 90% back to normal with my energy and other symptoms I overlooked for decades!” — YouTube comment
“It used to be very hard even with my husband because I might need to wait in the car or rush home due to an energy crash, low blood sugar, or a panic attack. This time the boys and I hiked over a mile, up and down terrain. This is soooo encouraging for me.” — Tiffany G., community
Children who saw change
“We have seen so much improvement with our 5 year old! He used to sleep terribly and now sleeps 11 hours straight a night. His eczema went away, and he started talking way more and wants to play and interact. He even sings songs. He was considered nonverbal severe. But not anymore.” — community member
“I met with his teachers and one of them told me he’s been asking to read in front of the class each day and that she ‘can’t tell he has dyslexia.’ That’s amazing! We’ve had a reading specialist for 2.5 years.” — Trish L., community (8-year-old with dyslexia)
“My son has been doing very very well these last few weeks. I don’t see any sign of reflux and he is gaining weight, went from 26 to almost 29 pounds. He is eating to his satisfaction, and he is pooping every day! He is very active, happy and more energetic.” — Salma A., community (toddler reflux)
Whole families
“Last year my husband and I purchased your 30 day GAPS meal plan and we’ve been on the diet since then. We’ve decided to adopt the diet as a permanent lifestyle because it has yielded such great results.” — email
These are the kinds of transformations that keep me doing this work. If you want to see more, visit our Hall of Fame, where our community shares their wins.
Frequently Asked Questions
In my personal experience and in the experience of many families I’ve worked with, yes. The GAPS diet helped clear my cystic acne, resolve my fatigue and headaches, and reach a healthy weight. Community members have reported reversing celiac damage, easing fibromyalgia and IBS, and seeing remarkable changes in their children. Results vary by individual, and GAPS works best with preparation and support.
It varies. Some people notice improvements in digestion within days, while deeper healing of skin, energy, mood, and food sensitivities usually unfolds over weeks and months. Dr. Natasha recommends following the protocol for up to around two years for full healing. In my experience, huge improvement typically comes long before complete resolution.
Common before-and-after changes include clearer skin, more stable energy, better digestion, improved sleep, calmer mood, sharper focus, and reduced food sensitivities. For children, parents often report improvements in skin, sleep, behavior, speech, and focus. Every person is different, so your own before and after will be unique to you.
For most people, no. GAPS is a healing protocol, not a forever diet. After a period of healing (often up to around two years), most people transition to a broad, nutrient-dense traditional diet like Weston A. Price or Nourishing Traditions. After healing, many people, myself included, can eat a wide variety of foods with no problem.
It cleared mine. Because the skin is a reflection of the gut, healing the gut often clears chronic skin issues like cystic acne. I write more about the gut-skin connection and tallow for skin support in this post on tallow and gut health.
Ready to Write Your Own Before and After?
If our story stirs up hope in you, here are three ways to begin:
🌿 Free: Gut Wellness Getting Started Guide, a simple, beginner-friendly place to start.
🌿 GAPS to Go, my 30-day GAPS Intro meal plan with recipes and stage-by-stage guidance.
🌿 Coaching: The Ancestral Gut Reset, my step-by-step coaching program with live calls and a supportive community.
Related Posts You’ll Love
The GAPS Diet Explained: Stages, Foods, and How It Heals
How to Start the GAPS Diet with Kids
Meat Stock Recipe for the GAPS Diet
Join our traditional wisdom community, and grab a free Gut Wellness Getting Started Guide when you subscribe!
Want to work with Marisa, Certified GAPS Coach?
I offer a complete GAPS Protocol Support Coaching Package. You can learn more here.
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The GAPS Diet Book: Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
Looking for a GAPS intro meal plan?
Looking for a GAPS intro meal plan? GAPS to Go is a 30 day meal plan for the GAPS introduction diet that tells you what to eat each day, with complete cooking instructions, and guidance on when to move to each intro diet stage. Check out GAPS to Go here.
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Research and References
Our family’s before-and-after story is personal experience, not a clinical study. But the changes we’ve seen reflect mechanisms that are increasingly well studied: how gut health influences skin, mood, energy, and overall wellness through the gut-brain axis and intestinal barrier function. If you’d like to read the underlying science:
- Martin CR, et al. “The Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis.” Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology (NIH/PubMed). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30023410/
- Appleton J. “The Gut-Brain Axis: Influence of Microbiota on Mood and Mental Health.” Integrative Medicine (NIH/PMC). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6469458/
- Kelly JR, et al. “Breaking down the barriers: the gut microbiome, intestinal permeability and stress-related psychiatric disorders.” Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (NIH/PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604320/
- Leeuwendaal NK, et al. “Fermented Foods, Health and the Gut Microbiome.” Nutrients (NIH/PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9003261/
For the GAPS protocol itself, see Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD.
GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.
The information in this blog post is my personal experience and opinion. It is for general information purposes only, that may not apply to you as an individual, and is not a substitute for your own physician’s medical care or advice. Always seek advice from your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding nutrition, medical conditions, and advice. Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical care because of something you have read on this blog.
💛 Marisa
