What is the GAPS Diet? Today I’m explaining the GAPS diet, in an easy to understand way.
What is the GAPS diet?
The GAPS diet has been a huge life changer for myself and other members of my family. I’ve shared a little bit about this on my YouTube channel.
Looking for a GAPS diet meal plan? Check out GAPS to Go, my 30 day meal plan for GAPS intro here.
Need help overcoming picky eating? Get my Picky Eating Blueprint: Empowering parents of picky eaters with confidence to transform their child’s relationship with food in three weeks or less. Check out Picky Eating Blueprint here.
GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. That’s the title of a book written by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Dr. Campbell-McBride originally designed the GAPS diet to help her son recover from autism.
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Who is Dr. Natasha?
Dr. Campbell-McBride has a degree in medicine, and post-graduate degrees in neurology and human nutrition. As you can see, she has the perfect background to be able to design a diet like this.
After Dr. Campbell-McBride received the autism diagnosis for her son, she got to work looking for a solution and a way to help his body heal. She soon discovered that there is a vital connection between the health of a person’s gut and the health of the brain, not to mention the rest of their entire body.
This gut-brain/body connection means that the GAPS diet can not only make a difference with autism, but also dyslexia, depression, ADHD, as well as physical problems like allergies, asthma, and eczema.
How does the GAPS diet work?
Hippocrates said, “All Disease Begins in The Gut.” Dr. Natasha believes he was right! When the gut is unhealthy, problems crop up, both neurological and physical. When the gut is healthy, the rest of the body and mind enjoy good health.
The GAPS diet focuses on healing the digestive system in three main areas. It seals leaky gut, restores the balance of friendly bacteria in the digestive tract, and gently cleanses the body of toxins.
Foods that are eaten on the GAPS diet include lots of meat stock, cooked vegetables, healthy fats, and probiotic foods. It also include certain important supplements. These tend to be things that are very easy to digest, and deeply nourish the body. With the right tools at its disposal, the body can really heal.
Sick bodies have to cleanse, and juicing acts as a very gentle way to detoxify.
What do you eat on the GAPS diet?
The full GAPS diet includes meats, cook and raw vegetables, fruits, eggs, nuts, spices and various cooking ingredients, homemade condiments, desserts, and baked goods.
Avoided foods are grains and starches, all sweeteners except raw honey, processed and refined foods, additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients, and inflammatory industrial oils.
What is the introduction diet?
The GAPS diet begins with different stages called the introduction diet. These stages let you gradually introduce foods a little at a time, so that deep, effective healing can take place more quickly.
Once the introduction diet is completed, the patient moves on to the full GAPS diet, where all of the allowed foods are included. Not everyone starts with intro. Some start with the full GAPS diet.
How long does healing take on the GAPS diet?
People normally spend about two years on the GAPS diet for completely healing to take place. If the condition they’re trying to heal is more mild, a shorter time might be possible. But, in general, two years is a good amount of time to plan on.
The younger the person, the quickly and more deeply they can heal. But older folks can reap amazing benefits, too!
What happens after the GAPS diet?
Once healing has taken place, it’s not necessary to stay on the GAPS diet forever. It’s not really designed to be eaten permanently, although a person could and experience great nutrition.
After the patient has completed the GAPS diet, they can usually transition over to eating all food groups and excluding nothing. Quality of food, sourcing, and proper preparation is still important. The Weston A. Price or Nourishing Traditions diets are great examples for long term diets that provide excellent health, and are extremely delicious!
GAPS diet before and after
I did the GAPS diet for a full two years, and I’m so thankful that I did. It literally changed my life. Before that, I suffered from low energy, lots of headaches, being underweight, and horrible, cystic acne.
The GAPS diet healed all of that, for good. I now eat a Weston A. Price style diet about 90% of the time. If I want to occasionally eat junk foods, at social gatherings, for example, I can do so without my symptoms coming back. My body is truly healed.
Is it hard?
To give an honest GAPS diet review, it is a bit of an adjustment at first to say no to certain foods and focus on other ones. But I can say that the GAPS diet really is a delicious way to eat. The key is to focus on the included foods, and make the most of those.
GAPS diet recipes can be very gourmet! Think about it: You’re eating high quality meats, vegetables, lots of other things, and everything can be prepared beautifully in different combinations. There are even lots of scrumptious desserts that you can enjoy. You really don’t have to feel deprived at all, and it’s delicious.
And, last but not least, the benefits of sticking to the GAPS diet and doing it properly are phenomenal. It is so worth it. As I mentioned in the beginning, the GAPS diet was originally designed to heal autism.
So many families have been able to heal their children from autism, and so many other conditions. It is so worth it, and such a wonderful resource to know about. I know that I am joined by many others who are deeply thankful to Dr. Campbell McBride for her work, and for sharing it with us.
What is the GAPS diet? The GAPS diet explained in a nutshell video
More about the GAPS diet
How to start the GAPS introduction diet
Have you heard of the GAPS diet?
Do you know someone who could be helped by it? Share your experience in the comments!
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Grab your own copy of Gut and Psychology Syndrome
GAPS diet 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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Thanks for stopping by! Be well! 🐝
GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.
Hi Ms. Marissa, God is really so Good! I am teary eyed finding you while checking abt magnessium. I’m a single mother of 2,dad doesn’t give support. I just resigned from my 25 yr work bec my mother passed away. My 20yo son has hemophiia A severe case & ADHD. He was formerly in a regular class & was academically competitive. When his nanny for 11’yrs went back home to the province & had her own fam, ive decided to pull him out of regular school & transferred to homeschooling. He finished level 3, 4 Mos time only & got full time scholarship level 4. Level 5, he was crying & begging me to bring him back to reg school, w/ a broken heart, i had to close my ears for his safety. He had internet addiction & age 16 started to take olanzapine & biperiden very low doze bec he cant sleep & very much afraid of the many things he researched from the net esp atheism, satanism, end of the world etc. He’s now 20yo, were tapering the meds, my presence is of bigbhelp & he is doing good. I want him to undergo proper diet & right natural supplements. I am praying for his brain to completely heal & his developmental delay to drastically improve. I am now focus with him & i am vm interested to help the many parents here in the Philippines who are undergoing terrible challenge w/ their children w/ autism, adhd, etc. I hope you can guide me how to be equipped so we can empower a lot of fam here in the Philippines& all over the worls. I’ll check more of your page in the next few days. Thank you vm, more power & God bless your beautiful heart!
Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing your story! You are a wonderful mother. Sending well wishes, and message me anytime!