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Do you or any of your family members regularly experience common digestive complaints, such as heartburn (reflux), indigestion, bloating, cramping, constipation, or diarrhea? Do any of you suffer from eczema, asthma, dyslexia, or depression? Have your children received labels such as autism, ADD or ADHD? Do you wonder if there is a common link between any of these these things?
Two weeks ago, I received a book that I had been wanting to order for a long time. I began reading it during a plane ride to Nashville, and I quickly realized that I did not want to put this book down.
I have been studying health and nutrition for about 7 years. Over the course of those years, I have read a lot of books. Scoured a lot of websites. Tried a lot of different diets.
Some resources have been more helpful than others. A few, such as What the Bible Says About Healthy Living
So when I say that a nutrition/health book has blown me away, that's really saying something. Can I just say that I have been blown away by Gut and Psychology Syndrome
The best way that I know how to put it is that it has taken all of the incredible, valuable information that has resounded strongly with me over these past 7 years, and pulled it together in a way that made so much sense. It had me nodding my head emphatically with every page I turned.
So what is the basic premise of the GAPS diet?
I absolutely love the way that Cara phrased it recently,
"It's almost like setting the 'reset button' on your gut flora after a lifetime of antibiotics and toxins."
That is truly what the GAPS diet is all about. It is not about a bit of a "fix", or making some improvements in the way that our digestive system functions. It is so much more than that. Rather, it is about completely pulling back from all those things that exacerbate our already over-loaded, tired, lethargic, toxin-ridden, out-of-balance and damaged system, so that our gut can truly heal.
Image by hansel5569
What does the GAPS diet address?
Here is a brief list of some of the symptoms and disorders that are very often related to the gut, and that have been greatly impacted by the GAPS diet:
ADD, ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, asthma, bed wetting, thrush, finicky eaters, chronic ear infections, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type-1 diabetes, chronic cystitis (bladder infection), colic & eczema.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop has actually put together quite a few fantastic posts on GAPS, one of which has a more detailed list of conditions and/or symptoms that are related to a dysfunctional gut. I would really recommend checking it out.
GAPS includes three main principles:
1) Healing the gut- By avoiding all foods that irritate it, and by consuming only foods that will nourish and heal it.
2) Repopulating the gut with beneficial bacteria- This is done by avoiding all foods that feed opportunistic (bad) bacteria/gut flora. As well, high quality probiotic supplements are used to actively repopulate the gut while all this cleansing/starving of the bad bacteria is taking place.
3) Getting rid of toxins- This happens in a number of ways. By limiting the diet to only foods that can be easily digested and eliminated, by strengthening the gut and the beneficial bacteria so that they can deal with toxins thoroughly, and by fresh juicing to speed up the elimination of toxins.
Detoxifying is one of the most crucial benefits of the GAPS diet. When there is an overgrowth of yeast, bad bacteria, fungi, parasites and anything else that stems from gut dysbiosis (an unhealthy, improperly functioning intestinal tract), myriads of dangerous toxins are produced. These toxins are able to alter brain chemistry, cause auto-immune reactions, severely hamper immunity against infections and more. To better understand how the gut and the immune system are connected, see this excellent post on Gut Health 101.
In a nutshell, "Through her research, [Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride] has determined a distinct correlation between unhealthy intestinal flora, poor digestion and toxicity from chemicals created by undigested foods, which can severely affect brain chemistry." (Source- Weston A. Price Foundation book review).
I do have to note that it's not a quick fix diet. If I think too long and hard about what we are about to embark on, I start to feel a bit of anxiety. The diet can take anywhere from several months up to 2 years, depending on the severity of your symptoms and how your body responds to the healing work that is happening.
Right now, I am focusing myself on the benefits of this diet and on the health that I so greatly desire for my family to have, and that makes it feel absolutely worth it as I prepare for us to begin the diet!
I feel like I've left out so much valuable information... there is so much to the Gut and Psychology Syndrome
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad that you've found this book! We have found it to be life changing also and we've only been on it (the Intro to GAPS - from the GAPS Guide by Baden) for 5 weeks and have seens changes already. We have 2 (possibly 3) of 4 kids with food sensitivities and 1 with a true peanut allergy. 2 of them have slight learning difficulties/delays (speech, low muscle tone) - nothing huge like autism or ADD or dyspraxia.
I started with "The Maker's Diet" which led me to "Nourishing Traditions" - these 2 books changed our lives too!! But I soon realized that as good as they are, I wasn't implementing them as wel as I could and my 2 kids stil seems tired, sick with colds and seasonal allergies, and itchy with ezcema.
The jury's still out on behavior improvement in the kids as I can't tell what's bad flora 'die-off' and what's just toddler behavior - lol!
My family thinks we're nuts but my hubbs is fully satisfied with the food options (lots of fat and good oils with our meat & veggies!) and he is fully supportive - that helps. I am in the kitchen for an extra 2-3 hours due to all the veggie/fruit chopping but after learning NT, I know it's worth it. The kids LOVE the food! I think they were expecting something worse because they exclaim how good it tastes at every meal (tasty fats and good seasonings make a difference).
We are still very restricted but soon will add back in raw veggies (all are cooked right now), cooked, and raw fruits. I think that we will be doing this for about a year (although I've told everyone 6 months - lol!). I don't want to rush this!
Stephanie, I hope that you find as much benefit from this as we have so far!! It won't me that much of a change from already cooking whole and nourishing foods and (as far as I can tell), none of it goes against anything we've learned from NT. Plan and prepare well and then take baby steps getting intos a NEW routine with NEW recipes and NEW shopping habits.
And then ENJOY!
Blessings,
Andrea
ps. Do you might if I link this post to my blog? I had meant to do one like this to better explain the diet but hadn't gotten to it and you worded it so wonderfully!
This is when we decided to try GAPS - to find true gut healing so that we could give them a foundation to build from.
After 2 weeks, our 2 yearold started talking - 2 and 3 words sentences from nothing previous! The other 2 (with the 'issues') have clear skin and more energy - the one with speech delays has drastically improved. I feel like I have faaaar less mood swings and like my metabolism has evened out (after a tiny bit of initial weight loss). My hair has stopped falling out (I wasn't getting enough calcim prior).
mom24´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday - My Sweet Valentine
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Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 6:06 am
@mom24, Oh, I'm so glad to hear how much it has helped your family! We are really, truly excited to start it (March 1st!). And yes, of course you can link to it. :)
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I'm very interested in hearing your plan for this diet and why you chose to do it. I definitely think this type of diet would benefit my family. My husband has various digestive issues and (I believe) a mild case of ADD or ADHD. My 14 month old son has had digestion problems for the past three months (which happened to be when we had to start supplementing because I couldn't get my milk supply back up after a long period of illness). I struggle with depression and have issues with indigestion, reflux and eczema.
I attended a workshop this weekend about healing depression and anxiety naturally, and one of the topics addressed was healing the gut. I was very interested. The main things holding me back from completely overhauling our diet are getting my husband on board (I know I won't keep it up if he isn't doing it with me), the cost of a special diet (we already have a very low grocery budget), and my fears about fixating on food because of past issues with eating disorders.
I'm looking forward to reading more about your thoughts and experiences with this diet.
Melissa´s last blog ..It's My Blog, and I'll Vent if I Want To!
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Quiet-Mom Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:54 am
@Melissa, What a great review. I'm throwing this book in my shopping cart at Amazon. My husband has been doing an anti-candida diet for a few months (it's so hard!) so I think this will just serve to support what he's doing even more.
I have both Nourishing Traditions and The Makers Diet - fabulous information there too.
Thanks!
Annette
Quiet-Mom´s last blog ..Tell Me Thursday – 2/18/2010 – Shortcut
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I love the GAP book as well. It was like turning on a light bulb in a dark room. It is amazing because I have read the same books as you in the same order. Each one has brought considerable change to my family for the better. I have been doing the GAPS diet for the most part with my seven year old for over a year. She was doing outstanding on it until our entire family was severly poisoned by aerial spraying this past August. I have been detoxing her but we are still struggling to get back to the level we had obtained prior to that poisoning. One area I have seen great improvements is in her schooling. She is home schooled and struggled so hard to even learn her ABC's last winter. One month on the GAP diet and she was quickly learning to read. I see a huge improvement in mental ablitlites!
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This is a great overview!
We really like the diet. After the initial confusion, I kind of found a rhythm in cooking and it became much simpler. I haven't ever stuck with a 'cleanse' before, but this one just made so much sense that I can highly recommend it! I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone in our antibiotic-laden culture who couldn't benefit from this.
Cara @ Health Home and Happiness´s last blog ..Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma
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I would really like to do something like this because I suffer with depression (sometimes severe) and do not want to continually keep increasing my medication to "make it better". My only drawback is the restrictive eating that usually is included in diets like these. But I would love to read some more info about it!
Kalyn´s last blog ..Fess Up Friday: Reading Recipes........Thoroughly
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Did you really mean Type ONE diabetes? Or type II? I have never heard of any diet or protocol that can help type I.
We have not exactly done GAPS but we have been so close for so long...and we do feel better but we're not doing the full protocol and it's only been a few weeks. We'll see.
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Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:56 pm
@Kate, Huh, that's interesting. I didn't catch before that it said Type-1. I only saw the "diabetes" part. I got that list off of one of the other GAPS posts I listed to. I actually haven't heard of anything helping with Type-1, except that I imagine a mother doing GAPS before pregnancy could possibly help to prevent it, as she would be that much healthier when conceiving? I'm not really sure, but thanks for catching that!
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I too am excited to be starting the GAPS diet. I am still working my way up to GAPS intro diet but I am already starting to see some improvement in my overall health. I would love to get my kids on board too but I just can't see them eating the GAPS foods. I would love to hear how you get your kids to eat some of the recommended foods! Love GAPS Guide by Baden.
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I've heard a lot of references to the GAPS diet but never a good explanation of what it is and why it is useful. I look forward to reading more about it.
I feel a lot like Andrea mentioned, I've been slowly incorporating NT ideas and do think they are great but I know eventually we will probably want something a little more cohesive and (unfortunately?) strict.
Right now I'm just struggling to maintain our good habits due to moving and pregnancy but this is definitely something to think for a later time.
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I've been doing this for about a month. I started it because like Cara, I wanted to hit the reset button, so to speak! I am wondering if I was heading towards chronic fatigue syndrome, and I probably had years of malnourishment due to undiagnosed celiac disease.
What I first started, I felt AMAZING for the first time in a long while. People who didn't know I was doing the diet kept remarking about how good I sounded/looked/seemed. But around week 2 the sugar cravings totally overwhelmed me and I couldn't keep it up, so I'm using the supplements in "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross to try to regulate my brain chemistry a bit so I can get back on the diet 100% and keep healing.
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I have never heard of this book but it sounds great. I will definitely get it. I am a true believer in that what we put in our body makes a difference in so many things and can really help to relieve alot of symptons. We don't really have any digestive issues here but we sure could stand to eat better each day. thanks!
Debra´s last blog ..No time...
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could one just order the book,and not do the course? is that an option? i know i have only one day to decide i do feel lead taking the course! please let me know.thanks
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hi Stephanie! long-time reader and first time commenter here!
I'm glad to see your positive review of this book - it's a purchase I really want to make in the near future to hopefully improve our health. I have never really been "sickly" but over the past few months I've noticed a general downsurge in how well I feel - my husband and I have both been suffering from headaches and digestive issues, and I have had sinus problems - what's felt like a long-term mild sinus infection coupled with soreness/bleeding that won't heal.
My husband and I had a conversation recently when I told him about GAPS, and we got on the topic of being "healthy" vs. being "functional." Just because one is able to still go to work or go to school and not be bedridden or contagious with illness doesn't mean that he/she is really healthy. I think right now as a couple we are functional and able to get through the day, but not necessarily healthy. I like the idea of "rebooting" our guts to flourish and have healthier bodies. I'm looking forward to hearing more about GAPS and how/why your family will do it! Thanks so much for your great blog; I've learned a ton from you.
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I can't wait for your next post about this! Today is the first time I really read about the gaps diet (I had seen it before, but never looked into it), and it is exactly what I've been thinking is the problem with my almost-two-year-old and her eczema problem. I am just convinced that she is having digestive issues, especially because she was also having problems with constipation until after we took her off of dairy over two weeks ago. Now she is having more regular bowel movements, but her eczema still hasn't cleared up.
I was on a lot of antibiotics before I got pregnant with her (I had lyme disease), and have suffered from depression and candida yeast. So all of a sudden these lights start going on in my head, and I can hardly wait to do something about it. But I do want my husband's support in this, and want to respect him and his opinions. I want to talk with him about it (maybe tonight), and I hope he will be receptive and encouraging about trying this new diet.
Thank you for the work that you put into your website. I appreciate it!
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Jessica Reply:
May 1st, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Hi Karen,
We are starting to try the GAPS diet for multiple health things in our family. My 2 year old had excema and it turned out to be an egg allergy. I read recently that most excema is caused by egg allergy, especially if the rash occurs on the face.
Jessica
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I'm very interested in GAPS and can't wait to see how you implement it and the foods that you eat. I read Cara's blog and I see the things she cooks, too, which is helpful. I would like to buy or borrow this book so I can really read up on it before I start anything.
The reason I would want to try it is severe heartburn(can't pinpoint really what causes it), unexplained rashes and itchy spots and just generally feeling run down which leads to some depression at times . I do have asthma too but it is pretty well-controlled now without daily drugs (PTL!).
My biggest drawbacks would be cost as our budget is very low right now, social eating and also the fact that my husband tends to think these things are a bit hokey! I don't think I would be as committed if he wasn't at least mostly supportive. He has some digestive issues too which maybe could be helped some by a diet change such as this one.
Mary Ann´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday: The "Making It Last Until The End Of The Month" Edition!
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In the past, I've always felt like the GAPS diet was way over my head, and not something my family could ever do. But I am SO intrigued by the GAPS diet now, and can't wait to get my hands on this book. I'm particularly interested because my 2 year old son has gastroparesis (essentially, paralysis of the stomach). We are desperately trying to find a diet that gets him the nutrition he needs that his stomach can handle without going to a completely liquid (and maybe tube-fed) diet. Even if this isn't a diet that could help him, I think it sounds pretty great for the rest of us! Off to see if my library has this book, and if not I'm ordering it!! Thank you SO much for sharing!
Cara´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday: February 22
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I never comment on blogs. But I just had to let Cara know that my sister had Gastroparesis and tried every kind of conventional therapy and medication that her doctor prescribed. Eating was always just a miserable experience for her. She has been following the GAPS diet for 9 months and is completely cured. Her Gastroenterologist is amazed, and really backtracking on his previous statement 'there really is no cure, we can just treat the symptoms"
God is so good!
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Thanks so much for sharing. I really look forward to hearing how this works for your family. We did the intro diet for a couple weeks just as a cleanse. We eat close to GAPS as possible, but can't make it work ALL the time with work and travel. I struggled with the "absoluteness" of the diet because we just couldn't do it, but I know that every positive change we make is helping us to heal. We are still doing beans soaked 24 hours, potatoes or pasta once every couple weeks, and chocolate here and there. I still feel we are making progress though we are not perfect GAPS. We definately feel better since cutting out most the grains, but I may bust the budget with all the nut flour. We're trying to do a lot of juicing and green smoothies instead of baked goods, but the family loves muffins and pancakes (so do I!). We eat a lot and easily eat a dozen muffins for breakfast. I look forward to hearing your ideas.
Blessings on your GAPS journey!
Oh...and we LOVE the juicing and regular epsom salt baths. They have really made a difference for us!
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Patty Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 10:25 am
@Kari, Kari-I don't know the GAPS diet (YET) but just based on your comment I would suggest making healthier pancakes and muffins if you can't skip them. Use the juices and green smoothies in the mix rather than just water. Use healthier grains and mix in veggis, fruits and nuts.
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I'm going to facebook link this post... I can think of several people who would be interested in it. I am scared of the GAPS diet, but I am definitely in the seriously checking it out stage. We've had a lot of gut issues and my son has multiple food allergies and asthma... so it sounds like a road we may want to try.
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I see this as providential that you just posted on this. I was reading about this book last night, and thought it might be a neat idea to add it to my collection "sometime". Then you posted, and it REALLY got my attention :-) I scoured a lot of the GAPS site, and I ordered the book. We are so humbled and blessed that with 9 children, we don't have any major problems/diagnoses - all of my children were breastfed and most never had antibiotics. We've eaten much homemade stuff for years, and are getting back into raising our own meat, milk, and eggs. Lately I've just not felt up to snuff, and my husband is in 2 years of training at his workplace (nuclear power reactor operator) and has been fighting fatigue - he's normally a high-energy guy. So we've been re-examining our diet - it's just so much simpler IMO to change your foods first, than to add a bunch of supplements without addressing the root problem. AND I just recently cleaned out my cleaning products and bought almost the entire BioKleen line of products (on sale!) to try. God has given me a desire to clean up in so many ways...
Just a-ramblin'... Looking forward to hearing how this goes for your family!
Kimarie´s last blog ..Back to School!
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yes, and yes. =) i relate so much to what you've written. i've read the GAPS website, looked thru the book (my friend's copy) and felt a tugging and leaning toward "taking the plunge".
like you, i desire good health for my family. my 9yr old daughter has ezcema and i feel like we have really tried *everything* ... =( we've made many dietary changes but in pieces; the GAPS approach feels like a complete commitment to radical change, which is both totally appealing and terrifying. one of my best friend's implemented it in her home a few months ago (her son is autistic) and ... what a journey it was/is!
i am really looking forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback.
i probably should order a copy of the book myself ...
blessings to you,
emily
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There’s an interesting post over at the Health Journal Club that makes the case that people should just not eat anything that wasn’t a food 100 years ago. Gets rid of the aspartame, bleached GM flour, high fructose corn syrup garbage they try to pass off as food these days. If interested you can read on it here,
http://healthjournalclub.blogspot.com/
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Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for this amazing overview. I'd been searching for something to get to the bottom of my eczema, and I've been researching this for hours ever since I read your post on Mon. I'm going to start the GAPS diet tomorrow with my 3 kids (7, 6, and 4.) Based on Cara's advice (Health, Home, and Happiness), we're going to start w/ the full GAPS, and then after a week or so, we'll transition to the Intro diet. I think that will be a huge help to us in transitioning away from all the wonderful freshly ground, soaked or sourdough, wheat baked goods we enjoy (and I think are addicted to!) I'm really hopeful that this can be a huge boost to our health. It makes so much sense! And I love that it works you toward eating some of the things that temporarily have to be removed. I have no goal of going the rest of our lives without whole grains and other healthy starches.
Please keep us all updated on how this works for your family, and if you have any tips for preparing/getting started.
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I'm looking forward to following your journey, as we're about to embark on one of our own. We too have eaten a fairly healthy diet for many years, and in the last 1 1/2 years moved toward a WAP/Nourishing Traditions type diet. (Not 100%, but trying to incorporate more.) In the last few months I've done a lot of looking into GAPS, and really feel it will benefit my husband in particular, who has many symptoms and issues that it addresses. My kids thankfully have always been very healthy, but there are little things that I think it will help, and so we're in the process of transitioning into the full GAPS, and then we'll move toward the intro for my husband at least. I'm pregnant so can only commit to so much right now... God willing it will be a help and I'll be able to keep up with it. As I already make almost all of our meals from scratch I think it is do-able.
God bless you as you embark!
Rebeca
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My husband, 2-year old son and I have been on GAPS for five months and have never felt better. My husband's digestive distress is gone and my son's dairy allergy is also gone. I've never felt more energetic. I also resisted it at first but at this point I can't see myself ever going back - we plan to eat this way indefinitely!
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My son was delivered by c-section after 4 L of antibiotics were poured into my veins for my water breaking before it was "suppose" to. (looking back my husband and I have had candida infections since we were infants also) He was colicy, severe asthma and bleeding ecema. Dr's just want to give drugs and "help". By God's grace and wisdom we have carried him through w/ out drugs but it was looked so down upon. (Chest contractions were even helped w/ teas) We eat by NT and Jordan Rubin's books. But it still has helped but he is not well. We are off of all yeast and sugar and that maintains us ok. This past week he had a type of uti that could not be well diagnosed. This so fits us. I can't wait to get the book and devour it.
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Stephanie,
I've been wondering how GAPS is going for your family and would love an update post if/when you get the chance!
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Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home Reply:
April 30th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
@Susanna, So funny you would ask this today, as we are going to transition back to our regular Maker's Diet/Nourishing Traditions diet for a period of time. It has been going really well for us, but I'm in a season where I need one less thing that is causing me stress/extra work. We're going to keep up with the broth, probiotics and fermented foods, though, and still stay off of conventional, processed foods. I will consider doing an update soon- thanks for asking!
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Susanna Reply:
April 30th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
@Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home,
THanks for the reply, Stephanie! I totally hear you on the work/stress of it. You inspired me to start GAPS as I was searching to get to the root of our eczema issues, and we started a day before you, so that's why I was curious. :) I'm planning to stay on it (w/ my 3 kids) til the end of May, then transition back to a NT diet, but much higher on the ferments/probiotic foods than before. And as much broth as I can manage - getting a little sick of smelling the beef stock cooking and dealing with the grease. :) I've been very pleased w/ the noticeable results of GAPS and am really hoping it's doing a lot for our gut that we're just not noticing. My eczema is almost gone, my hormones have regulated some, b.o. has drastically decreased, and my stomach feels so comfortable all the time (and I hadn't even realized before that I had mild stomach aches a lot.) Sorry if too much info. My boys both had serious reflux as babies, so I feel like this is one way I can help them heal.
Anyway, I appreciate the update and hope the transition makes things less stressful for you (b/c stress can impair healing!)
Take care,
Susanna
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