I’ve been receiving numerous emails and queries within my community recently about the GAPS Diet versus Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) for reversing autoimmune disease.
It is exciting that more and more people are choosing to take responsibility for their health by seeking a dietary approach to heal and seal the gut in order to put autoimmune issues of all kinds into remission!
It is also very encouraging to have multiple healing diets like GAPS and AIP available for people to choose from in order to architect an approach to wellness that best suits each person’s budget and lifestyle.
In order to clear up some of the confusion between these two healing diets for reversing autoimmune disease, GAPS and Autoimmune Paleo, I’ve asked Melanie Christner, NTP of Honest Body to outline the two diets at their most basic level and discuss the primary differences between the two.
It is important to remember that GAPS and AIP are both healing diets, meaning they are *temporary* and not designed as a lifelong endeavor. In other words, the ultimate goal of GAPS and AIP is to heal, put autoimmune disease in remission, and resume normal eating within the context of the Traditional Diet that makes the most sense for each individual.
With that, let’s launch into a more detailed discussion of the GAPS Protocol and Autoimmune Paleo. Take it away, Melanie!
What is the GAPS Diet?
GAPS stands for Gut And Psychology Syndrome. It makes a connection between the health of the digestive tract (permeability, balance of microbes, inflammation, etc.) and the health of the nervous system and the rest of the body. GAPS was developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a medical doctor and neurologist, with a master’s in nutrition. She outlines the diet in detail in her book Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
GAPS is a three-part protocol which includes:
- Therapeutic diet (see GAPS protocol recipes at the provided link).
- Supplementation
- Detoxification therapies
The dietary component of GAPS is based on the 100-year-old Specific Carbohydrate Diet diet (SCD), a proven diet that was developed to help autistic children. The GAPS diet focuses on healing and sealing the gut lining by removing all food stressors for an extended time, and treating with foods like therapeutic bone broth, as well as helping the gut flora rebalance with fermented foods and probiotics.
Supplementation is not heavy, but important. Detoxification therapies include juicing, and detox baths. Practices like saunas and enemas are encouraged.
Typically one who is serious about the GAPS Protocol goes through the 6 stage Introduction Diet first (usually 3 – 4 weeks) and then moves on to the Full GAPS Diet for 18 months to 2 years. This allows the body to gradually and safely rebalance and replenish nutrient stores while at the same time detoxifying and repairing the damage.
Foods Excluded on GAPS
Processed Food (canned & packaged foods)
Emulsifiers and Thickeners (guar gum, carrageenan, etc.)
Refined Oils
Refined Sugars
Grains (soaked & fermented grains are allowed when transitioning OFF GAPS)
Some legumes (lentils & great northern beans are allowed after Intro)
What is the Autoimmune Paleo Diet (AIP)?
AIP stands for the Autoimmune Paleo Diet. In its basic form, it is an elimination diet that has a permanent component based on Paleo or Primal eating. The goal of the AIP is to eliminate foods that cause inflammation and dampen the autoimmune response of the body attacking its own tissues.
AIP was originally developed by Loren Cordain PhD. Sarah Ballantyne PhD was attracted to AIP through her research and has now become a leading expert in Paleo Autoimmune issues. The diet is discussed in her book, The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body.
Foods that are out permanently during and after Autoimmune Paleo include:
- Processed Food
- Emulsifiers and Thickeners (guar gum, carrageenan, etc.)
- Refined Oils
- Refined Sugars
- Grains (including corn)
- Dried Legumes (including soy and peanuts)
- Stevia (and other non-nutritive sweeteners)
There is a strict 30 Day elimination period on Autoimmune Paleo that eliminates and then reintroduces (as the body allows without symptoms returning) the following:
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Nuts (including nut-based fats like peanut oil)
- Seeds (including coffee and cocoa and seed-based fats like hemp seed oil)
- Nightshades (both vegetables and spices)
- Fresh Legumes (green beans and green peas)
- Alcohol
- Fruit-based and Seed-based Spices
How are GAPS and Autoimmune Paleo Similar?
Both diets start with an elimination component and require that you listen to your body for cues as you slowly reintroduce foods that are allowed on the “full” list.
Both can be mishandled, meaning it is possible to not eat enough of the healing foods (fermented foods, bone broth, organ meats, seafood and lots of vegetables) and focus too much on “approved” baked goods, fruit, etc.
Both eliminate processed foods permanently – processed foods have contributed to our current health crisis in the first place. They also both eliminate grains, most legumes, refined oils, & refined sweeteners.
Both place an emphasis on working with diet first, before looking deeper into issues that may need targeted supplementation.
Both eliminate nuts and seeds in the introductory stages, but GAPS introduces egg yolks early on (if tolerated) and nut/seed butter in later Intro stages
Both have practitioners who have trained to be specialized in their respective implementation. (And both have related blogs with great recipes & information!)
How are GAPS and Autoimmune Paleo Different?
GAPS has six stages to its Introductory diet. Stage 1 starts with a diet that is suitable for the most compromised digestive systems and those suffering from diarrhea.
AIP elimination portion of the diet is a group of the same foods that are eaten for 30 days.
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GAPS was developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a medical doctor and neurologist, with a master’s in nutrition.
AIP was originally developed by scientist, Loren Cordain PhD. Sarah Ballantyne PhD was attracted to AIP through her research and has now become a leading advocate of Autoimmune Paleo.
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GAPS eliminates certain methods of food preparation on the Intro diet. In order for gut healing to take place, raw fibrous foods (which can exacerbate a compromised digestive tract) are out, but raw fermented vegetable juice is introduced in tiny amounts from the beginning.
AIP doesn’t make a distinction for cooking methods such as the GAPS recommendation to eliminate the use of a microwave oven.
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GAPS allows ghee and then 24-hour fermented dairy fairly early in the Introduction diet (as long as it is tolerated).
AIP eliminates all dairy for 30 full days.
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GAPS allows for nightshades in the later Introduction stages, as well as nut and seed butter.
AIP eliminates all nuts, seeds & nightshades for the duration of 30 Days.
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GAPS is meant to be a protocol followed for 18 – 24 months, followed by a careful reintroduction of new potatoes, and then soaked rice and fermented grains (like sourdough) are slowly incorporated. This is of course bio-individual and best attempted under the care of a GAPS Certified Practitioner who can ensure steady progress with no backsliding into autoimmune symptoms.
AIP is a protocol meant for 1 – 12 (+/-) months, depending on how slowly reintroductions of regular Paleo foods are made. Grains are never reintroduced, which can prove both a budgetary and psychological hardship for many people. Reintroduction of eliminated foods is also very bio-individual.
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Top 5 Distinctions of GAPS
- Emphasis on healing foods like bone broth & ferments
- Key supplements introduced after first 3 stages
- Introduction diet begins with foods suitable for chronic diarrhea
- Nutrient stores are allowed time to replenish over 18 – 24 months
- Emphasis on natural forms of detoxification, such as juicing, enemas (including coffee enema), infrared sauna, sweating, cleansing baths like epsom salt soaks
Top 5 Distinctions of Autoimmune Paleo (AIP)
- Eliminates problem foods, like nightshades & nuts, for 30 Days
- Emphasis on autoimmune remission
- Nightshade, seed-based & fruit-based spices are eliminated
- Eggs are eliminated for a full 30 Days…no baked goods
- All dried legumes are eliminated
So, Which is Better? GAPS or AIP?
The good news: Both AIP & GAPS are full of nourishing, real foods. This fact alone means that much improvement can be gained from either approach.
On the other hand, GAPS was developed by a medical doctor with a Master’s in Nutrition who has years of hands-on clinical experience dealing with autoimmune compromised patients which adds much credibility to this approach. I will admit to a personal and professional preference for the GAPS Diet as this is the protocol that brought a lot of healing to my own family.
Moreover, the GAPS Protocol offers additional aspects that I believe to be vitally important to recovery from autoimmune disease. GAPS also offers an effective process for reintroducing grains into the diet once the gut is healed, something many people feel is important not only to overall food enjoyment and satisfaction but also to the maintenance of a realistic and affordable food budget over the long term.
I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with either the AIP or the GAPS Protocol. Real, nourishing food, made with love, is always a good thing!
Have you ever undertaken either GAPS or Autoimmune Paleo? If so, what were your experiences and observations?
More Information
Overwhelmed by the GAPS Diet? Help Has Arrived
How to Speed Healing and Shorten Time on the GAPS Diet
Using Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for Autoimmune Disease
The Five Most Common GAPS Diet Mistakes
GAPS Diet Heals Ulcerative Colitis
Hannah’s Story: 2 Years on GAPS Diet Heals Autism
Chronic Stomach Pain and Bloating Gone!
I’ve been on GAPS intro Stage One for over 3 weeks and have had violent diarrhoea 2-10 times a day every day. I don’t understand why as I keep reading how it ‘relieves digestive symptoms quickly’. I do not have a gallbladder, but am taking 3 x ox bile and 2 x HCL and Pepsin with each meal and I scoop the fat off the broth I drink and use for soups as I read that I need to introduce fat slowly. In addition my blood pressure has been phenomenally low and I am exhausted and dehydrated. I feel either starving hungry or have no appetite at all. I only had food allergies and candida issues before starting. Not sure how long I should persevere with such a bad reaction?
Are you under the care of a GAPS Practitioner? If not, I would suggest getting some professional advice.
I did the GAPS intro and AIP, and the GAPS intro diet (with no dairy) is the only thing that worked for me. I personally don’t like the paleo approach in general as they tend to focus on the wrong things, i.e. too much emphasis on o6 and o3 ratios as opposed to focusing on fat soluble vitamins, eliminating dairy and grains for the wrong reasons, and generally no good dietary principles or guidelines to follow. Paleo tends to be very rationalistic about food, when food on some level is a sensual experience and they ignore that to a large degree, whereas Weston A Price and GAPS encourage you to follow your cravings and listen to your body, and that the tastes and satisfaction from food are important. Then there’s paleo with their bans on certain foods, allowance of other improperly cooked/prepared foods, sometimes complete ignorance of traditional cooking methods, no importance put on frying and baking vs stewing (which is really important to gut healing), and not enough fermenting of foods. Also I can’t help but notice that paleo is more or less irrelevant after the observations of Weston Price and I don’t know why the paleo writers are getting all the credit for bringing back ancestral diets when they had to ‘borrow’ some of WAPs ideas to make their own theories even remotely feasible (i.e. paleo first advocated eating a bunch of lean meat and avoiding saturated fats). It’s actually kind of criminal to me because these paleo writers are not geniuses, they did not do the research and investigating that Price did to discover what traditional healthy diets consisted of, but they’re getting all the credit for some half-baked ‘paleo’ diet based on coconut oil (in Ice Age Europe?) and buttered coffee and salads with lettuce (which traditional cultures rarely ate). That’s my take on paleo, there is nothing inherently wrong with the foods people eat on paleo (mostly) but I would say they are missing the point entirely about traditional diets, and GAPS and WAPF are superior nutritional philosophies.
I know this is an old comment, but just want to say that this is fantastic. My family follows the WAPF principles, and I have always had a funny feeling about the paleo diet. You said it perfectly.
On GAPS for 3+ years with my daughters and ready to try some starches now! We are ver grateful to this diet and feel so happy now! Our path took much longer than the typical 2 years though and were on intro for almost a year, Thank you dr NCMB!
I have been on a low-carb version of the SCD for about eight years, likely ketogenic at times. Actually, my diet is more like a modified paleo diet because I do not eat any grains, legumes or beans. I was very much helped by the information about nourishing traditional fats, promoted by the Weston A Price Foundation. The diet “cured” my health problems which included: asthma, allergies, chronic sinus infections, yeast infections, osteoarthritis and epilepsy. Here’s my story: http://eatkamloops.org/specific-carbohydrate-diet-a-personal-story/.
In my opinion, all these diets are really one diet with multiple names. I am a bit troubled that these diets are becoming professionalized. These diets are simple and can be done at home without medical help. For newcomers to the diet, just remember to slowly re-introduce foods one at a time. Don’t fight it if the foods don’t agree. Just cut the food for another six months and try again later. At a point, troublesome foods are just not worth trying again.
Remember we are all different. Personally, I was never able to safety reintroduce foods, with the exception of raw dairy. I do better on high fat dairy products such as butter and cream. For me, all grains are off the menu for life. On the other hand, my youngest daughter has been able to re-introduce and eat many more foods safety.
Good luck with the diet! 🙂 If the diet is going to work for you, you will see amazing improvements within one short month of being on the diet, regardless of which version you try.
One more thing about these healing diets. I have started to wonder how much of the healing power of the diet is just the elimination of processed industrial foods and how much health power comes from going lower carbohydrate. In my case, avoiding the additives found in industrial foods was very important. BUT it was only when I went low-carb with the SCD that my remaining health conditions disappeared.
If low-carb or ketogenic diets are of interest to your readers, I have been doing some research and experimenting on these diets: http://eatkamloops.org/healthy-household-fat-loss-on-the-cheap-part-ii/.
Hi, I have used both diets to heal from Hashimotos Disease and severe allergies. Paleo first followed by GAPS. It will be 3 years this November 2014, since I was nearly dead. To say these diets have brought healing to my life is a huge understatement. Praise Jesus for leading me through this complicated maze. I am now very, very well.
For more info on my journey:
http://heleadsmesharon.blogspot.com.au
Hi! I just want to say that GAPS changed my life!! From age 18-29, I was disabled with several conditions following an extreme illness in the tropics: POTS, moderate hypersomnia, sleep apnea (due to dysautonomia–I am quite thin and my mouth is shaped correctly), neuropathy, alternating Graves disease and Hashimotos, Kidney disease, Liver disease, herd, chronic bursitis, EDS, fibromyalgia, and CFS. After being on GAPS, I have been in FULL REMISSION for 3 years! This after being bed-bound for 4 years and being on 17 medications. I take no medicine now. In the last three years I finished college, worked full time, met my husband and got married. I tried so many diets before this.. Raw, vegan, juicing, vegetarian etc etc.
I did do a modified version. Mostly a fructose free ketogenic version of GAPS. I still can’t do honey or fruit. However, I did heal my lifelong dairy allergy, and I now eat raw cheese and butter daily.
I’m sure AIP is wonderful too. Luckily, I have no problems with eggs or nightshades, and the specific focus on the nervous system that GAPS affords was extremely helpful for me.
If you are beginning your healing journey, try any and all diets you can. Give them each at least 6 months. You never know which one will be your ticket to freedom. Happy healing!
My husband had severe eosinophilic esophagitis – severe swelling of the esophagus to the point he couldn’t even swallow water, and severe intestinal distress of all kinds. We tried different elimination diets and finally, finally, after 4+ years, hit on AIP. After 2 weeks, his gastrointestinal pain disappeared. We are VERY slowly reintroducing foods, but at least he feels great now!!!
we’ve been seriously considering scd for my wife’s ibs – having the diarrhea/constipation variety. What are differences between scd and gaps. It almost seems like they’re referring to same protocol?
That is the one fault in this article – GAPS is based on the SCD diet, that’s true, but the SCD diet was developed by a Canadian food biochemist, Elaine Gotshall, as documented in her book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. She did it to save the life of her child who was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Many people have found benefit from the SCD diet, including those with Autism, but that was not the impetus. I have not read the GAPS book yet, but from what I have seen online there really isn’t much difference between the SCD protocols and the GAPS ones.
I have Hoshimotos and Celiac and continuing digestive issues. GAPS did NOT work for me. I followed the diet recommended by the book, Digestive Health With Real Food by Aglaee Jacob. I believe FODMAPS are a big issue for lots of people as well as SIBO. One year later, my digestion is good but remain on more of a AIP paleo with the addition of rice, quinoa, soil based probiotics. If I have nightshades, I get joint aches. Its a very individualized journey. What I don’t like about GAPS is how sure they are they GAPS will fix everyone.
Thanks for this article! I strongly feel we are on the same level when it comes to nutrition.
I am doing some research and found your article. I was wondering: would the FODMAP diet be beneficial here as well?
K.r. ,
Angela