The GAPS Diet is a healing protocol based on the 100 year old, scientifically backed Specific Carbohydrate Diet, also called SCD.
It was first developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD based on her clinical experience with hundreds of patients and detailed in Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS).
The GAPS book is an eye opening read about how the microbial environment within the gut can affect a person’s neurology and physiology.
This post discusses how to use the GAPS Diet to reverse conditions that are autoimmune in nature. Examples of GAPS conditions include allergies, eczema, psoriasis, ADD/ADHD, autism, celiac disease, asthma, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, diabetes, cancer, and the list goes on and on.
These conditions all can be traced to unfavorable conditions within the gut that cause undigested bits of food as well as pathogens and toxins to spill into the blood causing an unpredictable mix of autoimmune symptoms within the body.
That’s right – all autoimmune disease is rooted in the gut!
The GAPS diet as recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD limits food intake to those items that can be fully digested even within a compromised gut environment thereby allowing the gut wall to heal. When the gut wall is allowed to finally heal by removing foods that cannot be fully digested, the holes in the gut wall reseal and the toxins that are causing autoimmune symptoms stop spilling into the blood and wreaking havoc in the body.
What Foods Do People on GAPS Diet Need to Avoid
At first read, the GAPS diet can seem quite complicated. In actuality, it is really very simple.
There are primarily two types of food molecules that folks in the process of healing their guts need to avoid:
- Disaccharides
- Starches (including resistant starch)
Disaccharides, or double sugars, are present in many carbohydrates including ALL grains. The compromised gut is unable to digest double sugar molecules because the lack of beneficial gut flora compromises the function of the enterocytes.
The enterocytes are the cells that reside on the villi of the gut wall and produce the enzyme disaccharidase which breaks down the disaccharide molecule into easily absorbed monosaccharide molecules. When the enterocytes are not nourished and strengthened properly by adequate beneficial flora, they become weak and diseased and may even turn cancerous. They do not perform their duties of digesting and absorbing food properly.
The critical importance of the enterocytes to health cannot be overstated!
Weak and diseased enterocytes also have trouble digesting starch molecules which are very large with hundreds of monosugars connected in long branchlike strands. People with weak digestion due to an imbalance of gut flora and messed up enterocytes have a terrible time digesting these complex molecules leaving large amounts of it undigested- the perfect food for pathogenic yeasts, bacteria, fungi and other pathogens to thrive upon.
Even the starch that manages to get digested results in molecules of maltose, which is – you guessed it – a disaccharide! This maltose also goes undigested due to a lack of the enzyme disaccharidase and becomes additional food for gut pathogens.
The GAPS Diet Bottom Line
Therefore, all foods containing disaccharide and starch molecules must be removed from the diet of a GAPS child or adult in order to allow the enterocytes to strengthen and heal the gut wall.
Dr. Campbell-McBride MD writes that clinical practice has shown that given enough time, the gut usually will again be able to digest these foods without any ill effects (aka, autoimmune disease) to the person consuming them.
The GAPS Diet is not a forever thing. It is a temporary measure to heal the gut wall and restrengthen the enterocytes so normal life can be regained without the burden of autoimmune disease. These GAPS recipes can make implementing the protocol much easier.
Foods To Eliminate
The GAPS child or adult must avoid all grains and any food that contains them. This includes wheat, einkorn, rye, rice, corn, oats, amaranth, kamut, spelt, triticale, barley, buckwheat, millet, teff, bulgur wheat, quinoa and any others.
In addition, Starchy vegetables like white and sweet potatoes, tapioca, cassava, parsnip, arrowroot and taro must be eliminated from the diet for a time.
Starchy beans and peas must also be avoided which includes pretty much all of them with the exception of green peas and navy beans.
All sugars including the lactose in milk and cream must be avoided. Raw honey, date sugar and syrup, and very ripe fruit would be the only sweets allowed. Fermented dairy like yogurt and kefir as well as butter and ghee are permitted unless the GAPS condition is severe.
How Long to Healing on GAPS?
Dr. Campbell-McBride says that, on average, it takes a child 6-18 months on the GAPS diet for the gut to heal. For an adult, it may take longer.
Note that it will not necessarily take this long for symptoms to subside, however. It is possible for symptoms to be substantially gone within weeks of eliminating these foods from the diet. Subsiding of symptoms does not mean the person is ready to consume grains and starches again, though.
Every person is different and the severity of his/her gut imbalance will determine how long it takes for the enterocytes to become strong again, the gut wall to heal and seal, and the ability to digest disaccharide and starch molecules regained.
Probiotics Alone Will Not Heal Your Gut
I’ve had folks say to me that they don’t need to go on the GAPS diet as they take a probiotic on a daily basis and eat probiotic rich, whole foods.
Please be aware that changing to even a completely unprocessed, whole foods diet and taking a daily probiotic will not necessarily heal your gut!
This approach alone will not heal your enterocytes and heal/seal the gut wall from years of abuse by antibiotics, the pill, other drugs, and processed foods.
The reason is that the enterocytes reside on the gut wall and the balance of flora on the gut wall cannot be changed. A probiotic supplement is not able to re-colonize this area of the gut!
Dr. Campbell-McBride MD writes that probably the only time that in our entire lives where we can populate the gut wall with beneficial bacteria is at birth.
Therefore, the only way to heal the enterocytes and the gut wall is to take away the food of the pathogens (disaccharides and starches) so that they weaken and the beneficial flora consumed by a probiotic can take hold and re-establish dominance in the rest of the gut.
Then, when these foods are re-introduced at a later time, the enterocytes will be strong and able to digest and handle them properly. This simply will not ever happen unless a period of time to heal these important little cells occurs.
Also note that even after healing, the gut will require constant infusion of probiotics on a daily basis. You can either supplement your diet with probiotic rich foods like yogurt, kefir, homemade saurkraut, kombucha and others or you can continue taking a therapeutic strength probiotic such as Bio-kult, which is recommended by Dr. Campbell-McBride.
GAPS Conclusions
One autoimmune disease begets another, so if you or someone you love has allergies or another mild form of autoimmune disorder, more severe autoimmune disease will very likely take hold in the future unless the root of the problem (gut imbalance) is addressed.
Autoimmune disease never gets better – it only gets worse over time.
Of course, severe autoimmune disease mandates the GAPS Diet as perhaps the only viable option for reversal and healing.
For this reason, it may be worthwhile to consider the GAPS diet as a measure to fix gut dysbiosis once and for all.
More Information on the GAPS Diet
Overwhelmed by the GAPS Diet? Help Has Arrived
How to Speed Healing and Shorten Time on the GAPS Diet
The Five Most Common GAPS Diet Mistakes
Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for Autoimmune Disease
GAPS Diet Heals Ulcerative Colitis
FPIES: Resolving the “Other” Food Allergy
5 Steps to Healing IBS Naturally
Hannah’s Story: 2 Years on GAPS Diet Heals Autism
Chronic Stomach Pain and Bloating Gone!
How to Hold a GAPS Style, Grain Free Birthday Party
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Excellent Article!!
Here’s my story with Gaps
In the past year I have done the gaps diet for 1 month Kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi black seed oil, flax oil alot of bone broth and when i ate meat i would use digestive enzymes and Braggs apple cider vinegar for acid and noticed a big difference in my life and everything went away for 6 months (joint pain, dryness etc.. only thing that happened was i developed a Whole body Rash and itching for a month, (I think after Drinking homeade Kefir with kefir grains from Caucus Mountians area, Strong stuff) but I felt brand new super Strong, energy and pain free, and i was craving everything especially bread like I ate 2 16 foot sandwiches everyday fried foods hamburger lots of beer just about everything I really felt brand new
Then 6 months later i felt horrible again inflammation all the time, and then I was diagnosed with sjorgens, but I’ve had a cracked tounge before all this happened so I think I’ve had it for more then 10 years after reading about it which is chronic abuse on my body.
So in the end I’m doing gaps diet again and following two methods, 1 is gaps diet and 2 is Budwig protocol after reading her method I add kefir to flax seed oil or black seed oil (i made up the black seed oil version) and blend it in together to create energy for the cells.
I have been searching for something to heal my body and I believe this the closest I have ever been. I mean for six months I was healed and threw it all away for eating bad foods, now if i wanted to break it down for theories of what happened, let’s break it down.
1. The kefir killed a lot of candida or whatever was inside me and thus causing a whole body rash and itching for a month or I had a bad reaction but I felt brand new right away and continued for 6 months
2. After eating all the foods especially breads or carbs i developed leaky gut and or i rebuilt their army of pathogens and thus had joint pain, dryness etc…
3. Rash and itching Possible, cleanse of my liver and kidneys from the kefir whey causing skin rash, the liver shows in the skin.
Here’s what I’m trying. Now
Homeade kombucha with Oolong tea and from a scoby
Caucus mountain kefir grains from a guy on Etsy (Dom) to make kefir with raw goats milk.
Organic Bone broth homeade with bones in a instapot
Dr axe Collogen it has 5 different kinds
Steamed veggies non starchy no raw
Flax seed oil and or Black Seed oil for fats mixed with kefir.
Digestive enzymes I use a MrM Digest All and Braggs ACV when I eat meat or carbs.
Stretching alot and stretch slow for 30 min to 1 he
Perhaps do a 1 day fast on the weekend when I’m relaxed and not stressed by work or multitasking.
6-18 months for a child, possibly longer for an adult. It just seems such a long time to eliminate so many food groups. How is it healthy/how it possible to eat balanced and get all the nutrition a body needs while eliminating so many things? I have Hashimoto’s and have come across both GAPS and AIP consistently, but I never read anything about such a long amount of time before.
I have been listening to Eric Bakker, author of Candida Crusher. He has wonderfully YouTube videos to watch as well. He says pretty much what your saying. I just do not know if I truly have Candida. I have severe itchy skin on my hands, arms and lower legs. I just can’t take the itch any longer. I have been off of sugar and carbs for roughly two weeks and I am noticing a difference. But I am truly hungry all the time!!! I barely have energy to workout. Any suggestions?
Hello, I found this quite interesting. I would seriously caution labeling mental illnesses as only being caused and “cured” by the gut. Not receiving treatment can have dire consequences. I do agree professionals in the medical/mental health fields do not pay enough care to the gut. Please be careful making statements that do not have legitimate scientific evidence to support them. While the gut may be involved in disorders like ADHD/ADD, OCD, and Autism (as examples) a diet will not “cure” someone if they truly have these diseases in most if not all cases. Please seek medical AND mental health care if you have ANY psycho/physiological disorders.
Also Quinoa is NOT a grain. You should probably read up on it, since calling it a grain hurts your credibility.
This isn’t my label .. it is the label from a medical doctor who has years of clinical experience in this area. Perhaps think outside the box and don’t confine yourself with thinking that is outdated? Recent research is very much confirming what Dr. Campbell-McBride has observed in her patients for years. The gut and the microbial colonies that live there very much plays a role in mental health. Also, quinoa is very similar and considered grain-like with regards to its impact on the gut (high in starch .. a pseudo-grain if you will) hence it is not consumed during the healing process. I suggest you read Dr. Campbell-McBride’s book.
I have a rare virus called Molartes meningitis, basically it causes chronic and recurring episodes of spinal meningitis. I have also suffered from digestive issues for many decades. Eliminating grain has helped to improve both of these conditions tremendously! So grateful to have made this discovery!
Thoroughly enjoyed reading all the wonderful articles on your website. Already brought some of the foods/oils you recommended.
My questions, is how do I not stop losing weight while on the Gaps or Paleo Diet? What can I eat that will keep weight on?
It is very very difficult to avoid losing weight while on GAPS. When I did GAPS some years ago, I ate coconut cream and nut butters to try and keep the weight on. I still lost 8 pounds in 4 months though! I would recommend consulting with a GAPS Practitioner to help with that challenge.
Hi,
I was wondering if it’s important to include liver on this kind of diet.
I’m trying to heal ataxia (loss of balance) and other neurological problems and I feel better on a lower carb diet but still get dizziness/ataxia. Now I think it is due to candida.
I’d like to eat liver because of all the healing nutrients, but I just can’t get myself to like it. I tried again last night without success.
thanks for any tips.
Yes, liver is a wonderful healing food. It is the most nutrient dense food on the planet too! Try this liver pate recipe. It is delicious! https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/video-chicken-liver-pate/
I do wonder if my diet would help autoimmune disease. For about ten years now I’ve been living more than 90% on fluid milk products, cow milk and cow cream. Every day more than 90% of my diet is some kind of milk–skim, 1%, 2%, whole–plus I sometimes buy pints of half-and-half or fluid whipping cream and drink them straight. For me the diet helps with eye problems. If I eat solid, mixed food my eyes hurt and vision blurs. But if I follow this diet, they feel and work okay. I believe it’s because the nutrients from milk and cream are more gentle and soothing and less clogging and irritating to the cells than those from solid food. This is what makes me think it might help autoimmune disease, although it hasn’t been proven.
Disclaimer: this diet hasn’t been proven safe for human beings by any medical authority. But for me it has been safe, and I imagine my body works similarly to many.
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Shirley Heche
Wow, who knew? I have 5 autoimmune disorders and no doctor ever tells you that, unbelievable. Instead they pump you full of meds/ chemicals.