GAPS Diet: What is it? + A Case Study

What Is the GAPS Diet?

WHAT DOES IT STAND FOR?

The GAPS diet stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. This diet is really an elimination diet nutrition protocol designed by the neurologist Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride for people with autism & psychological disorders. She found her patients’ symptoms were related to the digestive balance of micro-organisms and intestinal barrier integrity. She has connected gut dysbiosis (an imbalance of gut microbes) to physiological conditions as well as psychological in her two books The Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet and The Gut and Physiology Syndrome Diet.

In the GAPS Intro diet, one abstains from grains, starchy vegetables, sugars, and refined foods. It consists of 6 stages, in which each stage introduces gut-healing foods (ex: meat stock, fermented foods, animal fats, non-starchy vegetables, and organ meats).

WHO IS THE GAPS DIET FOR?

Most everyone can benefit from this digestive system reset, but the OG GAPS diet was originally designed for

• autism

• OCD

• depression

• anxiety

• schizophrenia

• ADD

• ADHD.

Since then, Dr. Natasha has completed her most recent book which describes the benefits of this protocol for Allergies, Autoimmune Illness, Arthritis, Gut Problems, Fatigue, Hormonal Problems, Neurological Disease, and Diabetes. This includes conditions such as:

• PCOS

• Diabetes

• IBD

• Hashimotos

• Alzheimer’s Disease

• Other autoimmune conditions

GAPS DIET STAGES

FULL GAPS

Full GAPS is really the final phase in the GAPS Intro Diet. However many individuals must start on full gaps prior to embarking on Stage 1 of Gaps Intro (specifically in cases of constipation). The gut-healing foods meat stock, fermented foods, non-starchy vegetables, and organ meats should contain more than 80% of the diet even on Full GAPS.

GAPS INTRO

The goal of GAPS Intro is to heal the cells of the lining of the intestines (enterocytes), reduce inflammation and ulcerations, and repopulate the gut with beneficial gut bacteria.

PROGRESSION OF STAGES: You can move through the stages of GAPS Intro at your own pace. Ideally, you would move to the next stage once your initial digestive symptoms (or other symptoms) have improved. As you introduce new dietary components your digestion symptoms (or other symptoms) might return. At this point, Dr. Natasha recommends returning to a previous more tolerated stage. Allowing more time on the earlier stages before progressing is beneficial to re-balancing the gut for long term improvements.

STAGE 1

There are many modifications for Stage 1 depending on the severity of health conditions or symptoms. This stage could initially be Carnivore for individuals who are too sensitive to plant anti-nutrients. You can also adopt a more FODMAPS approach to this stage by excluding specific vegetables that are more fibrous and fermentable such as mushrooms, beets, broccoli, and cauliflower.

ALLOWED FOODS:

• Home-made meat or fish stock

• Soups

• The brine of probiotic foods

• Boiled non-starchy veggies

• Animal fats

• Raw apple cider vinegar

• Ginger tea, mint, or chamomile tea between meals

• Green vegetable juice (for constipation only)

STAGE 2

Continue all components from Stage 1 and slowly incorporate these one at a time:

• Fresh herbs

• Raw egg yolk

• Homemade ghee (prior to cultured dairy)

• Homemade cultured dairy (after ghee is tolerated)

• Cod liver oil

STAGE 3

Continue all components from previous stages and slowly incorporate the following one at a time:

• Cultured veggies

• Lightly sautéed veggies in animal fats,

• Whole eggs

• Avocados

• Soaked nuts and nut flours (in moderation, no more than 15% of daily diet)

STAGE 4

Continue all components from previous stages and slowly incorporate the following one at a time:

• Roasted and grilled meats

• Freshly pressed veggie juices with ghee and homemade kefir

• Cold-pressed olive oil

STAGE 5

Continue all components from previous stages and slowly incorporate the following one at a time:

• Freshly pressed fruit juices mixed with 50% veggies and fat and protein

• Cooked apple puree

• Spices and raw onions

• Lettuce and cucumber

STAGE 6

Continue all components from previous stages and slowly incorporate the following one at a time:

• Raw fruits

• All raw full GAPS permitted vegetables (add in nightshades)

• Baked goods using nut & coconut flours

• Honey or dried fruits as sweeteners (no more than 15% of daily diet)

I highly recommend reading The Gut and Physiology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha or working with a qualified nutritionist to get more depth of understanding on introducing foods such as fermented foods, dairy, and eggs.

Is the GAPS diet safe?

When people ask this question it is usually because they have heard the myth that meat and animal fat is unhealthy. I have a great blog post that gets into this a little bit more from my book review of Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz. Here are some quick studies to emphasize how wrong this myth is.

The first is a very large interventional study called The Framingham Study which showed that HDL (high-density lipid) cholesterol was a positive and protective marker against heart disease. A diet high in animal protein and fat increases HDL and lowers triglycerides.

Second, in this article, we can see that in healthy, normal-weight individuals LDL, Total Cholesterol, and other cardiovascular health markers actually increase. Fasting is an ancient practice that is cancer-protective, improves microbial diversity, brain supportive, and improves metabolic health. So, why would a natural increase of LDL and Total Cholesterol be bad for us when we get all these other benefits while fasting?

Looking at these and many other studies we can conclude that the GAPS diet is not only safe but very healthy because of the nutrients found in animal protein and not found anywhere else, such as CoQ10, Vitamin D3, K2, B12, Creatine, and more.

DOES THE GAPS DIET WORK?

You can only find out for yourself! Each and every person is bio-individual and so no one can guarantee what is going to work for you. However, as a functional medicine nutritionist who has used the GAPS diet and its principles myself, as well as with my clients, I know it works.

CASE STUDY

A Male in his early 30’s suffering from IBS symptoms, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, and weight gain. He was on blood pressure medications that he said, “never worked so I don’t even know why I take them”. This client had tried previous elimination diets and dieting to lose weight but he had given up on anything that could help him with his IBS symptoms. He was anxious about going out because he would suddenly need access to a toilet. He had resorted to limiting his activities and was depressed.

He started GAPS Intro Stage 1 for one week. His initial die-off reactions were severe constipation, however, he started to implement enemas and constipation support to aid his detoxification. After the first week, he started a modified Stage 1 where he continued to eat soups but also incorporated other ways of cooking while continuing fermented foods, organ meats, and non-starchy vegetables. After one month, he progressed with food reintroductions, eggs, nightshades, fruits, and dairy.

His final results after only five months were improved tolerance to all vegetables, eggs, ghee, nuts/seeds, and even some gluten-free beans without IBS symptoms. He told me, “I was asked to go on a hike the other day and I just did it without even thinking of a bathroom. I can’t even remember the last time I felt like this.” His blood pressure has normalized, his blood glucose is in the normal range and he is no longer pre-diabetic. He lost up to 30 lbs and is still losing. He is no longer taking medications and lives his life as he wants to.

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