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GAPS - Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet Print E-mail
Normally, disaccharides are broken down into monosaccharide by enzymes, and then absorbed into the bloodstream to nourish your body. When the intestinal cell (enterocyte) loses it’s function to produce these enzymes, disaccharides are NOT broken down and become food for pathogenic bacteria, viruses, yeast and parasites. The Full GAPS Diet eliminates disaccharide carbohydrates: sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar) and maltose (sugar from digested starch - grains and starchy vegetables and some legumes) for two reasons:


1. To allow the cells responsible for digesting and absorbing nutrients (enterocytes) to shed and build anew.
2. To eliminate the food that feeds pathogenic bacteria, viruses, yeast and parasites.

A distinguishing feature between the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and the GAPS diet is the introduction phase of the GAPS diet, which places heavy emphasis on bone broth soups and dairy and/or vegetable probiotic foods. The purpose of the GAPS Introduction Diet is to heal and seal the gut lining quickly, by:

1. Removing fiber and other gut irritating substances
2. Providing nourishing substances for the gut lining (amino acids, gelatin, glucosamines, fats, vitamins, minerals,
probiotics, etc.)

Not everyone needs to do the introduction phase, but Dr. Campbell-McBride feels it's essential for those with digestive symptoms: reflux, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, etc. Below is an outline of the introduction phase of the diet, summarized from her book the Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
 
Start the day with a cup of filtered room temperature water and probiotic.

Stage One
  • Meat or fish stock, drink with every meal/snack.
  • Soup (exclude vegetables in cases of profuse diarrhea)
  • Probiotic foods (dairy based and/or vegetable based) with every meal/snack.
    • start with the probiotic juice from fermented vegetables
    • if prone to constipation be cautious with dairy based probiotic foods (whey, sour cream, yogurt and kefir - introduce in that order.)
  • Ginger, mint, or chamomile tea with raw honey.
AFTER ABDOMINAL PAIN AND DIARRHEA CLEAR MOVE TO NEXT STAGE

Stage Two
  • Continue Stage 1 food and add...
  • Raw organic egg yolks - add to every bowl of soup and every cup of stock
    • start with 1 egg yolk per day, once tolerated replace with soft boiled eggs (whites cooked, yolk runny)
  • Stews/Casseroles with meat and vegetables
  • Increase amount of probiotic foods with every meal/snack Fermented fish or Swedish gravlax
  • Ghee, start with 1 tsp daily
AFTER ABDOMINAL PAIN AND DIARRHEA CLEAR MOVE TO NEXT STAGE

Stage Three
  • Continue Stage 1 and 2 foods, add...
  • Ripe avocado mashed into soups
  • Pancakes from nut butter, eggs and squash/marrow/or courgette
  • Scrambled eggs with ghee with avocado and cooked vegetables, especially onions
  • Fermented vegetables (previously just juices from them)
AFTER ABDOMINAL PAIN AND DIARRHEA CLEAR MOVE TO NEXT STAGE

Stage Four
  • Continue Stage 1, 2 and 3 foods, add...
  • Grilled or roasted meats with cooked vegetables and fermented vegetables
  • Cold-pressed olive oil, start with 1 Tbs per meal
  • Fresh vegetable juice from carrot, celery, cabbage, lettuce, fresh mint (in that order)
    • start with a few spoonfuls diluted with water or mixed into whey or yogurt
    • gradually increase to a full cup a day
    • drink juice on empty stomach (early morning or mid-afternoon)
  • Baked bread from nut flour, eggs, squash/marrow/courgette, ghee/butter/coconut oil, and salt to taste.
AFTER ABDOMINAL PAIN AND DIARRHEA CLEAR MOVE TO NEXT STAGE
 
Stage Five
  • Continue Stage 1, 2, 3, and 4 foods, add...
  • Cooked apple puree with ghee and honey to taste
  • Raw vegetables
    • start with lettuce and peeled cucumber
    • then carrot, tomato, onion cabbage, etc.
  • Fresh fruit juice added to vegetable juice - apple, pineapple, mango (avoid citrus)
AFTER ABDOMINAL PAIN AND DIARRHEA CLEAR MOVE TO NEXT STAGE

Sixth Stage
  • Continue Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 foods, add...
  • Raw fruit and more honey (start with apple)
  • Baked cakes, using dried fruit as a sweetener
AFTER ABDOMINAL PAIN AND DIARRHEA CLEAR MOVE TO FULL GAPS DIET


Resources:
Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD
Doing the GAPS Diet at Disney World by Dan Corrigan, Founder of Corganic.com