An Introduction to the GAPS Diet

The Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet is a very healthy eating plan for everyone, but there's more to it than that. According to some adherents, it may be able to help people with learning problems, as well as many other problems. Every parent knows that children's behaviour can be influenced by what they eat - we've all had to deal with a child who has consumed too many sweets and soft drink! And most people have noticed that what you eat affects how you sleep as well as your overall emotional state(and these are often linked). The GAPS diet was developed out of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet(SCD) by

The original aim of the SCD was to find a way to treat and manage conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Some of these nutritionists noticed that children with these conditions who had had behavioural and cognitive problems improved when following the SCD. The GAPS diet doesn't just address the diet alone, but also lifestyle. Recognizing that many symptoms associated with intestinal problems are a result of toxic overload (and toxic overload has also been shown to affect moods and hormones, which means it contributes to behavioural and cognitive problems), changes to the daily lifestyle are often recommended. For example, alongside eating the food in the GAPS diet, people are recommended to switch to natural cleaning products such as vinegar, baking soda, salt, etc. instead of chemical-laden goop. Whole foods, juices, soups and fermented products are a key part of the GAPS diet, while processed foods are shunned.

Parents may often wonder how their child will respond to a dramatic dietary change as is often needed to implement the GAPS diet. This is not as tricky as it first seems. Yes, you'll get some initial "Eew yuck" from your kids, but after a while, kids often find that they enjoy fruit juices, raw fruits and vegetables. And home-made soups have to rate highly with everyone as a comfort food! Key ingredients in the GAPS diet are eggs, which have been referred to as "nature's own fast food" as well as being very versatile - most children can find a favourite way of cooking eggs.

The full details on the GAPS diet are best found in Dr Campbell-McBride's book Gut and Psychology Syndrome, which is well worth reading (try your local library or buy it online). The GAPS diet has several phases, the first of which is a detoxification stage before proceeding. The earlier stages of the diet leave out milk and dairy products, but later on, yoghurt, cheese and kefir become important parts of the diet, especially as they provide the calcium that is so important for young growing bones. However, starchy foods containing large amounts of carbohydrates are off the list - this includes bread and potatoes, as well as glucose. However, when you realise all the things that are on the permitted list, this doesn't seem like much of a hardship - your kids will be satisfied with fresh fruit, nuts, cheese, raisins and hard-boiled eggs in the school lunch box instead of sandwiches (and you don't have to tidy up the mess left by unwanted bread crusts!).


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