In order to address the link between gut health and mental and physical disorders, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a medical doctor and nutritionist based in the UK, created the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) Diet. With a focus on nutrient-dense meals, fermented foods, and bone broths, the GAPS Diet is a modified form of the paleo diet that forgoes grains, legumes, and refined carbohydrates.
What is GAPS Diet?
The GAPS Diet is a comprehensive diet created to restore gut health, treat digestive difficulties, and solve both mental and physical issues. The main theory behind the GAPS is that a leaky gut syndrome, also known as a damaged gut, can cause a variety of health issues, such as autoimmune illnesses, neurological conditions, and mood disorders. The GAPS Diet tries to heal the gut by removing items that may trigger digestive problems, encouraging the growth of healthy gut flora, and restocking the gut with nutrient-dense foods, fermented foods, and bone broths.
How Does GAPS Diet Work?
Grain, legumes, refined sugars, and processed foods are among the first things to be cut out of the GAPS Diet in order to start working. The “Intro Diet” is the name given to this phase of the diet, which is meant to be followed for a few months to allow the gut to recover. More items, such as dairy products and carbs like potatoes and sweet potatoes, are gradually reintroduced to the diet following the introduction diet.
When the gut is healed, the focus shifts to consuming nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, animal products including meats, fish, eggs, and organ meats, as well as healthy fats like ghee and coconut oil. In order to refill the gut with healthy bacteria, This Diet also calls for the use of fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut. Additionally, a key component of the GAPS Diet is bone broth since it contains necessary minerals and amino acids that can support gut health and aid in gut lining repair.
Benefits of GAPS Diet
The GAPS diet has the ability to enhance gut health, improve mental health, and provide relief from a number of physical ailments, among other things. The following are some of the GAPS Diet’s most frequently cited advantages:
- Improved digestion: The GAPS Diet can aid in better digestion and relieve symptoms of digestive disorders including bloating, gas, and constipation by removing items that can damage gut health and encouraging the growth of healthy gut flora.
- Better mental health: It is generally known that there is a link between gut health and mental health. The GAPS Diet can help elevate mood, lessen anxiety, and lessen the symptoms of diseases like depression and ADHD.
- Relief from autoimmune diseases: This Diet’s ability to heal the gut can assist to lower inflammation, ease the signs and symptoms of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and boost immune system performance.
- Improved skin health: Skin health is strongly influenced by the stomach, and the GAPS Diet can aid by reducing inflammation and enhancing gut health to help with skin health.
Challenges of GAPS Diet
The GAPS Diet can have many advantages, but there are also a number of difficulties to take into account, such as:
- Cost: Because the GAPS diet calls for the purchase of premium, organic, and frequently unique foods, it can be pricey.
- Time-consuming: Making nutrient-dense, fermented foods and bone broths can take a lot of time, and people with busy schedules might not be able to do it.
- Difficulty in following: This Diet can be challenging to adhere to because it is so restrictive, especially for people who are used to following a traditional diet. Because it forbids a variety of foods and necessitates careful meal preparation, the Intro Diet can be extremely difficult.
- Lack of variety: For some people who are accustomed to eating a more varied diet, the GAPS Diet can be repetitious and may get tedious.
Conclusion
The GAPS Diet is a thorough regimen made to enhance gut health and reduce the signs and symptoms of mental and physical problems. This Diet can provide a number of advantages, such as improved digestion, better mental health, and relief from autoimmune disorders by removing items that can compromise gut health, encouraging the growth of good gut bacteria, and restocking the gut with nutrient-dense and fermented foods. This Diet can be expensive, time-consuming, and repetitious, but it’s also difficult to stick to.
FAQs
- What is the difference between the GAPS Diet and the paleo diet?
A modified version of the paleo diet with a focus on gut healing and gut health is called the GAPS Diet. While grains, legumes, and processed sugars are prohibited on the paleo diet, fermented foods and bone broths are added to the list of permitted foods on the GAPS Diet, which also places a larger emphasis on nutrient-dense foods.
- How long does it take to follow the GAPS Diet?
Depending on the severity of their gastrointestinal troubles and how long they have been following the diet, each person’s time commitment to the GAPS Diet will vary. To finish the Intro Diet and begin reintroducing more items to the diet, it typically takes 6 to 18 months.
- Can the GAPS Diet be followed while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Yes, you can adhere to the GAPS Diet while you’re expecting or nursing, but you should always speak with a doctor before changing your diet in any way.
- Is the GAPS Diet suitable for children?
Children can follow the GAPS diet, but it’s vital to speak with a doctor before making any dietary changes for them.