Why are we doing GAPS?

Our family is very healthy in general.  When someone is sick, they typically recover very quickly and rarely does anything come up that causes us to worry during an illness.  We eat very clean -about 50-60% of our diet is raw or lightly cooked; we eat about 75% organic foods (and those that are not organic are either locally grown or typically a 'clean' food); we raise our own chickens for eggs and meat; the list of 'healthy' things we do both in diet and lifestyle goes on and on.  So why in the world would we even consider an extreme healing diet like GAPS?

The first reason is that every single person can benefit from this healing program.  Every day we are subjected to toxins -just about everywhere.  Try as hard as you want, there is no way to completely avoid them.  This is the reason we are including C1 and (as much as possible) C2 on the diet.

The second -and biggest- reason is that several of us have 'issues' that we are hoping to heal and eliminate during this month (or more) on GAPS.  My husband deals with candida, allergies, anxiety, joint issues, and a plethora of gut/intestinal issues; I struggle with candida, allergies (skin and environmental), joint issues, and sensitivities; A1 also struggles with candida and skin issues as well as ADD-type concentration struggles; A2 is my vaccine-injured child who struggles with many gut issues -including IBS, gluten sensitivities, and chronic (severe) constipation. She also has several Autistic spectrum markers; some ADD-type issues; Restless leg; and a few other 'minor' issues.

Though I know GAPS is not a magic-bullet that will heal all our issues forever, I do know that science has proven over and over that it is beneficial and does bring healing.  Even if a portion of our issues are healed and we spend a month detoxing, it will be worth it for us on the whole.

We are going to be learning a lot along the way and since I will forget what I dont record, anyone who follows along with me might learn a thing or two as well!


I do highly recommend getting a copy of Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, A.D.D., Dyslexia, A.D.H.D., Depression, Schizophrenia . Watch the price as it fluctuates a lot.  (Currently $28 plus shipping and I have seen it as high as $40 plus shipping!)  It is definitely a book you will want to own rather than just borrowing as it contains recipes and step-by-step guides to help you along the way.

We are also using this eBook: What Can I Eat Now?  It contains step-by-step and Day-by-Day guides for the Intro portion that we are doing.  Literally contains a menu with recipes for every day of the typical 30-day plan and how to know when you are ready for the next Stage.  You could probably get away with just this guide if you cant afford the GAPS book right now.

GAPS countdown

My GAPS book arrived today!! Probably the best $30 investment I have made in a long time -just flipping through it quickly I can already see many things I was wondering about and I am especially pleased to see many recipes and meal ideas. Cant wait to sit down tonight and actually read the important chapters right away. You can order your own copy here (you wont regret it!):

   

 and there's a DVD! (Havent watched it yet but you have to know its now on my list to get!)

   

 We are now down to days before we start our GAPS 30-day intro diet for our whole family. I have learned a lot in the last month of 'bad' eating and cant wait to share some insight as well. (Lets just say I am guessing that just cutting our processed sugar and white flours will make a HUGE difference in your health -and Ill share my own experience as proof!)

 If you are interested in doing a 30-day GAPS diet, I highly recommend this eBook: GAPS Intro eBook -What Can I Eat Now?? Though I am pretty savvy in the kitchen and have learned a lot in regards to traditional eating in the last year, this book is a huge help to me. When I first go through new things, I like to know I am on the right track and this eBook lays out specifics that I need. Literally- Day 1, you eat this; Day 2, you eat this; etc. If you are even curious about GAPS Intro, go to the page and request the sample and you will get a very good idea of what is included in the book and what the diet will look like in general. (I was pleasantly surprised to see it isnt as limiting as I anticipated it would be! Very doable.)

 Not exactly sure when we will be starting but planning on next week. If anyone is interested in doing it with us, let me know -maybe I can create a FB group for us to encourage each other in.

Oh, and a cool side benefit of the GAPS intro -it is by default a sugar-free month! Trust me, you need to go sugar free for a month! :-)

To our health!