Why The GAPS Diet is Superior to All Other Elimination Diets

There are a lot of elimination diets: AIP (autoimmune protocol), Carnivore, Whole 30, Vegan, Vegetarian, Keto, Gluten Free, Low FODMAP…to name the biggest ones out there. They all eliminate something and require elimination for their duration and if you choose to stay on one of these diets for life you commit, essentially, to the elimination of a specific food or food group forever.

Most elimination diets fail because they aren’t possible, for most people, to adhere to such strict standards for long periods of time. But these diets also omit specific foods or food groups that are essential to heal and seal the gut. Healing and sealing the gut lining is the path to not needing to abide by an elimination diet long term.

What is the GAPS diet?

First of all, I would say GAPS is a gut-healing protocol more than a diet. The word diet has a bad connotation thanks to decades of detrimental societal dieting fads. So I encourage people to look at it as something entirely different because it really is.

GAPS has some striking differences between all of the aforementioned elimination diets but the main difference is the fact that the goal of GAPS is to heal and seal the gut lining and then come off of the diet. GAPS is not meant to be forever. Now, some people will find they feel much better and are thriving on different parts of the GAPS diet and choose to eat that way for the entirety of their life, but the majority of people will come off of the diet at some point.

The GAPS diet does have an elimination aspect that is necessary in order for the gut to heal. Certain foods keep the gut lining porous and feed pathogenic (bad) bacteria. These foods must be removed so that healing and a reblancing of the beneficial bacteria can be restored. GAPS eliminates complex carbs like grains, starchy foods, and double-sugars. Things like potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, all processed foods, and sugars. These foods feed pathogenic bacteria. The pathogenic bacteria must be starved out for the environment of the gut to change. Pathogenic bacteria also produce toxins, prevent nutrient absorption, damage the gut wall and can even cause food sensitivities.

So GAPS does have an elimination element but it goes a step further and adds in very specific gut-healing foods. This truly sets the GAPS diet apart from other elimination diets. The backbone of the GAPS diet is made up of meat stock (not bone broth! there is a difference!), saturated animal fats – don’t gasp! I know that’s a bad word, and fermented foods. These three foods are added into the protocol because without them you cannot heal and seal the gut lining or change the environment of the gut and therefore heal that which ails you.

With this unique removal of certain foods and addition of specific foods your body has the ability to heal. Elimination diets don’t aim to heal as much as they aim to quiet symptoms.

Going gluten free for a time can remove symptoms and help you feel better but that is only temporary relief and isn’t a long term solution. Likewise, going Carnivore can prove very effective at removing inflammation and other autoimmune issues but without adding in fermented foods and meat stock the gut will not heal and seal up, and old issues will return when other foods are added back into the diet. There is a facet of GAPS that we call No Plant GAPS – it is essentially Carnivore. This aspect is wonderful for those who are very bothered by plant foods. If you struggle with chronic diarrhea No Plant GAPS may be a great starting place for you.

Builders vs Cleansers

Animal foods are builders – they build the body and heal it. Plant foods are detoxifiers and cleaners. You cannot build a body and heal it on plant foods alone. Dr. Weston A Price found this to be true in the early 1900s when he traveled the world looking for people groups who ate their traditional diets and were healthy. He tried to find a group that was Vegetarian/Vegan as well as healthy but he did not find one.

The Vegan diet can act like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. People often feel better at first due to the detoxifying nature of plant foods, but this diet omits the animal foods that are necessary for rebuilding the body and gut. Eventually, the health of the individual begins to deteriorate when a vegan diet is adhered to for too long.

If you are curious to learn more about Vegan and Vegetarian diets and why they are not optimal for long-term health check out Dr. Natasha’s book: Vegetarianism Explained.

Individuality

Every person, every client, every case is unique and individual. There is no one-size-fits-all even in the GAPS diet. When I work with clients I take a handful of their individual symptoms into account to help guide them down the best path of the GAPS diet. In GAPS we have the full GAPS diet, the Introduction diet, No-Plant GAPS, GAPS Ketogenic, and the More-Plant GAPS, because we are all individual and need an approach based on our specific needs. But even in this GAPS-spectrum there are the three elements that remain the same in order to heal: meat stock, saturated animal fats and fermented foods. Healing doesn’t happen without them.

Coming Off GAPS

My son, Raleigh, has successfully come of GAPS in the last year. He has done well with the reintroduction of potatoes, rice and a myriad of other foods. He now eats a Weston A Price-style of eating. If you aren’t familiar I’d highly recommend reading about Weston A Price. We eat a lot of traditionally cooked foods, fermented foods, saturated animal fats, meat and properly prepared grains. This is the way traditional cultures ate and found great health.

This is the “diet” you would ideally move to when coming off the GAPS diet.

If starting on GAPS seems overwhelming I would recommend a couple of things. First, learn about Weston A Price and start making food from scratch, swap out vegetable oils for saturated animal fats, make bone broth and meat stock and learn how to properly prepare grains. This will give you confidence in the kitchen and that will make GAPS much easier.

Second, If you’d like to jump in sooner rather than later, and are coming from a traditional American diet, I would encourage taking a Paleo approach. Removing starchy vegetables and rice and slowly working towards the full GAPS diet. Some people find this approach more sustainable.

Third, I would recommend my 30-day meal plan. I created a 30-day Full GAPS meal plan with simple and delicious recipes. It is a great resource for those wanting to jump into GAPS and not have to figure out what to make and when. It comes with complete shopping lists, pantry staples checklist for the GAPS diet, bonus recipes and more. You can find it here.

Food really is medicine. The body wants to heal and if you give it the proper tools it can. Learn more about the GAPS diet here and buy the most updated book here.