Raleigh Update

GAPS is a journey I would take again if I had to. It saved my son. It gave him his life back. It gave him hope for a future without chronic illness. It was the most difficult journey but it taught me so many things and I’m so thankful. When I go back and look at pictures it almost feels like I’m looking at a different lifetime. Really it wasn’t so long ago but it does feel as if it was. So much has changed.

June 13th, 2017 was Day 1. We are getting close to 8 years since we began our GAPS journey. In the last year-ish — I say “ish” because I can’t remember exactly when Raleigh started coming off GAPS but it was between the 6-7 year mark that we felt he was ready. That is where we currently are: Off GAPS.

I usually do a GAPS-Aversary post each year and you can read last year’s post if you’d like.

But before I go into our update here are some pictures of just how far he has come:

My Instagram (@findingforrester4) has many more posts with pictures and details that encapsulate our journey if you are interested in learning more.

When we began Raleigh was 4 years old. He is almost 12. Today Raleigh is enjoying many non-GAPS foods. We very gingerly took him through the process of coming off GAPS. Dr. Natasha recommends waiting at least 6 months after your symptoms are gone to begin the process of coming off GAPS. The first food to try is new potatoes and by “very gingerly” I mean we just did potatoes for quite a while before we tried anything else. Potatoes are heavenly. I love them as much as Samwise Gamgee loves them – maybe more.

The GAPS diet is superior to all other elimination diets because it has a “coming off” phase. You are not meant to be on GAPS in a restricted state for the entirety of your life. Some people do find they feel better and thrive on full GAPS and you can live on GAPS for life and not have any nutritional holes. Dr Natasha does recommend that for certain very severe illnesses like schizophrenia. However, the majority of people will come off GAPS.

After Raleigh did well tolerating potatoes I started bringing in sweet potatoes, cassava, rice, oatmeal and other gluten-free grains. He tolerated everything well and absolutely loved having new foods available to him. We have taken the Weston A. Price approach to food since coming off GAPS. In my opinion, this is the optimal “diet” for humans and it is the one GAPS recommends once you come off GAPS. It isn’t recommended to go back to eating the standard American diet (SAD) or to return to a highly processed way of eating.

GAPS has zero refined sugars and since June 13th of 2017 Raleigh has not had any refined sugar. The only sugars came through fruits and honey. We continued this way until this past December of 2024 when we decided to give him his first candy cane around Christmas time. We chose a brand that did not have dyes, was organic and met my standards. Raleigh has no memory before GAPS so this was like having a candy cane for the very first time in his life. It brought him such joy – it brought me joy. I’ll never forget the moment.

Raleigh turns 12 in March and he is thriving. He is strong, kind, thoughtful, funny and a sporty kid through-and-through. Food was the medicine he needed – it’s the medicine we all need. Some of you have been here from the very first blog post: Thank you for following Raleigh’s journey. God has been good to us. He took the worst thing and turned it into a gift – a gift I get to share with you. It is my hope that Raleigh’s story of healing will help other people on their journey to find healing, too.

If you are considering starting GAPS and just don’t know what to do about meals please check out my GAPS for You meal plan or my recipe compilations here. GAPS food isn’t gross, at least it doesn’t have to be! I created these meal plans and recipe compilations to help people on their journey. We still eat many of these recipes on repeat week after week.

If you need help with the GAPS diet I am taking new clients. Please contact me through my contact page.