One of the topics I touch on often is the issue of “gut health” and a strong immune system, but I don’t know if I’ve ever explained the very basics.
If you have anxiety/depression, digestive issues, skin problems, an auto-immune disease, a child on the Autism spectrum, or really any health issue at all, this information can be life changing.
Keep in mind, though, that there’s just a lot that I don’t know, I'm not a doctor or anywhere even close, but in this post I hope to get the basics out there and motivate you to research more on your own. Think of this post as a starting point!
Before we go further, were you just looking for some quick links? 
- Click here for the GAPS Diet book by Natasha Campbell McBride
- Click here for the strong probiotics I recommend (and read more here about PREbiotics)
- Click here for cod liver oil
- Click here for Grain free meal plans
- Click here for a GAPS Starter Kit
Gut Health 101: 6 Questions and Answers About A Strong Immune System and the GAPS Diet
1. What is the “gut” anyway?
The gut is the intestinal tract.
2. Why is gut health so important?
(Quotes below are from the Weston A. Price review of the book, GAPS/Gut and Psychology Syndrome)
“Poor bacterial flora and digestion are at the heart of serious health problems. When children are born with intestinal bacterial imbalances or gut dysbiosis, they tend to have a compromised immune system and are prone to illness. Campbell-McBride brings to light the profound statements of Hippocrates that “All diseases begin in the gut.”
“Although genetics is often provided as an explanation for brain disorders like autism and ADD/ADHD, as well as for psychiatric illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, genetics cannot explain the exponential increase in these health and developmental problems, says Dr. Campbell-McBride, because genetic changes work much more slowly.
Through studying the health of hundreds of patients with autism, learning disabilities, psychiatric illness and other problems, Campbell- McBride discovered that in virtually all cases these children and adults suffer from digestive problems, often of a severe nature. Through her research, she has determined a distinct correlation between unhealthy intestinal flora, poor digestion and toxicity from chemicals created by undigested foods, which can severely affect brain chemistry. She coins this relationship the Gut and Psychology Syndrome, or GAPS.”
3. What wreaks havoc on gut health? What is a “leaky gut”?
- Sugar, grains – especially empty carbs (white grains/pasta/rice, sugar – even the more natural sugars) “A child or adult who eats a diet high in difficult-to-digest carbohydrates such as grains and processed foods will continue to encourage the underlying condition of gut dysbiosis. Dr. Campbell-McBride states that people with damaged flora will crave the very foods that support the survival of the unhealthy bacteria, often to the exclusion and refusal of others.”
- Antibiotics: “anti” = against; “biotics” = bacteria – yes they clear out the bad bacteria causing an infection, which is sometimes needed, but they also take the good bacteria with it – only take if absolutely necessary.
- A diet that is off balance between omega 6’s and omega 3’s. Most of us are too high in the omega 6’s, which are found in unhealthy vegetable oils and processed foods. Some omega 6’s are needed, but they should be balanced with omega 3’s. “Recent research has revealed that too much omega-6 in the diet creates an imbalance that can interfere with production of important prostaglandins.This disruption can result in increased tendency to form blood clots, inflammation, high blood pressure, irritation of the digestive tract, depressed immune function, sterility, cell proliferation, cancer and weight gain.” From The Skinny on Fats.
- Trans fats: “Altered partially hydrogenated fats made from vegetable oils actually block utilization of essential fatty acids, causing many deleterious effects including sexual dysfunction, increased blood cholesterol and paralysis of the immune system.” From The Skinny on Fats.
- Stress. If you feel like you can’t eliminate it, then change how you react to it.
- Toxins all around us, including those in our food, such as pesticides, preservatives, hormones, fake colorings, etc. (Read your food labels, even better, eat food without labels! My book can help with this.) And also the toxins in the personal care products that we put ON our body. (Find safer makeup and skincare here.)
- More here: What can damage our gut flora.
When our gut health is damaged, we have what many call “a leaky gut”.
This is when molecules and particles that shouldn't be in your bloodstream are getting through from your digestive system because the gut wall is compromised somehow. This causes an immune system response and inflammation in the gut, which can lead to a whole array of health issues like auto-immune disorders along with what was already mentioned above, and even more.
4. What supports gut health?
- “What, then, are the solutions to turn poor digestion into one that helps the patient thrive? Dr. Campbell-McBride outlines a nutrient-dense dietary plan that is totally void of grains and even dairy foods at first, and which provides high quality, organically grown meats, poultry, fish, nuts, eggs—especially raw egg yolks—cooked non-starchy vegetables, fresh fruit, bone-broth soups, traditionally fermented foods, and ample traditional fats. She suggests supplements of cod liver oil, fish oil, digestive enzymes, a stomach acid supplement and the right probiotics to rid the stomach of bacterial growth and help develop healthy intestinal flora.” (Find more here from the Weston A. Price review of the book, GAPS/Gut and Psychology Syndrome.)
- Fermented foods like kefir, yogurt, fermented vegetables, fermented drinks like kombucha, kefir soda pop, fermented lemonade punch, etc. – full of the “good guys”: healthy bacteria. (Keep in mind that while these are good for your gut, they may not be part of the GAPS Diet in the beginning — more on that below.)
- “Raw milk contains beneficial bacteria that protect against pathogens and contribute to a healthy flora in the intestines. Culturing milk greatly enhances its probiotic and enzyme content, making it a therapeutic food for our digestive system and overall health.” (From Milk, It Does a Body Good?)
- A probiotic supplement to repopulate your gut with the healthy bacteria. (Here's where to get probiotics and read more here about PREbiotics.)
- Cod liver oil for omega 3’s, vitamin A & D (Find cod liver oil here.)
- Grass-fed meats & pastured eggs for omega 3’s, CLA (and other benefits of pastured meat & dairy) (Find grassfed meats here.)
- “Grass-fed, organic butter also contains anti-microbial fatty acids including butyric acid, which has strong anti-fungal effects. Coconut oil and butter are not only anti-microbial, but they also help heal the lining of the gut; therefore, they are preferred for cooking, baking or eating right off the spoon.” (From How to Restore Digestive Health by Jordan Rubin.)
- Take this gut-strengthening, immunity-boosting superfood: Colostrum! <– Buy some there (be sure to click “join us” instead of “shop now” to get the best price). Or watch this video on the health benefits for more info. Slip the powder into any recipes you can, like smoothies, homemade ice cream, or anything really! Some just eat the powder off a spoon as Paola talks about in the video (start with a small amount and work up to a Tablespoon or so 2x/day or more–remember it's just food so more won't hurt). I use the powder in recipes AND take the colostrum pills, just so I'm sure to get some in every day in case I'm not cooking/baking that day or forget to add it to recipes.
- What else did I forget?
5. How does the GAPS diet (gut healing diet) come into this?
The above list only has bits and pieces and parts of the GAPS diet, and while they are all ways you can rebuild your immune system, the GAPS Diet book can explain more detailed information and give you the big picture.
*Some people can heal by implementing a few of the above suggestions, others need to go full-on and follow the GAPS Diet for total healing.
6. How can I learn more?
- GAPS Diet for Rookies
- Find probiotics here
- Grain-free meal plans and GAPS Intro help!
- See my other post about a healthy immune system
Joseph Peyton says
Hi, my name is Joseph, I’m a 28-year old male who was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis. Previously I had been diagnosed with Dysuria which was treated successfully with antibiotics. I have also been struggling with a toenail fungus for years as a result of candida. Unfortunately, I have mercury fillings and cannot afford a holistic dentist and was wondering if I could still do the GAPS diet to get rid of my suspected candida overgrowth? Will it still be as effective in removing yeast in the wrong places in my body? I’ve also had recurring infections that my doctor thinks are balanitis. Please help me? I need to get rid of this candida overgrowth. Thank you for your time.
KitchenKop says
Hi Joseph,
Yes I do think the GAPS Diet would help. Here’s more info on that and other good info on Candida: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/how-to-get-rid-of-candida-naturally/.
Also, Joette (the homeopath mentioned in previous link) says that this remedy in a 200 taken once daily is the best for yeast infections: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/Amazon-MS6 (choose 40 for pill size and 2 dram for bottle size.)
Lastly, (and this is also in that first link), you’ll for sure want to be on this probiotic, it’s the best one to help clean up your gut, especially after the antibiotics: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/Just-Thrive-home.
Remember I’m not a doctor, but I hope that info helps you, keep me posted!
Kelly
Marc says
Anyone here hear of the master cleanse? If so is it safe?
Edie says
There are now Certified GAPS Practitioners through out the world, listed at http://www.gaps.me. Anyone who is feeling overwhelmed, has hit a road block on GAPS, or is not sure if GAPS is a good fit, can get support and a step by step, individualized plan to help you implement a healing protocol that is right for you and your family. Many of us do distance consults, as well.
laurie sifuentes says
im having a real hard time understanding what to eat and what not to eat. i struggle with anxiety so i was hoping you could break it down with a list of do eats and don’t eats. please. please.
KitchenKop says
That is a lot to write out, but there are a ton of resources out now that could help you.
–I’d suggest getting the GAPS Diet book (or renting at the library).
–Cara has great meal plans for the intro part of GAPS and for the full GAPS diet: (see number 3 in this post) https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2011/03/three-new-real-food-resources.html
–Also, you could try this class for more specific help (the class is called “Reversing Food Allergies”, but it’s a class about GAPS): https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2011/03/your-questions-answered-on-the-reversing-food-allergies-online-class.html
Hope that helps!
Kelly
Jeanne says
Laurie, I could not have gotten started without the GAPS Guide Book. It starts with a preparation phase — without that, I wouldn’t be on GAPS. I took it step by step just as she outlined, buying necessary equipment and making my first beef broth while finishing eating the non-GAPS food in my fridge (and giving away the sugar and nasties).
I took her advice to not look ahead to the next steps, because I knew I’d get overwhelmed. Once all the pieces were in place in my kitchen (and attitude), I did the 7-day Intro phase One that Baden also outlines. That ended Friday, and I flunked, because I gave in the cravings for my addictions. So, I’m starting the 7-day intro phase One again.
I have very little idea what comes after Phase One. I’ll read about that when I put together a successful 7 days.
I just read a fantastic blogger writing about her first two weeks on GAPS and I was flabbergasted at how far ahead she got in so little time, how many of the unusual dishes she cooked. I feel a little inferior in comparison. But hey, she’s young and fully of energy, and I’m old and tired and sick (and doing this alone). So all the power to her and everyone else who can move through the program quickly.
I need simple, and slow. That’s what the GAPS Guide gives you. One step at a time. I do not own the Diet book yet, and I only started studying the main GAPS book after I started the Intro.
Good luck!
Stephanie says
We did the GAPS diet for two years with my son who was diagnosed with Chronic Severe Ulcerative Colitis. He was very sick! As a family we decided to join him on the diet for 4 months (nearly 2 years ago now) and the results were unbelievable. I had 5 girls with varying degrees of eczema and 2 of them had it severe, waking in the night with the itching and pain. It was gone in 2 weeks on the diet. My receding gums were healing and pain-free by the end of 4 months. I lost weight and the children actually gained. My arthritis symptoms were gone. My son always saw improvement with flares when he was on the intro diet. It was the only way to stop the bleeding and diarrhea. The drugs helped very temorarily and brought down the extreme inflammation he had but it didn’t work very long. We all saw better health. We did go off the diet as a family partly because my son ended up in the hospital for a couple weeks and I wasn’t at home preparing everything and then it was hard to get back on it. Isaac stayed on it until last June. I heartily endorse the diet. The cost of it for all of us was also not doable anymore(there are 10 of us and we were/are in quite a lot of debt from our son’s illness, we always looked beyond the doctors for help and that isn’t covered by insurance) but we still eat the jello in the SCD diet, hm yogurt from the diet and we eat as organic and as whole food as we can. We eat as many GAPS diet meals a week as we can. I now make bone broth weekly, yogurt from our own goat milk (gotten just for our son), and lots of veggies. We avoid GMO foods and additives. I want to go back on it as a family to improve our health even more. It takes a lot of commitment and it goes against the way the whole world runs; fast food, church potlucks, camps, family gatherings, etc. Everything we do centers around eating and eating a lot and most of that includes breads and grains and sugar. I encourage anyone to give it a try. The intro diet will put anyone on the path to clearing up candida overgrowth and numerous other issues! God Bless! Sorry this was so long. This was/is my life. I’ve lived it a long time:)
KitchenKop says
Yvonne, get your friend the GAPS book!!!!!
Kelly
Yvonne says
My friend’s daughter, 16, was diagnosed with severe ADHD two years ago. Now she is in the hospital for ulcerative colitis, though they are now suggesting it may be crohns disease. Of course the medical establishment has her on strong meds for her ADHD, and now are talking about a diet of white rice, white bread, vanilla pudding, etc. for the colitis, crohns – that is, after they stop the bleeding and pain with steroids and antibiotics! I’m almost positive there is a connection between the two disorders. Do you have any thoughts, or can you point me to someone who may be able to help?
Karen says
Kelly – another super informative and helpful post. Through Dr. Thomas Cowan (co-wrote Fourfold Path to Healing with Sally Fallon,) I have been on the SCD for 5 months now for migraines and osteopenia…and it has helped immensely (that and reducing wine consumption.) No tests have ever shown any food allergies or sensitivities for me, but we know better when our bodies respond adversely. Fortunately I eat seasonal, whole foods which I have no doubt helps keep the rest of my system healthy when there is dysbiosis in the liver.
Catherine @ Healthy Fit Mom says
Hi Kelly,
I was only able to do the GAPS intro diet for three days. But those three days I had no candida symptoms at all. I thought that I had won this battle that I have fought for more than half my life.
I went off of the diet but plan on going back on soon (going dairy free is so hard). It is healing and I plan to go back very soon. It is important to prepare.. without the preparation it is easy to fail.
KitchenKop says
Wow, Baden, great info, thank you so much!
Kelly
Baden says
Dear Ashley,
Elaine Gottschall was recently quoted regarding her daughter (who had not autism, but severe ulceritive colitis with terrible nightmares, etc). I believe her daughter was essentially fine after two years, but stayed on SCD perfectly for seven. She eventually reintroduced the occasional use of “normal” flour (for birthdays, etc) and potatoes, etc, but was still not able to eat rice without having bleeding.
Several people on our GAPShelp list have also reported being able to move on to other foods: potatoes, stevia, cocoa, properly-prepared grains and pseudograins, fluid dairy, sea vegetables, etc.
One fellow with Crohn’s did SCD, then surgery to resolve a physical issue, and then was able to eat absolutely anything. However, after some months he returned to SCD because, while his body was fine on conventional foods, his moods and thinking were much better if he stuck with SCD.
The idea is that after the intensive healing period, we move on to a wider diet that is still truly healthy and nutrient-dense, and even include non-foods on occasion, but not to *regular* consumption of a conventional diet -as that’s what got us all here in the first place.
For several success stories, including specifically around autism and similar issues, please see the opening and closing sections of the step-by-step guide to SCD/GAPS (www.gapsguide.com/book).
Sincerely,
Baden
KitchenKop says
Hi Ashley,
I’m going to look in the GAPS yahoo group for a more detailed answer, but in the meantime, here’s an excerpt for you…
This is what Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride (author of the GAPS book) said about her son (in Ann Marie’s link above):
“There are no traces of autism in him now and he is leading a normal life. He is doing well at school and started playing rugby on his school team. His digestive system works like a clock now, though we still adhere to the diet, which I have described in detail in my book. The good news is that my son can have anything now on an occasional basis without it causing problems. However, the whole family is on this diet as it is very healthy and can prevent many health problems (such as weight gain, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune problems, osteoporosis, and allergies) in all members of the family. When we go on holiday we eat what is available, but when we come back home we go back to our diet because it is good for us. Both our children have a considerable knowledge of nutrition now and we often hear them lecturing their friends on what is good for them to eat and what is not.”
Kelly
CHEESESLAVE says
Dr. Campbell McBride, who wrote the book, reversed her own son’s autism:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/3664908/Curing-her-son-of-Autism-Dr-Natasha-CampbellMcBride
Ashley says
Kelly,
Do you know anyone who has had a child with autism who was healed from this diet? I mean like they did the diet for 2 years and then after that they went to a totally normal diet again…as far as they could eat gluten and dairy?? Just curious.
Vin - NaturalBias says
Hi Amy,
When intestinal health declines, proteins are more likely to be incompletely digested and attacked by the immune system. A common symptom of poor intestinal health is hyperpermeability of the intestinal wall which means that incompletely digested food particles can get into the blood stream and invoke further immune activity. In some cases, the resulting antibodies attack human tissue.
Gluten is a common example. Because some of it’s peptides match those of human tissue, the resulting antibodies that are created in the scenario above attack the human tissue. An excellent book to read on this topic is Dangerous Grains.
Amy says
Please comment more on the connection between digestive health and various auto immune diseases. Can anyone recommend good reading in this specific area? Thanks.
Daily Diner says
Gut health is so underestimated. The other day I took my kids to the doctor for their physical as reqired by law here in California. The nurse said “wow you havent been here in a long time”. We have only been to the Pediatrician 3 times (both kids combined) for illness in the past 7 years. No doubt that it is because we take care of our gut and it takes care of us.
Pamela says
Thank you Kelly for this good foundational posting.
As we move more with Nourishing Traditions, organic gardening, making weekly kombucha, kefir I’ve been reading some about the Gaps diet and find it interesting and worthy of using. Just through what we’ve been implementing over the past year has helped my husband a lot, he has 5 different digestive related troubles – 3 which are labeled autoimmune. Kombucha has helped his digestion so much. Eating lots of fresh organic vegetables from our garden this summer has been a big help, also.I plan on studying the Gaps diet more and integrating it into what we already are doing along with a whole lot more of lactose fermentation. Through all this it is my hope and prayer that we can turn his digestion around completely – so far were on good track.
Vin - NaturalBias says
Great topic, Kelly! My personal opinion is that a healthy gut is the foundation of optimal health. Without good intestinal health, we lose a significant portion of our immunity, we have an increased susceptibility to autoimmune disease, an increased potential to become malnourished, and that’s just scratching the surface! This is one of the many reasons why it’s so important to follow a clean diet.
KitchenKop says
I love to hear amazing testimonials like yours, Ashley, thank you for sharing such a great story of healing! Hopefully once you get moved you can get back to the diet for a while. 🙂
Kelly
Ashley says
This diet worked so well for our child with Asperger’s. His sensory issues went away. He was way less emotional and his aggression was far less as well. He still was a little hyperactive, but we think that was b/c he still was full of mercury from the 3 rhogam shots I received while pregnant. We did this diet for 9 months. My husband then decided it was too difficult for our family b/c we were fixing to move. We quit and my son has regressed some. If I could go back to it I would…it just takes a total commitment, but the benefits you’ll see in your child are phenominal. I am so blessed to say that my child is now almost totally recovered from autism…Praise God!! I would love to go back to this diet some day soon b/c I do not want him to have to be on the gf/cf diet the rest of his life…I would love to have him totally healed!