GAPS: Синдром на храносмилателната система и психиката

by Natasha Campbell-McBride, Наташа Кембъл-Макбрайд

В книгата „GAPS – синдром на храносмилателната система и психиката“ са представени хранителните биохимични процеси и тяхната обвързаност с психиатричните и неврологичните разстройства и гастроентерологичнта функция. Авторката описва взаимовръзката между конкретни храносмилателни разстройства със състояния като шизофрения, аутизъм, синдром на дефицит на вниманието и редица други проблеми на детското развитие. Предложеният от д-р Кембъл-Макбрайд хранителен режим е разработен и изпитан лично от самата нея в борбата й с аутизма при едно от децата й. В книгата са разгледани подробно причините за стомашно-чревните проблеми при лица с аутизъм и други психични усложнения, както и се посочва начини за преодоляването им посредством спазването на стриктен хранителен режим. Предложени са стъпки за въвеждане в диетата, дадени са редица рецепти за вкусна и подобряваща здравето на стомашно-чревния тракт храна за тези пациенти.

„Д-р Наташа Кембъл-Макбрайд заслужава поздравления за тази толкова научно обоснована и провокативна книга, която горещо ви препоръчвам.“

Д-р Базант К. Пури, консултант-психиатър, Импириъл Колидж, Лондон, Великобритания

„Д-р Наташа Кембъл-Макбрайд е свършила страхотна работа, като е обобщила хранителните биохимични връзки с психиатричните и неврологичните разстройства и гастроентерологичната функция. Тя е постигнала нещо възхитително – свързала e конкретните храносмилателни разстройства със състояния като шизофрения, аутизъм, синдром на дефицит на вниманието и други проблеми на детското развитие.

Д-р Уилям Шоу, доктор на науките, лаборатория Грейт Плейнс, Канзас, САЩ

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Nutrition, Psychology, Food, Adhd, Autistic Spectrum Disorder

504 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride holds a degree in Medicine and Postgraduate degrees in both Neurology and Human Nutrition. In her clinic in Cambridge she specializes in nutrition for children and adults with behavioral and learning disabilities, and adults with digestive and immune system disorders.

Dr. Campbell-McBride set up The Cambridge Nutrition Clinic in 1998. As a parent of a child diagnosed with learning disabilities, she was acutely aware of the difficulties facing other parents like her, and she has devoted much of her time to helping these families. She realized that nutrition played a critical role in helping children and adults to overcome their disabilities, and has pioneered the use of probiotics in this field.

She believes that the link between learning disabilities, the food and drink that we take, and the condition of our digestive system is absolute, and the results of her work have supported her position on this subject. In her clinic, parents discuss all aspects of their child's condition, confident in the knowledge that they are not only talking to a professional but to a parent who has lived their experience. Her deep understanding of the challenges they face puts her advice in a class of its own.

from http://gapsdiet.com/

Reviews

[Rochelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Any book that uses Andrew Wakefield as a legitimate source loses, well, all credibility with me.
As much as I'd love to find a natural treatment to ADHD, a book that sites a former doctor who published fraudulent research which sent the vaccine world all a-tizzy, that blames bottle-feeding moms for not establishing the "flora" in their infant's guts, and then later blames breastfeeding moms for passing along harmful bacteria is clearly not for me.

[Jeniann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote a glowing review of this book two years ago, and since then many people have read my review and commented on it, many of whom I do not know, I feel that I must change my review somewhat at this point so that what I have learned can be helpful to others.
As I initially stated in my review, the concepts in this book have tremendous potential for healing gut problems. Within months of starting this type of diet, my son finally got rid of the chronic diarrhea that plagued him his whole life, and I finally got rid of the stomachaches that plagued me whenever I ate for as long as I can remember. Dr. Natasha's recommendations for gut healing are well founded in scientific and medical principles (as she explains very well in the book) and the gut healing methods are quite effective. To me the gut healing that has occurred for both of us has been wonderful, and it's given me a new lease on life in all honesty, and I haven't felt this good in years.
However, one must use the principles in the book carefully. Initially my autistic son made huge gains with this diet and even his behavior changed significantly. However, because of heavy antibiotic use as a baby, it turns out that my son is in a small subgroup of people that have problems with oxalates. As a result, doing this type of diet over a long period of time in the way I did made the oxalate problems much worse, and thus his autistic symptoms in some ways got worse in time, and I am still working to improve them. Although I am confident that I can heal the oxalate problem, it's going to take some time.
I could have avoided oxalate problems by doing the following: continuing with the Betaine HCl for fat absorption problems as Dr. NCM recommends, making sure to consume plenty of probiotics in food form such as fermented vegetables and 24-hour yogurt or kefir, and being cautious about high oxalate foods. High oxalate foods include: nuts, beans (including navy beans), spinach, beets, green beans, and carrots. (Chocolate and wheat and also very high in oxalates, but they aren't allowed on this diet. : ) ) Nuts are particularly high in oxalates and should be consumed with caution.
I still highly recommend this book, I just issue a warning to proceed carefully and make sure to do the diet exactly as recommended in the book.
I also wanted to mention that I do not at all agree with Dr. NCB's recommendation of ABA therapy for autism, and feel that the RDI program is much better. For those interested in further therapies for autism, I highly recommend the books "The Fabric of Autism" and "The RDI Book."
Update as of 2021: Though I found the GAPS diet helpful, I recently found something that has helped my son more than anything else I have tried (and it's a lot of things over a 11 year period). Most helpful has been a prescription medication called Rifaximin that encourages the growth of good bacteria in the upper intestine. It did more to heal my son's digestive problems than anything else I have tried. There is a book called The Nemecheck Protocol that explains this in detail.

[Brad Belschner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I now realize the science behind this book is rather... unsubstantiated. Most people will do more harm to themselves than good by following the dietary advice in this book. If you've read this book, or you're considering reading it, I strongly encourage you to get a book or two from Matt Stone instead. His research is far superior and gives much better results.

[Asho · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the search for better health for my family plagued by autoimmune conditions, I came across the GAPS diet. A lot of well-written and researched books/articles I have been reading point to this style of diet being a healthy one, so despite my trepidation at the book claiming to cure all manner of psychological conditions including, but not limited to, autism, ADD and schizophrenia, I took the plunge and purchased the book as well as the companion cookbook, “The Heal Your Gut Cookbook.” I am sad, but not shocked, to say that I cannot get past page 30. To the layperson this book may sound plausible, especially given the author, Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, is a UK-based medical doctor. However, the multiple outlandish claims made and references to the fraudulent Dr Andrew Wakefield made me stop and question how I managed to get myself knee-deep in garbage when I try so hard not to fall for snake oil salesmen (those who claim the loudest that “big pharma” is evil are usually the worst out there and always trying to sell you their own rubbish product so be careful. Big business is problematic in all its guises). I have since found out that this woman bought her degree and has been dis-proven over multiple claims here (wish I had read that blog post first): https://owndoc.com/diet/gaps-scam/

Overall, her dietary advice is quite good, no doubt because it has been built on the back of real work such as Dr Mary Enig’s (definitely read her books). And I can see where it can reduce inflammation. The introduction portion of the diet is something I would consider doing for my husband who suffers from Crohns Disease (the main reason I was reading the book). However good the dietary principals though, I cannot bring myself to follow this woman. She is akin to David Avocardo Wolf. Their claims are potentially dangerous. And for this reason I give this book one star only because I cannot give it none.

[Ina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is impressively terrible.

It's permeated with the usual pseudoscientific fear mongering that (if bought into) can scare you out of everything, right down to breathing and blinking. The claims of treating through diet complicated, multifaceted psychological issues like schizophrenia and autism, also give it that oh so familiar quacky flavor. But that's not even the worst part.

What grabbed my attention was how little celiac disease was mentioned in a book about damaged guts, leaky gut and the like. It stood out so much that it made me ctr+F the word 'coeliac' out of curiosity and these were the results:
It was mentioned 11 times in total throughout the whole book:
- 6 times in the titles of the references (so technically, not in the text itself)
- 3 times in the same paragraph that presents some psychiatrist's ideas or Natasha C's interpretation of those ideas (which to me counts as one time because she's just reusing the same word to make that one particular point)
-2 more separate times in the text

That's it! Mentioned on three occasions throughout THE ENTIRE BOOK! A book that has at least 200 pages worth of text. I wasn't kidding when I said it's impressive.

This left me thinking that Natasha C doesn't understand celiac disease and/or gluten issues too well. I didn't expect to be proven so right however. Under the section 'Wheat' in the chapter titled 'The Diet - A Discussion', she states that to produce gluten-free flours, manufacturers take the wheat (?!), make it into flour, add preservatives, pesticides, etc and then REMOVE the gluten.

This is a) virtually impossible, b) couldn't be further from the truth about how gluten-free products are made (they are produced by milling naturally gluten-free grains, not by milling wheat and removing its gluten), c) given the impossibility of separating gluten from wheat flour, GF flours made according to Natasha C's description would be pretty much poison to all celiac people (anecdotally, only a subset of celiac people have problems with GF flours, far from the majority).

I mean come on! You're talking about intestinal damage and its neurological and psychological effects. Celiac disease is the poster child for that. It's basically beginning you to talk about it! And yet you remain so clueless? If there's one topic she should have researched well enough to make this book half believable, it should have been celiac disease.

So yeah, don't expect any reliable facts from this book. Of course, by pure chance she does manage to get some things right, but unless you're very familiar with the current research on these issues, you'd have to pretty much fact check every second sentence to be sure that you're getting the right info.

As for the diet itself, I have no doubt that it might be beneficial to a lot of GI troubled folks. But probably not because of the reasons the author says it would. The diet is pretty much some version of Autoimmune Paleo or just paleo (depending on which GAPS stage you're in). So nothing new and we certainly didn't need this book to lie to us to get us to do it.

Lastly, the text is really scattered and not user-friendly at all, like many reviewers have noted. It has an entire section giving the rationale for the diet, but then gives more needless explanations when the actual diet is supposed to be presented. The list of allowed foods is in alphabetical order and all foods are lumped into one list (not divided by category or food type) which makes it a real struggle to use in any practical real-world situation. Just little annoying things like that.

I don't know what more to say. It's just bad. Read a few blog posts on autoimmune paleo and do that if the concept of GAPS appeals to you. It's largely the same thing. Don't waste your money and time on this.

[David Rice · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the third chapter I can see where ignorant, uneducated, disinformed people have found the lies in this book attractive. Autism is mostly genetic, and has noting at all to do with the "gut." I grieve for the people who believed this crap and subjected themselves and their children to it. :-(

[Iona Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an invaluable book, which has provided me with essential information.

The author, Dr. Campbell-McBride, is a specialist in the gut. She states that all diseases stem from an imbalanced gut, The present epidemic in children of ADHD/ADD, dyspraxia (extreme clumsiness), dyslexia, autism, allergies, etc. etc. all stem from a gut disorder/compromised immune system.

She terms this gut disorder “Gut and Psychology Syndrome”, or GAPS. Those suffering from schizophrenia also belong to this group, as do those such as myself with auto-immune ailments. (In actual fact probably most of us have an imbalanced gut in this day and age.)

The book tackles the problems involved in great detail, Campbell-McBride explains how our gut flora is damaged by antibiotics, other drugs, including the Pill, diet (most people these days have an atrocious diet and suffer from malnutrition), bottle feeding as a baby, pollution, etc. etc. We inherit our gut flora from our mother and to a certain extent our father, and the problem becomes worse and worse through the generations.

The author has had great success in treating both children and adults by improving their diet and gut flora. Her own child is/was autistic, which motivated her to search for the cause of this serious problem. Many of us can be glad that it was her lot to be the mother of an autistic child, since it resulted in her finding out the cause of this disease and many other diseases, and to illuminate us on how to heal them.

There are several chapters about the appropriate diet for GAP-syndrome sufferers and one of these includes long lists of recommended foods and foods to avoid. There is also a chapter comprising useful recipes.

I have already excluded a few extra items from my diet, which was severely limited to begin with - I had already discovered that I couldn’t tolerate most of the items the author declared to be unsuitable. I have eliminated butter and kidney beans from my diet and have replaced them with split peas, with great success. The only beans she can recommend are navy and Lima beans, which are apparently more easily digestible for a GAPS person (and others too, I presume).

The most important component of the GAPS diet is probiotics – the essential, beneficial bacteria which can heal our gut. To obtain these we will need to begin to eat cultured vegetables/fermented foods. We will also need to take a good therapeutic-strength probiotic. The author goes into detail about the benefits of the various probiotics,

The book contains an excellent chapter about fats, another of the author’s areas of expertise. (Read her book “Put your heart in your mouth” where she explains about the cholesterol myth and the real causes of atherosclerosis and thus heart disease.)

The book is written in a pleasing and entertaining manner. I thoroughly recommend that you read it. If you implement the author’s advice, you will greatly improve your health and/or that of your GAPS-child. This book and the author’s above-mentioned book are the best health books I’ve read for a considerable time.

[Angie Libert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. I have read it before and I will reread it again because it is so full of answers to all of my questions. Why are people allergic to food and pollen and animals, when God made both for our enjoyment? What is up with autism and dyslexia? Are ADD and ADHD real? Why are most Americans on anti-depressants? Why would God make a child with Type 1 Diabetes? How do you overcome Candida and other gut problems? What is going on here with all of these illnesses?! Well, the author of this book not only answers my questions about these problems, but gives me a real solution to these problems. And for that I love her. What an amazing contribution she has made to mankind! And although I do not suffer severally like many people do I am so glad I have an answer and protocol for those lingering issues. :)

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blew me away with information I had never heard before. It really drove home to me because I have clearly had the GAPS condition all my life. So many puzzle pieces put together for me. It may not be the answer for everything or everyone, but in the niche of where gut disorders and psychological disorders meet, this is one solid book. I've been following the protocol as outlined in the book and I am seeing major improvements in my physical and mental health.

I only recommend that if you read this book and decide to follow the protocol, make sure you do so carefully. GAPS Guide is a great resources for clarifying the protocol. I've heard some whacked out versions of the protocol/diet on the Internet, and it seems some people are doing some weird things with it, such as going low-carb or not eating any raw vegetables, going too slowly through intro, etc, and then coming down with thyroid issues and other problems due to not eating in a balanced way. This is not what is recommended in the book.

[Martha Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has done an excellent job of explaining how people with GAP have a compromised immune system and how to heal these deficiencies through diet. Although my family seems to have healthy guts, I have learned so much by reading her book that will surely help to keep us all healthy. There is a wealth of information in this book about maintaining gut health through diet. Here are three of the tips I have begun putting into practice that I never thought of before reading her book: adding cabbage to green salads to stimulate the body to produce its own stomach acid; making sure the probiotics I use have soil bacteria; and using unrefined coconut oil for the anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. You will certainly have your own important list of healthy diet improvements if you read this book.

While I do feel that reflecting and listening to our gut feelings is the key to having a calm and, thus, healthy gut, obviously one's diet is also critical and I highly recommend this book to review your and your family's diet for excellent gut health.

Martha Love
author of What's Behind Your Belly Button? A Psychological Perspective of the Intelligence of Human Nature and Gut Instinct and
Increasing Intuitional Intelligence: How the Awareness of Instinctual Gut Feelings Fosters Human Learning, Intuition, and Longevity

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down the best book on health and nutrition I have ever read. I've only been on the diet for 2 weeks, but have already lost 8lbs. I've had a rash on my forehead for years, and it is gone. As a bonus, I think the gelatin is improving my skin. I have horrible stretch marks, and they look and feel greatly improved. I didn't even know that was possible. The book has a lot of technical information, but is presented in a way the lay person can understand. I was very skeptical about all the meat consumption, but after eating the recommended fermented foods with them and drinking lemon-water in the AM, I haven't had a problem. My only concern with this diet is being able to stick with it for the necessary length of time. This diet isn't the easiest to implement, but if you are seriously ill it is worth every penny! Be prepared for the side effects of massive bacteria die-off.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really amazing to hear Natasha speak at a conference I went to recently. Her position is that all (or basically all) ailments of the body (and, as the title suggests, mind) are the result of a poorly functioning digestive system. She offers (an extremely challenging but temporary) diet to heal the gut and recover. Her work began when she realized her son was autistic. The diet is full of unprocessed foods, bone broths, and fermented and probiotic foods. It avoids sugars, starch, and food additives. A lot of very compelling and interesting ideas.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant, but the question is, am I strong enough to do it?!? 4 stars instead of 5 stars because healing your gut should be flipping easier and I am officially depressed. ;)

[Victoria Zabuzova · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pseudo scientific viewpoint on the spectrum of serious issues. Way too few sources and plenty on opinion not supported by any data.

[Hilary Rock · Rating 1 out of 5]

Science-free dangerous nonsense
I bought this book on the recommendation of a herbalist. Horrified to see that it espouses the views of the completely discredited anti-vaccination campaigner Andrew Wakefield, who bears much responsibility for the current resurgence of measles and mumps which is doing so much harm. It is pushing a hardcore diet onto the beleaguered parents of autistic children and others. See also the eloquent commentary from The Angry Chef, who is happy to be cited, giving a history of the diet from which this evolved and a commentary as to the lack of any science behind GAPS:
https://angry-chef.com/blog/want-to-s...
I wouldn’t have touched this book if I’d had any idea of what it actually is. It has no credibility for me.

[Caroline Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A key book to understanding the link between our guts (our second brain) and the state of our brain.
It focuses on the importance of intestinal flora for the maintenance of good health, including mental health.
Her experience is priceless and the hundreds of cases treated for all kinds of diseases or mental disorders are revealing.
Mother of a vegetarian child, hyperactive with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) I was particularly sensitive to the arguments of Dr. Campbell and reading this book was a turning point for me and the understanding of the origin of these problems.
In conclusion, I would say more than anything else, your guts can lead you (or not) to happiness...

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed the life of our son. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for those caring for someone on the autism spectrum. I cannot express exactly how much of a blessing this book has been to our family. Because of the GAPS diet, we are recovering our son from autism. Can I give this book 20 stars somehow?

[Jennifer Ingley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't going to buy this book, because another review said that the reader can get all the needed info from reading a GAPS cookbook, and didn't need to buy both. So I was going to save money. After reading two GAPS cookbooks and joining a couple of Facebook GAPS pages, I decided to spring for it and bought a Kindle copy. Glad I did! The narrative is very interesting, full of information, and definitely expanded my background awareness of gut health. I didn't buy into this subject because of a family member with any of the psychological disorders listed in the title. I became interested in GAPS, as it was called a variation of the Keto diet in a magazine article I read. Although I've had kidney stones, IBS, and just myriad discomforts revolving around digestion, my advice from doctors consisted of various diet suggestions and/or medication such as involuntary muscle relaxer pills. The narrative gives much explanation about how things work and why many specific symptoms appear and disappear based on the substances we take in. To begin with, I quit drinking diet soda and artificial sweeteners, added probiotics and gave chicken broth a try. I did experience a few days of headaches and body aches, likely due to caffeine withdrawal and "die off"--the readjustment of good and bad bacteria in my system. Although I haven't been extremely strict with the diet suggestions, I can tell my skin feels different, I've lost some weight, and my sinuses have cleared up. Formerly, I took antihistamines almost every day for years. The recipes in this book are innovative and worth a try. I'm glad I bought this, and plan to refer back to the pages often.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was rife with error and broad, sweeping statements, and claims that I could not substantiate. I spent more time researching the author’s claims than I did reading the book. It begins by quoting the research done by Andrew Wakefield which was my first red-flag. Below is a list of just a few of the false claims she makes (there were many more):

-No one consumed wheat in Ireland before 1845 and no cases of schizophrenia or celiac disease were recorded before this time.
-To find out if you are sensitive to a food, place a bit on your wrist before going to bed. In the morning, check your wrist and if there is a red mark, then you are sensitive to that food.
-Salmonella and E. coli cannot survive in raw milk because the enzymes in the milk destroy them.
-On page 158 she makes the claim that plant foods are hard to digest and are low in useful nutrition (along with many other inaccurate statements about vegetarian diets) but on page 195 she states that vegetables are “nourishing, warming, and easy to digest”.
-She has a list of nutrients and claims that meats and fish are the best sources for these, but a quick fact check shows that not to be true.
-Rubbing oil on the abdomen will relieve constipation.

[Perplexta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please consult a dietitian/nutritionist before using the advice in this book. As the daughter of a nutritionist this book rang alarm bells. The science looks dodgy and the diet looks risky. It was recommended to me by an alternative health practitioner who I did not return to. Please note I read part of this book a long time ago so I might have missed/forgotten some things. It just came up in my feed today and I felt I should leave a review as I recall how hopeful I was when I started reading the book and how disturbed I felt with the suggestions in it. Please speak with a doctor/dietitian/nutritionist before applying this advice.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listed everything we are going through digestion/gut wise. Plan on implementing this full force when we return from vacation to get rid of yeast and allergy issues once and for ALL! Love that this is Weston A Price based/friendly too.

[Brandon Chou · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first quarter was informative, the rest of it seemed like the author was on crack.

[Zy Marquiez · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many reviews out there in respect to this book Gut And Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD. Within these there’s a kaleidoscope of different point of views in respect to what their personal opinions/anecdotes have been.

One thing that one particular individual stated that the tone of the book seemed like the author offered a ‘miracle’ cure. That was never something that seemed for me to be the case. A treatment, by definition, is not a cure. If after conquering whatever disease it might be, if an individual opts to stop this ‘treatment’ its very likely that disease will crop up once more.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride grounds the data provided in this book with an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence. Anyone looking for quick ‘miracles’ is sadly mistaken.

This book can help people, but its hard work – a lot of hard work. There are no guarantees however.

The human body is a constellations of systems within systems all performing a synergistic dance that makes us who we are. When portions of this system is out of balance – even just one ­aspect – there can be quite the detrimental side effects thereafter.

Given that, this book has helped a large amount of people that have opted to follow the diet/data provided here.

The data information provided in this book, especially when coupled with ‘The Paleo Approach’ By Sarah Balantyne Ph.D. helped me immensely.

Am just mentioning Balantyne’s book for those looking for more research into diet and how that can help one overcome [or at least move into the right direction] the countless diseases plaguing individuals nowadays.

As a person who has had Ulcerative Colitis, a sound diet has been a life saver for me, literally. This hasn’t come easy.

The title of this book doesn’t mention UC outright, however, the disease is definitely mentioned in the book, and more importantly, the issue of ‘leaky gut’ is tackled rather incisively. This is important because gut issues are present in all unhealthy people. When you look at disease from this angle, there is a lot of knowledge to be had for those seeking to why dis-ease is as wide spread as it is, as well as what are some of the things one can do to begin moving forward.

Getting back to a previous point, the diet component is not easy. It is possible however. If such wasn’t the case, so many people wouldn’t be giving this particular review and sharing anecdotal data of their successes and such.

For me personally, the sugar component was the hardest thing to overcome. Overcoming this factor is absolutely imperative for people to overcome if one wants regain their health.

Sugar is absolutely widespread in our culture these days, and it causes way more problems that can be listed here. As Campbell-Mcbride elucidates the average western person consumes about 160-200 lbs of sugar a year. Not only that, but sugar itself fuels Candida, and worse, cancer. And that’s just one component in the diet. The author mentions countless ones that cause deleterious issues.

Its important to know what causes dis-ease in our modern society, and this book does a particularly poignant job in shedding light into many confusing aspects of diet.

This book had been recommended to me years ago, and made the mistake of not getting it. If you have been interested in this book, don’t make the same mistake that was done by me. If you’re already here, you’ve probably heard of the work done by the author and whatnot, and are familiar with some of the progress that has taken place by people that have been willing to approach this with an open mind.

After being hospitalized countless times [almost every other year [and sometimes consecutive years ongoing] for many years and sometimes staying for weeks], and having been out of remission with UC for years at a time, something had to be done.

The solutions outlined by doctors were just not cutting it for me. Nothing was working. This was why it was easy to realize that big changes had to be implemented if a healthy life was going to be attainable for me again.

This book by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, as well as Balantyne’s book The Paleo Approach were very instrumental in me regaining my health. There are many options out there. Am just putting light to the information in hopes that perhaps in the future this help can help others as its helped me.

This is just speaking from personal experience. Take that for what it’s worth.

Topics such as the gut, the immune system, gut flora [and all its components] as well as even the gut-brain connection are all written about quite well. Toxins of all kinds are also broken down so to speak.

Within the recommended diet portion of the book, the most important and beneficial dietary changes that can be had are spoken about at length, as well as the top influences that help the immune system, as well as the ones that damage it, are also touched upon.

There really is a lot of vital information to be had by this book. The strength of it lies in how it allows the reader to realize the importance of gut health is, given the little amount of information coming out from the medical establishment.

In any case, there is extensive information for people whether they are at a beginner level, or come from a more experienced area in relation to these topics.

This is the type of information you wish everyone within the medical fields [and all education for that matter] were exposed too. That’s fantasy thinking however.

In the real world, the individual needs to do everything he can to regain their health, and its their responsibility to do that. This book helps you along that journey.

As mentioned before, a mistake was made by me years ago in not getting the book when it was extremely recommended by a dear friend of mine who had many health issues they conquered. Don’t make the same mistake.

[Shendoah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.5 This book is a MUST READ for, well, pretty much anyone. It is critical reading for anyone who has a family/personal history of auto-immune disorders, gut disorder(IBS/Diabetes/Chrons etc) depression, bi-polar, schizophrenia, ADD/ADHD or Autism. This book will absolutely change your world and your life.

For someone who does not have a significant health issue, this book will still change your entire viewpoint about food and how it relates to your health. While following the GAPS protocol is not necessary for a great many of us, it does matter. I've been making little changes such as including home made bone broth in a lot of foods. While I've always been a pretty good cook, my kids are commenting on how GOOD the food is tasting, "Even better than last time mom!" Food will become a whole new world full of vibrant flavor and succulent textures.

I bought this book because I am looking to recover from food allergies for myself and my son. I think we'll be able to move through the program fairly quickly as we do not have severe or significant issues. If it does take 2 years before I can tolerate cheese again, well, I've avoided it since I was 12, what's 2 more years?

The book does suggest, for significant challenges such as Autism, 2 years will be the minimum. But to fully recover from autism, I think those will be years well spent.

I have the revised and expanded version, which is about 100 pages longer than what is listed right now. I'll admit I skipped the last few chapters on raising a GAPS child and Pregnancy/breastfeeding while following GAPS protocol, as neither apply to me. If I become a GAPS coach, I'll read them as needed.



4.18: I heard about this book in search of natural ways to reverse food allergies. It is going to the top of my reading stack. Between my lifelong (and recently discovered/confirmed) food allergies, and the ones I strongly suspect my kids inherited (sorry about that guys), I am done with needing to be so strict about what we eat. If you can heal the body and get rid of food allergies, I'm all for the trying.


4.19 I'm on page 53 and fascinated. I've already written 5 pages of notes and have learned more about how the gut works in 53 pages than in all the other science classes and reading on health combined. Dr. Campbell-McBride is laying out very clearly why she believes gut health is at the root of many if not all of the Autism spectral disorders. And while I'm not reading because of ASD, I am none the less fascinated for the implications she's laying out for the reasons for my own food intolerance, hormonal imbalances and the food intolerance of my children.

This should be required reading for anyone who is a a parent, especially a parent of children on the ASD, and anyone who wants to become a parent. The health of the parent before, during and after pregnancy plays a clear and critical role in the health of the child, as well as their risk for developing ASD, allergies, food sensitivities and a host of other issues. Still Reading!

[Heatherz · Rating 4 out of 5]

After over two years of trying different versions of the hypoallergenic diet, this book gave us clues for how to live a more normal life, without further experimentation in removing foods or adding supplements. *We did not follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) promoted in the book.* However, the advice for nutrition and probiotic therapy were invaluable.

Best points taken:
-It is essential to heal a leaky gut. If that doesn't happen, no matter what food is removed, there will still be health/behavioral issues. New allergies will develop from the foods you are limited to. There will be no end in sight to inflammation and sensitivities.
-Healing the gut begins with basic body chemistry. Most digestive problems are begin with low stomach acid. Food is incompletely digested, and the pH level in the small intestines will be off as well. This results in less bile released from the gall bladder, and less enzymes from the pancreas.
-Increasing stomach acid can be done through alkalizing the body.
-Probiotics normalize the pH levels in the intestines, helping to release appropriate digestive juices and enzymes. (Best one I found: VSL#3, best probiotic on the market)
-Probiotics plug the holes in the leaky gut.
-Probiotics are our good bacteria: they help break down our food and change it to a normal stool, eliminating dysbiosis.
-Meat should not be eaten without its other parts. The forgotten parts are bone and cartilege. Bone broth soup is one way to help repair the intestines.
-MOST SUPPLEMENTS ARE HARSH TO THE INTESTINES. They are synthetic, and toxic. Even natural vitamins and supplements provide more nutrition than necessary which can actually feed the bad pathogens in the gut.
-Use nutrition to heal, not supplements. Juicing and blending vegetables is much better than supplements.
-Reduce sugar and carbohydrates. Actually, the book says to take them out altogether, but we didn't do that. Reducing was good enough : )
-Don't be afraid of fats!! Fats are great!

[Braydon Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you every wanted to understand more about the gut-brain connection and how the foods you eat effect your mood, attention, memory and general cognition, this is the book for you. Many disorders like autism are exacerbated by the food the individuals consume. Poor food choices lead to improper growth of pathogenic bacteria in the gut leading to inflammation and poor digestion & absorption of much needed minerals and nutrients. The usual suspects; refined grains and sugar are the perfect food for pathogenic bacteria.

The book focuses on GAPs people with actual diagnosed disorders and the effects are amplified in those individuals but it’s interesting to know that the same downstream effects of abnormal gut flora can affect anyone.

Interesting take away: abnormal gut flora cause improper digestion of milk and wheat proteins (casein and gluten) get converted to caseomorphin and glutomorphin which passes the gut lining (which is leaky caused by abnormal gut flora), passes the blood brain barrier and has opiate like effects on the brain. This makes the food addictive, causing a negative positive feedback loop, where the individual consumes more food that feeds the pathogenic bacteria.

Recommendations in this book seem reasonable, get rid of the food feeding the overgrowth of bacteria, broths to heal the gut lining, supplementation of deficient fat-soluble vitamins with cod liver oil, probiotics or fermented foods to keep the beneficial bacteria in higher supply. In-depth recommendations for specific issues or disorders is also available.

With autoimmune disorders & mental health issues on the rise I believe it’s important to understand what’s the root cause. This book is a piece of that puzzle and I’ll be referring to it in the future.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

GAPS diet - I'd been hoping to heal celiac without resorting to this remedy, but the time has come. We're doing it. SO tired of dealing with this exact problem right here:

"The reason for allergies and food intolerances is so-called "leaky gut" when the gut lining is damaged by abnormal micro flora. Foods do not get the chance to be digested properly before they get absorbed through this damaged wall and cause the immune system to react to them. Many people try to identify which foods they react to. However, with damaged gut wall they are likely to absorb most of their foods partially digested, which may cause an immediate reaction or a delayed reaction (a day, a few days or even a couple of weeks later). As these reactions overlap with each other, you can never be sure what exactly you are reacting to on any given day. Testing for food allergies in notoriously unreliable: if one had enough resources to test twice a day for two weeks, they would find that they are "allergic" to everything they eat. As long as the gut wall is damaged and stays damaged, you can be juggling your diet forever removing different foods and never get anywhere. From my clinical experience it is best to concentrate on healing the gut wall with the Introduction Diet. Once the gut wall is healed, the foods will be digested properly before being absorbed, which will remove most food intolerances and allergies."

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be a little hard to penetrate, but it's worth it. Although the title seems to claim too much, apparently touting a magic solution to all problems, once you read the book and understand the connections between diet and brain health, it makes sense. Not included in the title, are the additional benefits of this diet in terms of digestive issues and food allergies. Furthermore, based on my own independent reading, Dr. Campbell-McBride's nutritional claims appear to be supported by old and new research into health and nutrition.

Although I've now read this book (and it took me a few months to get through it!), I continue to read and re-read it as we work with this diet for our son.

[Jes Moonan · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 out of 4 of my kids are GAP kids. Their doctor explained things in such a generic, vague way that reading this book was an absolute shock. This book really broke down exactly what was happening and it places greater emphasis on the gut than I had previously done. My favorite part was seeing her use the term ‘recovering autistic’ when referring to a child who previously had symptoms but had improved. This describes one of my boys and I like being able to put a label on an experience he (we) went through.
Some of the explanation and terminology used was slightly higher than my knowledge base, which required some googling and reading chapters twice, but that is okay. My only other complaint was that I felt the book just suddenly ended. The last chapter was about conceiving children and newborns, which isn’t a topic that applies so i just skimmed it. Then it went straight to references…. I would have liked to have had a conclusion chapter or something! Maybe that’s just because I really enjoyed the book and didn’t want it to end!

[K S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book and another by the same author. She was the first person I found, when I began studying years ago, who believed autism could be cured or at least mitigated by dietary fat intake. The concept of healing the brain was a new one for me but I have seen this protocol in action and give this book credit for substantial progress in my understanding of treatment for autism. I would recommend further reading of works by Dr. Chris Palmer and Dr. Georgia Ede regarding metabolic dysfunction and its affect on both neurological and biochemical processes.
These two doctors confirm that a ketogenic diet, which is a higher fat diet, has a positive, healing effect on the brain.