My passion for wholesome healing started at 17 when my family first did the GAPS diet. The progress our family of 11 experienced was undeniable. Right off of high school I knew I wanted to pursue nutrition. The only route I knew of at the time was college. Even though I knew that the career of a dietician was not right for me it was the closest thing I could find to what I really wanted. I had no idea I could be a GAPS practitioner. I felt like I was 'settling'. Thankfully before my first semester was over a fellow GAPS Practitioner told us about NTA. Becoming an NTP enabled me to become a GAPS Practitioner in no time. Interestingly enough, I didn't know if I wanted to be a GAPS Practitioner after becoming an NTP, until my mom had become certified and the first few sentences of what it did for her had me hooked and I thought why stop here? Breakfast: 2 almond meal pancakes (omit honey) topped with half a sliced banana and a tablespoon of almond butter At the core of the GAPS diet, people avoid foods that are difficult to digest and might damage the gut flora or gut lining. They replace them with nutrient-rich foods that help the gut heal. Some critics have voiced the concern that consuming large amounts of bone broth could increase your intake of lead, which is toxic in high doses ( 19). Singh V et al. Serological association of measles virus and human herpesvirus-6 with brain autoantibodies in autism. Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology. 1998:89; 105-108.

A typical modern mother was probably not breast fed when she was a baby, because she was born in 60s or 70s when breast-feeding went out of fashion. Why is it important? Because it is well known that bottle fed babies develop completely different gut flora to the breast fed babies. This compromised gut flora in a bottle fed baby later on predisposes her to many health problems. Having acquired compromised gut flora from the start, a typical modern mum had quite a few courses of antibiotics in her childhood and youth for various infections. It is a well known fact that antibiotics have a serious damaging effect on the gut flora, because they wipe out the beneficial strains of bacteria in the gut. At the age of 16 and sometimes even earlier the modern mum was put on a contraceptive pill, which she took for quite a few years before starting a family. Contraceptive pills have a devastating effect on the beneficial (good) bacteria in the gut. One of the major functions of the good bacteria in the gut flora is controlling about 500 different known to science species of pathogenic (bad) and opportunistic microbes. When the beneficial bacteria get destroyed the opportunists get a special opportunity to grow into large colonies and occupy large areas of the digestive tract. A modern diet of processed and fast foods provides perfect nourishment for these pathogens and that is a typical diet a modern mum had as a child and a young adult. As a result of all these factors a modern mum has seriously compromised gut flora by the time she is ready to have children. And indeed clinical signs of gut dysbiosis (abnormal gut flora) are present in almost 100% of mothers of children with neurological and psychiatric conditions. The most common health problems in mothers are digestive abnormalities, allergies, auto-immunity, PMS, chronic fatigue, headaches and skin problems. Rezazadeh, L., et al. (2019). Effects of probiotic yogurt on glycemic indexes and endothelial dysfunction markers in patients with metabolic syndrome [Abstract]. Finegold SM, Molitoris D, Song Y, Liu C, Vaisanen ML, Bolte E, McTeague M, Sandler R, Wexler H, Marlowe EM, Collins MD, Lawson PA, Summanen P, Baysallar M, Tomzynski TJ, Read E, Johnson E, Rolfe R, Nasir P, Shah H, Haake DA, Manning P, Kaul A. Gastrointestinal microflora studies in late-onset autism. Clin Infect Dis. 2002 Sep 1;35(Suppl 1):S6-S16.once the digestive system starts functioning normally, they can gradually introduce most wholesome foods commonly eaten around the world. Many people have to go through the GAPS Introduction Diet, which is more difficult to follow, but it achieves deeper healing of the gut and the rest of the body. People with severe digestive problems, severe mental illness and physical conditions found great help following the No-Plant GAPS Diet for a while. At the most severe end patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease and other very serious health problems found GAPS Ketogenic Diet to be the most appropriate approach. Then there are people who need to eat more plant matter to feel well; these people enjoy the More-Plant GAPS Diet. Additionally, those with autism may already have a restrictive diet and may not readily accept new foods or changes to their diets. This could lead to extreme restriction ( 17, 18).

Everything you eat must be cooked at home from fresh ingredients. We do not consume any processed ‘foods’ on the GAPS Diet. Horvath K, Papadimitriou JC, Rabsztyn A et al. Gastrointestinal abnormalities in children with autism. Journal of Pediatrics 1999; 135: 559-563.There are many toxins, which we have not studied very well yet. But some toxins have received a considerable amount of research. Let us have a look at them. Baruk H. 1978. Psychoses of digestive origins. In: Hemmings and Hemmings (eds), Biological Basis of Schizophrenia. Lancaster MTP Press. A Part Four: Having a Baby in the GAPS Family has been added to the book. It contains two chapters: Pre-conception and pregnancy and New Baby, where all aspects of pre-conception, pregnancy and looking after a new baby are covered, including the diet.