What is Gut and Psychology Syndrome?
GAPS™ (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) is a condition that recognizes the connection between an unhealthy digestive system and certain psychological conditions. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride noted this relationship after working with hundreds of children and adults with neurological and psychiatric conditions including autism, ADD, ADHD, schizophrenia, dyslexia, and OCD.
What she found in these patients was that apart from their mental problems, they are also quite physically ill. Digestive disorders, malnourished, allergies, asthma, eczema, chronic cystitis, thrush, and fussy eating habits are a consistent part of the picture. Ultimately, what they all had in common was gut dysbiosis or, put more simply, an unhealthy, out-of-balance gastrointestinal tract. She called this relationship “Gut and Psychology Syndrome.”
This is not necessarily a new idea. After working with mental patients for many years, the father of modern psychiatry, Phillipe Pinel (1745–1828), concluded that, “The primary seat of insanity generally is in the region of the stomach and intestines.” Long before him, Hippocrates (460-370 BC), the father of modern medicine said, “All diseases begin in the gut.”
Since autism, ADD, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, schizophrenia, depression, sleep disorders, allergies, asthma, eczema, and other conditions are linked to an unhealthy gut, Dr. Campbell-McBride developed an intense therapeutic diet – the GAPS™ diet – to heal the digestive system and reverse these conditions.
The diet removes grains, starches, dairy, and sugar, while emphasizing saturated fats, mostly from animal sources, to ‘heal and seal’ the gut. Other essential elements of the GAPS™ diet include mineral-dense meat broths, fatty meats, well-cooked vegetables, fermented vegetables, and dairy.
The diet begins with the introductory GAPS™ diet, composed of several stages that are an important step for those with serious digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, some cases of constipation, etc. These introductory stages, along with proper supplementation and lifestyle interventions, will likely reduce symptoms quickly and initiate healing in the digestive system.
After the introductory diet, patients move into the full GAPS™ diet, which mostly consists of consuming animal fats, meat broths, fatty meats, fermented vegetables, dairy, some nuts, cheese, and legumes.
Depending on the severity of the condition, patients can move through the program as fast or as slow as needed. After completion of the GAPS™ diet – typically between 6 months and 2 years – gut health will be restored, ailments will be significantly improved or healed altogether, and patients can continue living on a whole food, home-cooked diet to ensure their digestive system stays healthy.
Jenna Wunder, RD, MPH had the privilege of receiving personal instruction from the GAPS™ founder, Dr. Campbell-McBride, who, because of her intense schedule in the U.K., no longer comes to the United States to train practitioners.
Within her practice, Jenna has seen eczema completely healed, significant improvement in autism symptoms, lifelong constipation resolved, and much more. These conditions have gone from being insurmountable struggles in the lives of her patients to being easily manageable – all resulting from a commitment to stick to the GAPS™ diet, supplements, and lifestyle interventions.
This may be a challenging diet for some. But Jenna’s job is to walk the journey with you, answering questions, sharing recipes, food plans, and resources, and offering encouragement and accountability.
Jenna teaches patients how to make delicious food including meat broths, how to ferment your own vegetables and dairy, and where to get the equipment and ingredients necessary to make your home GAPS™ friendly.
She will also advise on a GAPS™ strategy for when your children are in school and how to travel while on the GAPS™ diet. Jenna’s goal is to make this process as understandable and manageable for you as possible, so you can see real results for yourself and/or your loved ones.
One of the most common concerns Jenna hears from parents of children with these conditions is fear that their child will reject the foods on the GAPS™ diet. While the transition phase may be intimidating to parents, Jenna has found the opposite reaction true more often than not.
Children typically acclimate to the diet very easily and have actually been craving these foods all along. Parents are often amazed by how quickly their children begin to eat and thrive on GAPS™ foods.
Following through with the GAPS™ diet means cooking most, if not all, of your meals, sourcing hormone-free, antibiotic-free meat, fermenting your own vegetables and dairy, making broths and stews, baking GAPS™-friendly baked goods, and staying accountable to the process for up to 2 years or more.
If followed precisely, the GAPS™ diet will likely produce real, life-changing results. Although cooking this way can be daunting to some, don’t worry too much. Jenna will give you many ideas for how to simplify the process so that it works for your life.
