The first few months I was on the GAPS diet, I felt like I was on cloud-nine. I felt amazing, and was so happy to be free from the joint pain that had plagued me for nearly a year. After about 5 months on the diet, I started to notice some energy problems. Specifically, I started having spells of extreme lethargy and fatigue. Like, "I need to go lay on the floor for awhile" and "I can't keep my eyes open". After a bit of experimenting, I figured out that this problem was caused by eating too few carbohydrates.Is the GAPS Diet Low-Carb?
The GAPS diet is not necessarily a low-carb diet. Fruits, veggies, lentils, white beans, and honey are all allowed on the diet. But, I've tended to shy away from things like lentils and white beans while on GAPS because they can cause digestive upset for some of the other members of my family. I also tend to not each much fruit, as I don't really crave sweet things like I used to years ago. So for me, the GAPS diet can easily be very low carb.
Who Needs Carbs?
Other popular low-carb diets, such as Primal and Atkins, are quick to point out that people do not need carbs, since the body can manufacture them from other energy sources. However, it became clear to me that I do need plenty of carbs to have normal energy levels.
My daughter and husband, who are also on the GAPS diet, have not had the same energy complaints. It seems that perhaps being a woman, or specifically being a breastfeeding mother, can cause me to need more carbs. Or who knows, maybe it has to do with the foods my ancestors ate for thousands of years. Whatever the cause, it is clear that I can't follow a low-carb diet without having energy problems. I do know that there are plenty of other people, women specifically, who have complained of energy problems on GAPS.
Carbs and Adrenal Fatigue
Recently I've noticed that some of my old adrenal fatigue symptoms have been coming back: balding lower legs, vertical lines on the inside of my fingertips, and cold hands. As I've been researching the cause, I've learned that eating a low-carb diet can tax the adrenal glands! When the diet is low-carb, the adrenals have to keep sending out hormones to signal the liver to release glucose. I'm thinking that the return of my adrenal problems signals that I still haven't been eating enough carbs while on GAPS to properly nourish my body.
Steady Energy
To keep the energy levels more steady throughout the day, I'm eating more carbs. I include at least one of the following with each meal:
- Milk kefir or plain yogurt
- Winter squash, such as butternut or spaghetti: These seem to be fairly high in carbs compared to other veggies.
- Lentils
- White navy beans
Energy BoostsTo deal with any spells of extreme lethargy or fatigue, I find that eating one the the following helps.These give a quick energy boost and chase that lethargic feeling away.
- Fruit: I generally eat at least 3-4 pieces each day while on GAPS. Apples, pears, bananas, oranges, cherries, and blueberries all seem to work well for a quick energy boost.
- Macaroons: I keep a stash of frozen macaroons in the freezer. If I get that awful lethargic feeling, I'll go eat one right away.
- A small spoonful of honey
This post is part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Fat Tuesday and Monday Mania!
52 comments:
I just put up a post about this exact thing! I've been eating too low carb for a while on GAPS. Not on purpose. It just kind of happens when you try not to eat too many sweets and things like beans (they bother my nursing son too much). I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on my post. Thanks for your great info! Just what I needed.
http://voogtrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/01/autonomic-nervous-system-and-dietwhere.html
This happened to me on GAPS too, but practically from the very start - I never felt good on GAPS. I have weak adrenals to begin with, so that's probably part of the reason. I was eating lots of yogurt and winter squash, but beans and too much fruit/honey didn't agree with me. I lasted 6 weeks as my energy levels sunk lower and lower, I lost too much weight, and I was feeling like I lost my zest for life. Basically I said screw it, I don't want to feel like this, and with my doctor's permission I added in potatoes, sweet potato and white rice. Turns out whole grains, beans and lentils cause my digestive issues, so adding in these "safe starches" didn't cause me any problems, and in fact improved my digestion!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Debbie! I am actually transitioning off GAPS now and keep reading that white rice is easier on the digestion than brown. I've never even made white rice, but always used brown before GAPS, but I'm thinking that I should probably try white at first anyway.
I always used to cook brown rice too, according to the method in Nourishing Traditions. I also used to eat sprouted whole grain breads, thinking that was the healthiest option. The best thing the GAPS diet did for me was it made me realize that I cannot properly digest whole grains (or beans or lentils). I still stay away from gluten, but I'm happy with the newfound freedom that rice and potatoes gives me. Have you read about the Perfect Health Diet? They advocate these "safe starches", but only in moderation ie. don't go overboard on the carbs. White rice is easy...rinse it until water runs clear. Then add twice as much water as rice eg. 1/2 cup of rice, 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then immediately turn down to very lowest setting, put lid on, and cook for 25 minutes. Good luck with your transition!
This is such a good post. I have terrible chronic fatigue and a low carb diet was recommended for me -ironically FOR my adrenal fatigue. If anything, I felt worse energy-wise although I was finally able to lose weight. I am having such a hard time coming back to doing grain-free, etc. because that was so hard. It is hard when you have zero energy to make everything all the time!!
Thanks Debbie and Natalie!
I'll look for the Perfect Health book at the library (I try not to buy too many books as I read so much that it would really dent my bank account).
And Natalie, yes it is so hard to make everything when you have no energy!! I find it helpful to keep a pot of broth going all the time (there is a post about that here: http://nourishedkitchen.com/perpetual-soup-the-easiest-bone-broth-youll-make/) So much easier than making lots of pots.
I feel like this is in the air right now. I'm planning on transitioning off GAPS in the near future, because the same thing happened to me, but about 8 months into my currently 10-month stint on GAPS. I felt great, started running, sleeping great, etc. And then it all fell apart. I read a great article about The Catecholamine Honeymoon regarding low carb diets (which GAPS can be sometimes, but isn't as bad as Paleo), and decided I had healed enough on GAPS to start transitioning out. http://180degreehealth.com/2010/06/the-catecholamine-honeymoon
Sorry to keep bombarding you but this is a subject very close to me heart :) I just came across a link that kinda relates to this topic - in so much as it talks about diets like GAPS and SCD not being a "one size fits all", which was my experience exactly. Anyway...food for thought as you begin to transition.
http://huntgatherlove.com/content/why-paleo-didnt-fix-my-ibs
Thanks for your post. I have gained weight (28 lbs in 6 months from my ideal weight) and have been very lethargic... tackling candida I have been having little to no fruits, pumpkin etc so I guess I now know why felt so terrible - I wish I'd found this out 1 yr ago! I've been giving the navy & lima beans a go.... not too sure they'll be ok! I had hoped to stay off grains for 2 yrs but may be I'll need to add in millet, quinoa & new potatoes just to give me some energy?
Even though I have been using coconut flour for a while, after looking at the nutrition table today of the brand I use, I discovered today that coconut flour has 9.1g of carbs per 14g of flour - so that would be a good thing to include as well.
p.s. I love your raisin cinnamon loaf! - thanks for sharing that recipe! - my whole family loves it too! - although I did increase the coconut flour and almond meal amounts a little as the batter was quite runny.
I read your blog post and then saw this article just a little bit later: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/07/dr-paul-jaminet-interview.aspx
They are talking about the very same thing as you, i.e. loo low carb diet and how that can affect the body.
Thanks Everyone for your comments and links! I definitely agree that there is no one-size fits all approach to anything. Starches and grains definitely contributed to my joint problems so I had to avoid them for almost a year and a half on GAPS. So far I am experimenting with adding in potatoes and rice, and also eating much more. I have been really intrigued by Matt Stone's work, and his RRARF program specifically (which calls for eating way more food to flood the body with nutrients and resting more).
I know that we can live in ketosis, but increasingly my question is, should we? Is it really a default setting for the metabolism, or an emergency response? Ockham's razor says tubers are okay, I'd say.
Now if only I could eat cheese...
We just celebrated one year on GAPS. I've never really felt fatigue or lethargy, but then again I eat yogurt and coconut flour products every day. I did transition off of GAPS a little about two months ago ... and got slammed with a Candida infection (an issue I'd never had before). Boo. So now I'm back to a full GAPS diet. I'm also nursing our 7wk old son. Making sure that I eat plenty whenever I feel hungry. Sounds like if I continue the beans/lentils, coconut flour, yogurt, and fruit (like in my yogurt or as a dessert after dinner) I should be okay with energy?
Hopefully your energy levels will be fine eating all of those, Bethany. It sounds like you naturally gravitate towards enough carbs on GAPS, whereas I could very easily not eat enough carbs. Just keep it in the back of your mind if you start to feel overly tired.
THANK YOU for writing this Sarah!!
This has been something that my husband and I have been talking about a lot lately. We've been struggling with energy levels and feel like we need more carbs.
My husband was talking about venturing off the GAPS diet, to include more carbs, because he was feeling he really needed it in his diet.
Honestly I've been afraid to venture off the diet because I don't feel our digestion is healed yet.
We've been wondering about adding sweet potatoes and parsnips. My husband has been wanting wild rice.
I know most importantly, I need to listen to my body. So, we'll see how our next diet adventures go.
Thanks for all you share.
I have done gaps for 26 months. In that first year there were times that carbs gave me more energy but then that stopped working. I am now doing the leptin reset and lower carb than ever before and also feeling better/more energy than I have had in a while. I never would have believed it till I experienced it. My adrenals are also thriving on this proticol and I am nearly off all adrenal support.
Wow, Patty, thanks for sharing your experience. Can you give me any links to learn about leptin reset? Is there a specific protocol you are following?
I've been reading your blog for a while - thanks for all the great info!
Regrading fatigue on the GAPS diet I've had a similar pattern: adrenal fatigue before GAPS, initially better, then adrenal symptoms creeping back in. What worked for me was iodine. I've had slightly "off" thyroid hormones (slightly high TSH indicating hypothyroid but body temp and other symptoms more in line with hyperthyroid - not clinically either).
I did the iodine skin painting test which showed I was low so for a couple of months I drank sea-salt water with a pinch of kelp each morning and my energy steadily improved. I eventually felt I was getting too much because I started having insomnia so I backed off and sure enough the skin test showed I was at sufficiency. So that's an easy thing you might want to try. It's my understanding that adrenal fatigue can throw off thyroid and that iodine deficiency is very common.
Thanks Erin. I've actually been putting iodine on my skin the last couple days! I'm glad to hear of your experience.
So great to read all these comments as I have been doing GAPS for about six weeks - I am relieved to hear that I might be one of those people who simply needs some carbs. I have been so exhausted, depressed and lethargic. I like the idea of the diet but have accepted that it is too extreme for me! WOnder if anyone is interested in the Blood Types? I'm
type A which is good with grains? How does this fit with GAPS?
I've never looked much into the blood type diets. One thing, from your comments: you might still be dealing with the initial die-off symptoms from the transition onto GAPS. Die-off can make you feel very tired, moody, lethargic, etc. This just means that the bad bacteria in your gut are dying off very rapidly, and as they die they release toxins that can cause those symptoms. GAPS is not necessarily low-carb; if I had to do it again, I would focus on eating lots of GAPS-legal carbs (lentils, white navy beans, winter squash, etc) right from the beginning.
I have just started the gaps intro diet...two plus weeks...I suffer from a hernia and have had acid reflux for many years...I take zantac to control the symptoms and had been stable...not needing to take it all the time just when I had an attack. I tried GAPS with my daughter and stopped the zantac and also librax which I took for occasional cramping...The result has been a nightmare for me. I don't have the pain but instead have a horrible burning from my throat to my stomach and also my chest and throat tighten up and feels terrible. I have it all the time and have been losing alot of sleep. At 68 and working fulltime I am exhausted and feel terrible. Any suggestions...I am wondering if I should do the full gaps diet and come back to the intro. Also wondering if I should wean myself off the medication rather than stop cold turkey, since I have been taking it for over 15 yars?
I must say first that I am not a medical professional. That being said, it seems like a prudent course of action to wean slowly off the medicine, and wait until you adjust to the GAPS diet before you do so. I would absolutely start with the Full GAPS diet and then come back to intro in a few months. That makes it much more manageable and also helps to make the die-off symptoms to a more manageable level.
I just wanted to add to this post that you need a lot of good fats if you are on low carbs. The other thing that I would suggest is scenar therapy for adrenal fatigue, and stay away from fruit and honey. Once i adapted the GAPs diet in this way it helped, and recently I have found a scenar therapist on the suggestion of a friend, and my life long battle with adrenal fatigue has gone. Its amazing to get through an entire day without that battle with fatigue. I used to sleep 10-12 hours anight and still have a 2 hour nap in the day. I still sleep up to 10 hours but not even a thought of a nap in the day time!
Thanks for you comment, Stephanie! I've never heard of SCENAR therapy and will look into it!
Hey Sarah,
How have you been going adding potatoes and rice back into your diet?
I was on an anti-candida diet since march 2010 til october 2011 when I went overseas backpacking and started eating rice and potatoes quite often (plus probably vege oils and other bad stuff i had no control over...i was in asia). Since February I got really into a GAPS style of the candida diet. So basically the same diet except Ive added in dairy (Raw Kefir) which has been awesome, lots more bone broth, and probiotics.
Since february my acne has been great (reduced ALOT) and Im trying to heal and fade the rosacea i have on my face which Im certain is gut related.
Im tossing up whether to add back some rice and potatoes very slowly.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Paul
Hi Paul,
You might be interested to read this post about adding back carbs and my experiences.
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-diet-update-and-results-from-diet.html
If I had to do it all again, I would still do GAPS but I would try to focus on making sure I eat enough carbs and never skipping meals for convenience. The GAPS diet can take a lot longer to heal than the few months you've been on it. Although symptoms subside relatively quickly, the gut still has to heal and this can take years. So it may be early for you to add back rice and potatoes (but to each his own).
Sarah I know we are both interested in Matt Stone because I have seen your posts there but I am very concerned for my son. He's 2 been on full gaps since Dec 2011 (now attempting intro to try to deal with the dairy allergy). Since starting GAPS his hair has thinned out a ton, his extremities colder, and he doesn't gain much weight. He is a thin guy. Im starting to become concerned since he can't eat dairy except ghee and the beans, nuts are hard on him so where are we getting all these carbs from? Additionally Ray Peat says nuts and FCLO has too much PUFA which suppresses thyroid. The heck - that is the GAPS diet! :)
Hi Christina,
It definitely sounds like your son is not thriving well on GAPS. I had the opposite experience with my daughter. Past the first month or so, we never ate tons of nuts on GAPS, so didn't consume many PUFA's. We focused more on lots of saturated fat through coconut oil, ghee, etc.
You could try to up the carbs by letting him eat more fruit, dried fruit, and you could try coconut flour baked goods (muffins, for instance). Also, winter squashes like butternut or pumpkin. Check out my recipes for muffins and clafoutis; those may work well for him since they can be dairy-free and nut-free (you can sub 3 Tb coconut flour for the nut flour in the clafoutis). If he can handle these things digestion-wise, maybe that would help.
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/02/apple-or-pear-clafoutis-gaps-legal.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/10/pumpkin-pie-clafoutis-gaps-legal-gluten.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/08/peach-blueberry-clafoutis-gaps-legal.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/03/blueberry-banana-muffins-gaps-legal.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/10/apple-cinnamon-muffins-grain-free-nut.html
Oh! Also, coconut milk ice cream could really help, and when he is able, you could switch to sour cream in the ice cream.
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/04/homemade-mint-ice-cream-including-dairy.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2012/02/strawberry-ice-cream-gaps-legal-primal.html
Going without dairy was one of the hardest parts for my daughter, but we followed the dairy progression. Beginning with the test of putting homemade whey on the skin and looking for a reaction the next day; there was no reaction, so we started introducing whey a little at a time, working up to yogurt, kefir, hard cheeses, and finally raw milk. By the end of a few months, we were all able to tolerate raw milk with no problems.
From what I know now with Matt Stone's work, I would definitely try to eat more carbs form the beginning. After the first few months, I'd also let the kids have more of whatever GAPS-legal foods they wanted (like ice cream).
I hope this helps!!
I have adrenal dysfunction secondary to severe hormone imbalance (menopause). I thought I was dying a few months ago, hypothermic body temps of 95.2-95.6, dropping with any activity, no energy, baggy eyes, couldn't function or think, hair falling out etc...doctors had no clue, even Endocrinologist tested me, extremely low cortisol but normal response to stim test, not Addisons disease, refused to treat me! I think I did myself in by losing 120 lbs by low carb and low fat dieting for 3 years plus extreme exercise (high intensity cardio daily)while I reversed diabetes, I felt and looked terrible and had to stop work. finally found a Hormone Specialist who prescribed Wilson's supplements for Adrenals, and bio identical hormones. within 6 weeks I am back at work and feeling almost recovered, BUT I will tell you that I have discovered that my low adrenal symptoms of low body temp and fatigue return almost immediately if I dont a) eat every 2 or 3 hours and b) a LOT of carbs, in the form of homemade muffins with dried fruit and nuts, bananas, anything starchy, plus I have to add a glass of milk or a hunk of meat or a whey protein drink at every meal. if I dont and wait even an hour too long, my hands freeze up, I feel exhausted and starved for air. It's not low blood sugar, as I test myself still and I seem to always be perfect. I will also warn you ladies that are breastfeeding still to UP the iron intake, and for me, my ferritin is still bottom even though no periods for over 2 years. I am successful with a poly-saccharide iron complex feramas 150. I tried proferrin it didn't work and gave me awful gas...Im also on just half a grain of dessicated thyroid, which I take at 3:30 am when my hubby goes to work and I go back to bed. without it I can't make enough T3 to get the thyroid going to allow for cortisol production. It's all so complicated, but this doctor has literally saved my life! so I've gained a few pounds eating more, but I also have the energy to go walking and swimming now, and although I have to take it easy and not overdo it, I am finally seeing my muscles again, they were completely eaten up before due to the severity of the low cortisol/thyroid problem...remember, us women who have low adrenals CANNOT store glycogen well and we don't have enough cortisol around to tell the liver to spit some out when we need it. we have to rely on continuous carb intake to fill our glycogen needs...
Wow, Anon, I'm in the same boat. Was on a low carb candida diet for 4 months and felt fantastic. My hair got thicker, my eyebrows grew back, digestion was good, tongue even healed! I determined I must have had a thyroid/candida problem and the candida diet was the cure. But then it all went downhill. I lost too much weight, started skipping periods, then the adrenal fatigue kicked in. I had severe insomnia, anxiety, dizzy and weak all the time, reactive hypoglycemia, terrible swollen eyes. Then the PMS came back, and my hair thinned out again, and I never changed my diet. I literally thought I was going to die. Now here I sit, one year later and I'm definitely not better even though my Dr. told me to start eating quinoa and more carbs, I still don't really get more than 150-200 g/day. Still can't sleep, swollen eyes, gain weight really easily. I added back grains but I don't think they agree with me. Low cortisol in the morning, sometimes high at noon, okay in the afternoon and high at night. Do you think my liver just can't take being so depleted? Everyone says to avoid carbs and sugar like the plague, but I am NOT getting better that way.
It is definitely helping me to not worry about sugar and carbs. Like you, I felt great on low carb initially but then developed adrenal fatigue once again, and even worse over time. I ate as much ice cream as I wanted for about a month (2-3 times a day most days), and this really made me feel human again (wonderful energy levels, after months of low energy). I've since had good results with allowing myself sweets when my body asks for them (homemade cookies and ice cream, mostly), and with making sure to eat carbs like potatoes and white rice. These bring back my joint pain a little bit, but they also give me great energy and I'd rather have a little joint pain than feel like a zombie all the time!
This happened to me after 1 1/2 months on gaps. My adrenals crashed and my thyroid is wacky now. I really wasn't on it very long to heal my gut but now I am worse off than when I started. I am trouble eating gluten free grains and fruit. My energy bottoms out at 3 pm and I am up every wp hours with heart palpitations. I am considering eating the ice cream even if I really haven't eaten much dairy for years.
Figuring out how to recover has been a challenge. I'm glad that you are finding answers.
Teresa
Erin, I am glad I came across your post about iodine skin painting. I happened to read about it a couple of days ago at Dr Campbell-McBride's FAQs and it is helpful to read about someone's success with it. We have just started our journey on GAPS and it has already helped our son tremendously . For anyone interested, I highly recommend reading Dr Campbell-McBride's exhaustive list of FAQs along with her book. Her FAQs really have cleared up many questions I had after reading her book. The link is: http://www.gaps.me/preview/?page_id=32
Hi, I've been on GAPS for about six weeks. Iv'e tried introducing new foods like sprouted nut butters and almond flour, but each time I do, it burns when i poop or my throat itches. Iv'e been drinking about a cup of real fermented pickle juice a day. I ususally have energy. I'm so tired. I'm sleeping 14 hours and can't fall asleep at night even though I have no enery. I'm craving sweets. I tried eating a lick of honey, but got concerned as it's a sugar and not good for the body, so I spit it out. I don't know what to do. Anyone with ideas, I would be very grateful. I have low thyroid, TONS of allergies, 22 evironmental and 22 food sensitivites really like milk, egg white, fruits, nuts and seeds, cauliflower, tomato, avocado, etc and on and on. I feel worse that before being on GAPS. My adrenals are shot. I have lichen planus. Is there anyone there that can guide me? Thank you
I would recommend that you find a good classical homeopath and undergo constitutional treatment. We are seeing great results using homeopathy for all of our family. Constitutional treatment can be expensive, but totally worth it in my opinion. Our homeopath charges $200 per constitutional case, but that covers the case until completion (and until all symptoms have been dealt with). I've talked to him (via phone as he doesn't live here) every week since July 2012, so I think the $200 was a bargain.
Also, if you e-mail me at nourishedandnurtured[at]gmail[dot]com, I can send you an article I wrote specifically about healing adrenals and GAPS.
Hello, Sarah, thank you for responding. I don't know what a homeopath does. I'm going to google it after I'm done writing this to you. And, yes, I will email you to read your article about healing the adrenals and GAPS. Thank you, again, Sarah. I really didn't know if anyone would respond. I feel grateful.
Hey I have a question Im hoping someone knows the answer to...so whenever I eat navy beans which are allowed on GAPS, I get gas. And I mean GAS lol Is that normal because its beans or is that a sign Im not tolerating them properly? Anyone with any ideas would be great. I tried googling but Im not finding much.
Hey Justin,
I do think this means you are not tolerating them well. Some members of my family had problems with beans too, and lentils especially. Not gas, but constipation. Either way, the body isn't having an easy time digesting them.
Are you soaking your beans before cooking them? If not, that might be something to try, as soaking beans greatly increases their digestibility. I soak beans in filtered water with a dash of baking soda for about 24 hours and that really helps. The longer you soak them, the easier they should be to digest, so you may even want to try 24-48 hours. Good luck!
Hi after looking for week on google I found an answer, I was on ATKINS diet for about 10 weeks it felt great for a month BUT the I started to feel week and sex was shit, I had a history of anxitey dis order and all of a sudden I guss adenal glands shut down and anxiety stope but then started chronic fatigue, I kinda stop functioning could even drive a car. Now 5 weeks off the diet I am still yet to recover and just been put on antidepressants, the reason I I was so anxious was I had soo muct energy all the time but now god I wish anxitey back. Can anyone tell me howlong will it take to get these glands qorking again?
I would highly recommend that you try Matt Stone's RRARF program. That was a fast way to kick start the process of restoring my adrenals. http://www.180degreehealth.com/uploads/eBooks/Rrarf.pdf
My family and I are on the GAPS diet for 6 months now and I was wondering what you would suggest to the typical GAPS family on how to proceed with GAPS (as it really is helping) but to be preventative in adrenal fatigue issues?? Are their elements of matt stones program that you can apply while doing GAPS to be more proactive in this area?? Im trying to nap daily, and i'm wondering what else may be helpful that wouldnt get us off GAPS. I didnt realize that a short cycle can be a sign of adrenal issues. My cycle has been like 24 days since i've had children and not very heavy...(although it seems like since GAPS it has gotten heavier). I understand you dont give medical advice- but i'm curious what your thoughts are on this!
Hi Lauren,
Yes! I wrote about what to do to prevent adrenal problems on GAPS here:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2013/01/gaps-diet-and-adrenal-problems_12.html
By the way, Sarah at The Paleo Mom has had great success treating her lichen planus with the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. May be worth checking out: http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/05/my-experience-with-aip-to-treat-lichen.html
Debbie, I had almost this exact experience! I quit GAPS after two months because my energy had tanked to point that I could do no exercise at all and I was beginning to develop insomnia. (I was actually willing to tolerate the lethargy, but insomnia is where I draw the line.) This was while eating my own bodyweight in winter squash, so it wasn't just a matter of carbs.
I did cure my dairy allergy and constipation, so I think GAPS was worth it, and I'm happy to sing its praises. But I feel much better on safe starches and adding them back in has not negatively impacted my digestion. I am also on the Perfect Health Diet now. :)
Hi Sarah & co.,
is a homeopathic practitioner different from a GAPS certified nutritionist? Which would you recommend?
Yes, a homeopathic practitioner is completely different from a certified GAPS nutritionist. I would highly recommend working with a classical homeopath; we are seeing much better, deeper results using homeopathy than we ever did with GAPS. If you want to see a bit more about how homeopathy works, here is an article I recently wrote: http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2013/08/healing-chronic-constipation-in-infant.html
Sara,
I have completed the stages and I am on the full-GAPS diet now. My question is about GAPS options for back-packing. It is a bit complicated as I will be fasting 17 hours [no food, no water] during that time. Can you you recommend ready-made meals that are pack-able and are able to give my body what it needs during my time in the field? The initial hike in is 9 miles, which I will begin after sunset and eating & drinking. Once in camp I will not be extremely active--light hikes and fishing for a few days. I am interested in your thoughts and thank you in advance for your time.
Off the top-of-my-head, the following recipes seem like they could be packable:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/02/apple-raisin-snack-bars-gaps-legal.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/07/chewy-cinnamon-almond-cookies-gluten.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/11/coconut-and-fruit-granola-grain-free.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/01/apple-snap-granola-gaps-friendly-gluten.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/05/lime-and-coconut-macaroons-gaps-legal.html (these are a bit delicate, so would need to be protected from getting smashed)
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2013/09/fruit-and-nut-power-bars-primal-gaps.html
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/08/grain-free-snack-ideas.html
These are mostly snack foods; it seems like you could round things out with some canned salmon or some such.
I hope this helps!
There has been so much interest in the article about GAPS and adrenals that I posted it to the blog here:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2013/01/gaps-diet-and-adrenal-problems_12.html
Just increase your fat intake. Fat is a vital nutrient that gives a good strong solid form of energy without the highs and lows of carbs. Eat more fat people!
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