Tag Archives: GAPS

Questions About the SCD, GAPS and PD

Posted on by

With the Paleo Diet, you’ll be restoring the diet you are genetically programmed to eat. You’ll be eating the diet that every single person on the planet ate only 500 generations ago. It is the diet the modern world has completely forgotten. The Paleo Diet is simplicity itself. Here are the ground rules:

  1. All the lean meats, fish and seafood you can eat
  2. All the fruits and non-starchy vegetables you can eat
  3. No cereals
  4. No legumes
  5. No dairy products
  6. No processed foods

The Paleo Diet is not a fat-free diet, it’s a “bad fat” free diet. It has few of the artery-clogging saturated fats found on the low carbohydrate, high fat fad diets, but there is plenty of low fat protein and good fats – such as those found in salmon and other cold water fish, as well as in nuts and olive oil.

The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain

Recently, I have had a number of people ask my opinion about the Paleo Diet. If you put the three programs on a continuum from least restrictive to most restrictive, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) would be first, followed by Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAPS), then the Paleo Diet (PD). The only area that the PD is less restrictive then the SCD and GAPS is the PD allows starches. All these diets are very healing and can cure the incurable. All these dietary programs want you to get off industrial processed foods which may be the major reason why these dietary programs work so well. These dietary programs restrict many of the same foods but the diets have some major philosophical differences. The saying, “the devil is in the details,” is true for these diets.

Here is a tongue-in-cheek book review by Sally Fallon written in 2002 about The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain. I found Sally Fallon’s humorous description of the PD very enlightening. In the past, I used to eat a low fat diet and was very worried about all fats, especially saturated fat. I used to skin my chicken, chop off all signs of fat from my steak, and ate only egg whites. The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain would have agreed with my saturated fat phobia. When I read Sally Fallon’s description of “Peter Paleolith”, I laughed and laughed. After that description I knew the truth was our ancestors would have done anything for fat including cracking bones and skulls for marrow and brains! Sometimes, humor is the only way to break through closely held beliefs.

Loren Condain also does some interesting mental gymnastics in The Paleo Diet. He states, “lean meat is brain food” and follows up this statement with: “At first, humans were not terribly good hunters. They started out as scavengers who trailed behind predators such as lions and ate the leftovers remaining on abandoned carcasses. The pickings were slim: ravenous lions don’t leave much behind, except for bones. But with their handy tools (stone anvils and hammers), our early ancestors could crack the skulls and bones and still find something to eat – brains and fatty marrow. Marrow fat was the main concentrated energy source that enabled the early human gut to shrink, while the scavenged brains contained a specific type of omega 3 fat called “docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which allowed the [human] brain to expand.”

So which is it? Does lean meat build brains or does fat build brains? Loren Condain likely believed the low fat dogma of his day like many other intelligent people. But he becomes disingenuous when he states the PD is a return to our ancestral diet while manipulating the diet to fit modern tastes and quoting current dietary dogma. I would image it was an easier sell to base a diet book on lean meat and vegetables rather than bone marrow and brains.

When I started eatkamloops.org, I had to decide which dietary program best illustrated my dietary approach. The SCD/GAPS program was the best fit but I always used some elements of the PD. I used many PD recipes and found PD resources to be very helpful. I just ignored the fat and salt phobia. I did not eat starches that are restricted on the SCD/GAPS program. At the time, a large segment of the Paleo movement were thinking some strange thoughts, like believing our ancestors ate skinned chicken breasts, didn’t use salt, and ignored the use of raw dairy in numerous traditional cultures.

The PD condemns all grains, legumes and beans. Grains, legumes, and beans are “poisons” for me, but I know many people do very well on these foods if properly prepared. Even though I do well on a low carbohydrate diet, low carbohydrate diets do not work well for all people. Some people need more carbohydrates to function optimally. Micro-nutrient needs are very individual and can change for the individual if activity levels change or as we age. The PD allows starches but both the SCD/GAPS restrict these foods because the people that are helped by the SCD/GAPS cannot digest complex starches.? Finally, the PD had many views that counter the opinions of the Weston A Price Foundation, an organization I have great respect for. The WAPF got me on a high fat diet, a change I will forever be grateful for.

All three dietary programs completely restrict all grains and their products. The SCD/GAPS does allow a limited amount of beans and legumes. Since I do not eat either of these food groups, I am more of a PD follower in this one area. In the past, I avoided all dairy which is one of the restrictions of the PD and the extreme version of GAPS. Since I found a source of raw milk, I have been able to re-introduce raw cheese, fermented dairy products, and even liquid raw milk. Liquid milk is restricted on all three dietary programs.

I was still scared about eating more fat. It was this book review and other WAPF articles about traditional diets that made me brave enough to take the chance and go high fat with my diet. My experience going high fat was very positive. I “cured” my health problems which included: asthma, allergies, chronic sinus infections, yeast infections, osteoarthritis and epilepsy. For more details please read: Specific Carbohydrate Diet: A Personal Story.

Over the last number of years more research has come to light about the importance of fat in the diet. If you read the link above you will know I identify with the SCD/GAPS but really I am on a combination of all three dietary approaches. In the past, I could not identify with the PD movement because of the Paleo dogma around low fat/high protein, salt, and dairy. Well now I can identify with the PD movement, because the PD movement is realizing that raw dairy, especially fermented dairy, high fat cream, and butter, can be good for many people. Of course, even the best quality dairy is not for everyone.

modified-paleo-burger

This is a modified paleo burger. Loren Cordain would be horrified to see raw cheese on this burger. Many paleo diet followers are now including raw dairy, if they consume dairy at all. In the Paleo Community the term "Swiss Paleo" is used to describe people consuming raw dairy.

The dogma about low fat diets being better is finally being seen as erroneous. I just found a great website about the “modified” PD called Paleo Diet Lifestyle. I have read most of the website and I agree with everything I have read. I also really like Mark’s Daily Apple for great PD recipes and “Paleo lifestyle” information. He has free ebooks for PD recipes and body weight exercises that can be done anywhere without any equipment. Even though I really like Mark’s Daily Apple, I do not endorse his use of supplements. These are not real foods but industrial nutraceuticals. Guidelines from the Weston A Price Foundation recommend eating real foods from a quality source first, and then the use of superfoods, if necessary. Here is my use of superfoods.

Finally, what I like about SCD/GAPS philosophy is that after the person heals their gut the person may be able to go back to eating ?some? of the restricted foods. For those people that can tolerate these foods, the WAPF gives good advice on how to properly prepare these sometime troublesome foods. Of course, many of us do not go back to eating these foods because if we do, we get sick again.

The PD would state that these foods are bad for everyone and if we value our health and longevity we should never eat these foods again. The WAPF states many traditional cultures used ?properly? prepared dairy, grains, legumes and beans. For many of us, we are too damaged to consume these foods. The question each of us must answer for ourselves is, which of these foods made us sick? My great-grandfather used to say: ?If the food doesn?t agree with you, leave it alone.? Good advice for all of us.

One last word about the PD. What I really like about the PD philosophy is trying to image the food and lifestyle of our ancestors. No one can doubt the vitality of these primate people nor that our modern food and lifestyle is not working for many of us. The PD has come a long way from its original form and the lifestyle of our ancestors might hold the key to functional longevity and a sane habitation of our planet.

The “modified” PD lifestyle might be the program for you if you would like to “plateau your aging at a younger age”. Did I say plateau your aging at a younger age? Did I say stop aging? Here is a link to a video about Michael Rose, an Evolutionary Biologist whose research focus has been on natural selection and aging. Here is Jimmy Moore’s Episode 478: Evolutionary Biologist Michael Rose On The Paleo Connection To Achieving Biological Immortality. If you find this video catches your interest, please see the 55 Theses, which explores and expands the ideas in the video.

Sorry, but the 55 Theses are a total grind, but if you live a longer functional life, you will have the time! The author of the 55 Theses is Rob Paterson who maintains a website called Missing Human Manual. Give yourself a few days to read the material. It will be a wild ride. I guarantee it!

Updated December 5, 2013: Sally Fallon Morell has written a essay on the Difference Between the Weston A Price Foundation Diet and the Paleo Diet.

25 Steps to Eating Nourishing Traditional Foods

Posted on by
pork-eggs

Eating well does not have to cost a fortune. Find quality sources of food and consider growing some food yourself. Cooking your own meals will save money and your health.

  1. Purchase your food as whole ingredients and as close to the original natural state as possible. Avoid processed foods. Avoid all additives, coloring, stabilizers and fillers. Avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Here is a link to the Non-GMO Shopping Guide. If you are wondering what is wrong with GMOs please see the numerous video presentations by Jeffery Smith on GMOs. Make it a point to understand the system used to process your food. If you cannot understand the process, do not eat the food.
  2. Try to source your food locally. Get to know your farmers and ranchers. Show appreciation for all the work that goes into producing your food. Look for pastured raised or organic. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raised animals please listen to Jill Eisen, on CBC Ideas program, Have Your Meat and Eat It Too! Find the local suppliers for un-sprayed products. There are many local suppliers which are not certified organic but follow organic principles. Un-sprayed products are usually cheaper than certified organic. Use eatkamloops.org to find local farmers and ranchers. For some guidelines about assessing food quality read WAPF Shopping Guide for Canada.
  3. Eat local foods seasonally. The food has better nutrition and is cheaper. If you would like to eat these foods out of season, find a suitable storage method. Get a large deep freezer and find an area in your home for dried stores. Consider building a root cellar or cold room. For more information read Winter Storage Part I and Winter Storage Part II.
  4. When buying from non-local sources try to buy certified organic. When we can’t talk to the producers about their practices, having a third party certification is a good idea. If certified organic foods are not in the budget, read about The Dirty Dozen and avoid foods with the most contamination.
  5. Consider growing your own food. Use container gardening on small properties or a big garden on larger lots. If labor is an issue, you might be able to trade garden space for labor. Depending on your zoning, you might be able to have laying hens for eggs or a miniature goat for raw milk.
  6. Start a grease bucket. Save all your drippings and fat from roasted meat and fowl. Use the grease for any high heat frying or roasting. For more information read The Grease Bucket – Something from Nothing.
  7. If you eat industrial vegetable oils or foods containing industrial vegetable oil, stop now. For cooking, replace these industrial vegetable oils with your grease bucket, butter, or coconut oil. Save your extra virgin olive oil for salads and uncooked foods. Other cold-pressed oils may be used occasionally in very small amounts. If you have any condition involving inflammation, removing even quality cold-pressed oils may improve your condition.
  8. Make bone broth. Save all your bones from meals and store in the freezer until you have a pot full. Cover the bones with water and add 4T cider vinegar and simmer for 6-24 hours. For more information read Beautiful Bone Broth.
  9. Eat some fermented foods each day or with each meal. Fermented foods improve our digestion. Fermentation can remove anti-nutrients from our food and increase nutrient availability. Fermented foods are not commonly available in the Industrial Food System and must be made at home. For more information read Wild Fermentation.
  10. Start making some fermented foods at home. A good place to start is making yoghurt or kefir. If you do not consume dairy, try making lacto-fermented vegetables or use sourdough for breads and biscuits. Contact eatkamloops.org for free starter cultures. For more information about what starters we have read I Got Culture!
  11. If you eat grains, beans, and legumes, soak them overnight in water, salt and fresh lemon juice before cooking. This soaking will remove the anti-nutrients from the food and make it easier to digest. Use bone broth when appropriate for the recipe in place of water. This will improve your digestion of these foods. If you are wondering why you need to soak grains read Be Kind to Your Grains. Here are FAQ about traditional food processing of grains, nuts, seeds and beans.
  12. Purchase all of your grains whole. If you are making flour, grind it yourself, and use it within four days. Flour is very perishable and will go rancid very quickly. Freshly ground flour can be stored in the freezer for later use.
  13. If you eat nuts and seeds, soak them overnight in water and salt. Nuts and seeds can be then dried and consumed uncooked. These store well in the freezer for quick use.
  14. Look for a local supply of grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. There are many local varieties which will be fresher. Look for un-sprayed or organically grown.
  15. If you eat rice, buy organic brown rice. Since this is not a local product, buy certified organic. Brown rice does not need to be soaked overnight but cooking in bone broth will help with digestion and improve flavor. If you would like to try fermenting rice to improve mineral availability read A New Way to Soak Brown Rice.
  16. Buy your meat by the whole animal. This allows you to have a variety of cuts, offal, fat and bones. The butcher will package the meats in sizes that are best for your family. Get all the products from the animal even parts you do not know how to cook. They can always be used to make bone broth. For more information read Cooking with Grass-Fed Meat and Fowl and Visit to the Killing Floor at Kam Lake View Meat.
  17. If you consume dairy, find a source of raw milk or raw milk products. This will involve having your own cow, goat or sheep or being a member of a herd share program. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raw milk please read Let’s Talk about Raw Milk Safety. For more information about herd share programs in the province read Birdsong Farm – Cow Share Program.
  18. If you are concerned that you have a deficiency in your diet and want to take a supplement, consider using whole foods, sometimes called superfoods. Examples of superfoods are: fermented cod liver oil, high vitamin butter, liver, spring and fall butter, raw milk products, bone broth and fermented foods. Other superfoods are related to the health problem of the person such as: various fresh or dried glands, kelp, assorted clays, probiotics, assorted high vitamin berries and herbs. For more information about superfoods read Supplement or Superfoods.
  19. Look at your cosmetics and decide if you would eat them. If you would not like to eat them, consider stopping use. Our skin is far more porous than was once believed. The use of coconut oil can be a excellent moisturizer. Consider making your own soap or buying brands with very few ingredients. A good source of information about the safety of your cosmetics can be found on Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database. If you would like recipes for making cosmetics, cleaners and simple medicines please read Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.
  20. Look through your medicine chest and decide if you can do without most of your medication. Many medications mask symptoms while the condition worsens. It is better to feel the pain and make fundamental changes in our lives, rather than masking symptoms while the condition gets worse. Think about the other drugs you take on a daily basis. Assess if these drugs might be adding to your health problems.
  21. Think about food preparation in the home and how the task can be done efficiently. The job of running a traditional household is more work than eating convenience foods. This means someone must be willing to allot time for this important work. Some people use one day a week where they spend a morning in the kitchen producing meals for the whole week. Others cook larger meals and consume the leftovers.
  22. Remove all plastics from your kitchen and replace with glass containers. Remove Teflon and aluminum from your kitchen and use stainless steel, glass, cast iron or enameled cast iron. Stop using a microwave for cooking or reheating foods.
  23. If you are thinking about having a child, start thinking about what you eat before you conceive. All traditional populations had a special feeding schedule for mothers and fathers to be. For more information read Thinking about Motherhood.
  24. If you continue to have health problems after changing over to a nourishing traditional diet, consider looking at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This diet is also known as Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS). This diet is for very sick people. For more information about SCD and GAPS please read Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Please read this very good article by Dr Ron Schmid called Diet and Recovery from Chronic Disease.
  25. Continue getting educated about health. eatkamloops.org has donated a number of books to the Kamloops Public Library. For a list of donated books read Recommended Reading List. Look through the WAPF Shopping Guide for tips on assessing the quality of your food choices.

Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

Posted on by
SCD

This book saved my health and the health of my daughter.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is a special dietary program for very sick people. This diet was originally, developed and clinically tested by Drs Sidney and Merrill Haas. They wrote a book in the 1950s called Management of Celiac Disease, where they treated and cured hundreds of cases of celiac disease and cystic fibrosis of the pancreas.

At this time, celiac disease included a number of other disorders the medical profession now considers different diseases such as: ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis and chronic diarrhea. For some reason, SCD disappeared as a first line of treatment for intestinal disease around the time that celiac disease became connected with the protein gluten. Celiac disease is now considered a genetic disorder and the standard treatment is the Gluten Free Diet. This diet works well with about half of all celiac patients.

The SCD would have likely passed into medical history, if it wasn’t for a mom with a very sick child. Elaine Gottchall’s daughter was dying from ulcerative colitis and was plagued by seizures. She found out about the diet, cured her daughter, and went back to school and became a biochemist. She wrote a number of books including: Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet. She became a crusader on behalf of dietary approaches to illnesses.

Elaine Gottchall developed a website called: www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info. The website was formed to help people with digestive disorders find answers not known in conventional medical circles. The modern SCD restricts all disaccharide sugars and complex starches. All processed foods are eliminated. Grains, legumes, and most beans are eliminated. No starchy vegetables are allowed. Dairy is carefully restricted or in some serious cases eliminated. Nuts and seeds can be eaten with care. The diet consists of unprocessed fats, proteins and monosaccharide sugars. Monosaccharide sugars include non-starchy vegetables, whole fruit, and honey.

Over time something began to happen. People using the SCD found their other chronic health conditions became less serious or completely disappeared. Diseases caused by inflammation or autoimmune reactions seem to be helped in some way by the diet. This includes: asthma, allergies, chronic sinus infections, type two diabetes, arthritis, MS, heart disease, seizure disorders, epilepsy, depression, schizophrenia, autism and the spectrum disorders. The list continues to grow.

GAPS

GAPS is the new SCD. GAPS adds probiotics and nourishing traditional food preparation.

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS): A New Evolution of the SCD

The Gut and Psychology Syndrome is a new evolution of the SCD. It was developed by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, a neurologist and nutritionist working in the UK. She has a son diagnosed with autism. As a neurologist she knew the conventional medical profession had little to offer her son. She took a degree in nutrition. She was introduced to the SCD at a lecture by Elaine Gottchall.

Over the last 15 years she has used the SCD clinically with her patients. She has changed the SCD in two major ways. She uses high dose probiotic treatment and WAPF traditional food preparation methods with her patients. She has had very good results in her clinical practice with patients with autism, schizophrenia and the spectrum disorders. Her son is now a teenager and no one would know he was once diagnosed with autism.

Dr Campbell-McBride has written two lay publications: Gut and Psychology Syndrome and Put Your Heart in Your Mouth. Both are available in the Kamloops Public Library. She has two websites that outlines the program called: www.gaps.me and www.behealthy.org.uk. A helpful North American website is called: www.gapsdiet.com. GAPS Guide is a website to help newcomers to the diet.

More Posts the SCD and GAPS
Specific Carbohydrate Diet: A Personal Story
Specific Carbohydrate Diet: Common Problems
Industrial Food Sickness
What is a Healthy Gut?
Questions about SCD, GAPS and PD

More Posts on Related Diet Topics
Supplements or Superfoods
Supplements or Superfoods: A Personal Story
Funny Troubles
Diabetes: A Modern Epidemic

Update December 16, 2009: This essay is by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride about Gut and Psychology Syndrome.

Updated March 1, 2010: This is from dogtorj.com about Gut Absorption Recovery Diet (GARD). John B. Symes is a vet and uses his experiences with animals to enlighten us on human health. The diet sounds a lot like the SCD/GAPS. It would be good for people with seizure disorders to read his material.

Updated April 16, 2010: Here is a video presentation by Mercola with Dr Andrew Wakefield. You may know of his work with developmental disorders, bowel disease and early exposure to vaccines. It is a long presentation but worth it for anyone interested in Autism and the Spectrum Disorders.

Updated April 16, 2011: Here is Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride lecturing on GAPS at the Weston A Price Foundation 2007 Conference. Her lecture is in two parts and can be downloaded here. Sally Fallon gives a brief overview of the research of Dr Weston A Price before introducing Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride. Please put some time aside to listen to this very interesting lecture:
WAPF2007 GAPS part1 6203.mp3
WAPF2007 GAPS part2 6219.mp3

Updated April 22, 2011: Sarah Smith is the WAPF Chapter Co-leader for Las Cruces, NM. She is also on the GAPS program with her family. If you are interested in GAPS recipes, gardening, and traditional meal preparation, please see Nourished and Nurtured.