How GAPS Works, Winner of Reversing Food Allergies & Get $20 off Enrollment
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Thank you so much to everyone who shared your struggles with food sensitivities in the comments of Friday’s post. Clearly there are a lot of people who are looking for answers beyond "Just don’t eat that." I could only pick one winner of the Reversing Food Allergies enrollment and that is Holly, who has been contacted.
Food Allergies & How The GAPS Diet Works
I also received several comments about the use of the term food ‘allergies’ and the danger of lumping food allergies in with food sensitivities. Ann Marie addresses this question and many others, but I can not say that I understand how hard it is to have a true food allergy.
What I do know is that if someone in my family had a severe food allergy I would want to know why and I would want to make every attempt at healing the gut, which I understand to be the root of most food sensitivities.
That is what the GAPS diet is for. It is not advocating that you eat the foods that make you sick, it is not promising a miraculous cure, but it is trying to address the underlying reason for why certain foods makes you sick. Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, author of GAPS, says:
“People with food allergies and intolerances should go through the Introduction Diet in order to heal and seal their gut lining. The reason for allergies and food intolerances is a 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 the damaged wall and cause the immune system to react to them.”
I have heard from many who say GAPS is too difficult to attempt or that they tried and couldn’t stick with it. Ann Marie created Reversing Food Allergies for those that need recipes, how-to videos, and lifetime access to 12 weeks of online classes and support forums in order to succeed and heal. She understands the difficulties of embarking on GAPS.
Why I Promote GAPS & Get Each Class for $10.75
I am saddened by the wide-spread struggle with food sensitivities and angered that conventional medicine does not seem to recognize the roll of gut health.
Ever since our experience with GAPS I have recommended the book and the diet to anyone who contacts me regarding food allergies, gut illnesses like Crohn’s, and anyone who feels like they need to "cleanse".
I simply believe that much sickness can be traced back to gut health, which can be improved by the GAPS diet.
You can get $20 off enrollment through March 28th by using the coupon code HEAL, making each class $10.75.
I think the GAPS approach has served numerous proponents well. Though I am already healthy, I use a few of the techniques of GAPS in my maintenance diet.
I find this article very interesting, but I get the feeling that the words “sensitivity” and “allergy” are being used as synonyms, and I can guarantee you that they are not. I am sensitive to lactose, so I try to enjoy dairy products that are lactose free. I am ALLERGIC to chicken and turkey, which results in anaphylaxis with a swollen tongue and throat. I can still drink milk and the only side effect is an upset stomach. If I eat fowl, I will end up in the emergency room, but my stomach is unaffected. I hope & pray that someone who has a true food allergy does not get injured trying this approach.
Tammi – I agree that they are not the same things. I see allergies as a very severe form of sensitivities to put it in very simplified terms. As I said before, no one is encouraging someone with a true allergy (or sensitivity) to eat those foods that they must avoid. We are simply offering up a possible solution to overall gut health, which may or may not result in the reversing of a food sensitivity or allergy, depending on how severe that sensitivity or allergy. So to address your thoughts that you “hope & pray that someone who has a true food allergy does not get injured trying this approach” I second that. Because the GAPS diet, Ann Marie’s ecourse, and Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride is not in any way suggesting you eat your allergenic foods during the healing process. And I do believe that people are smart enough to not attempt eating a food that they may have a reaction to without the proper precautions being taken.
I would bring caution to your readers who have food allergies (diagnosed by a MD not just what they “think” is an allergy) and for Celiac’s out there. Ann Marie lost all creditability when she told me that I could soak or sprout the wheat when making bread and that it would be okay for my celiac kids to eat! Celiac disease is an immune disease just like diabetes. While you can manage diabetes with diet (a VERY strict diet for some) to get away from the meds, they can’t HEAL it away. And the same is for celiac disease. Actual studies have been done on soaking to see if it lessen’s gluten or gets rid of it entirely and it does neither. It’s just a hypothesis that soaking/sprouting is better for you. There is no scientific evidence of this yet. I’m not saying that soaking or sprouting isn’t good (we sprouted all our wheat before we went GF) but it hasn’t been proven yet. I think this class can be very dangerous for those with TRUE allergies. So many people that we know in the whole foods community says wow, this has made my allergy go away to find out they were NEVER diagnosed with an allergy it was just a suspicion they had. I think there are more allergies today because modern medicine is keeping these people alive when 200 years ago someone who ate a peanut or drank milk who is truly allergic would have died (most likely as a child) and not reproduced to pass on the gene’s. Sorry for the negative comment, I love your blog and what you do just wanted to warn those who don’t have kids or seen someone go to the hospital or have trouble breathing because they ate something that makes them sick recommend this to parents with kids with real allergies that are life threatening. Although I’m sure the parent would have enough sense to know better if their kid does have a real allergy that this is nonsense.
Katie – I appreciate your comment and understand where you’re coming from. Thanks for sharing your story.
Hi, was wondering how to get access to the GAPS diet and book.
Thanx.