WHY BREAD HATES ME

Up until about a year ago, I ate whatever, whenever. I wasn't (too) picky, and I loved my carbs. It was easy for me since I've never had a weight problem and didn't feel pressured to think of food as nutrition and not entertainment. I thought that since there wasn't an outward sign of food's affect on my body, I'm totally fine! No biggie!

But then in January 2013, I started getting horrible stomach aches every day. They felt like really bad PMS cramps, though I knew it couldn't be that. After some poking around, I figured out I had a gluten intolerance. I was shocked! I had never had an allergy in my life! And bread is so good for you, especially whole wheat!

Wrong. It's not good for you, especially the stuff I was loading up on. Gluten deteriorated my gut to the point where my body was full of symptoms that hurt me every day: debilitating cramps, headaches, worse PMS cramps, acne, bloating, and even more problems. It interrupted my jive; every time I ate gluten, large or small amount, I fought through my worsening symptoms for the next couple of days. I knew I had to face this problem head-on by changing my diet drastically.

I gradually avoided gluten every day, and eventually decided to go through the GAPS Diet after my friend had success with it for her gluten and lactose intolerances.

In short, the GAPS Diet is a protocol created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-Mcbride. Dr. Campbell-Mcbride created this diet to help her own child with autism. With her expertise in neurology and human nutrition, she crafted a highly successful diet based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The goal of the GAPS Diet is to heal the digestive system so that harmful symptoms, gut issues, and even auto-immune disorders improve or disappear altogether. Disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, depression, and thyroid imbalance- just to name a few- have been completely reversed with this protocol. Check out these testimonies if you don't believe me (I wouldn't, either)! Most people don't realize (and aren't taught) that the gut is a huge part of our immune system. Without a healthy and balanced gut, we can never be completely healthy.

Back to my testimony...

Honestly, it's still in the works! I went through the GAPS Introduction Diet and have been in the Full Gaps Diet for months, with some decent cheats :) (chocolate! milk! yum). But my symptoms are creeping back, and that is not ok. Even though it's really hard, I need to go through the diet again more thoroughly to allow my gut to heal completely. So I guess I will be venturing back into the world of chicken stock pretty soon! Most of the food is wonderfully delicious. The one thing I'm scared about is the huge amount of cooking I'll need to do every single day and the piles of dirty dishes that will result!

The best way to get to know the GAPS Diet better is to read Dr. Campbell-Mcbride's book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome. But you can also read more on all of the great blogs I've found, such as Gutsy and Health Home Happy, and the GAPS Diet website. I have learned so much from them! I will also be blogging about the GAPS Diet as I experience it, along with other subjects like detoxing and helpful products. So check back for recipes and conversations later!

I hope that you don't ever have to deal with any of the health problems listed above, but if you have or think you might be, would you try the GAPS Diet? Have you tried anything similar? 

Anyone who has gone through a healing protocol, do you have any tips or stories?