The GAPS Or SCD Diet for IBS?

I have been sugar free, grain free and carb free for over a week!!!!!

And before you ask…yes I can tell.

My tummy has stopped hurting all the time; it is flat rather than bloated; I crave a bag of crisps and I want some chocolate!!  Whatever anyone tells you, this isn’t fun!

And if you haven’t read my recent posts you will wonder why on earth I am putting myself through it!  Well, three letters…IBS.

Since a flare up after first introducing kefir ( a powerful probiotic) into my diet I have done a whole lot of research and come to the conclusion that I have a leaky gut…

A leaky gut is something that the medical profession do not believe in, however, having read A LOT about the gut and our gut microflora, I personally believe that it could be the cause of my ongoing issues.

Your intestines, it is said, can become permeable (allowing substances through to your bloodstream which shouldn’t go through…which in turn can lead to an immune response and inflammation, food sensitivities, allergies, bloating etc) due to, amongst other things, parasites, candida overgrowth, antibiotics and acid-reducing drugs.

When I look back at when my problems started I am pretty certain it followed a trip to India at the age of 17.  They got worse after contracting campylobacter in Indonesia, which I had untreated for about 6 weeks, leading to a large weight loss (for an already tiny person!).  It was only after a trip around South America where, as a vegetarian, I consumed copious amounts of wheat laden foods that I put two and two together and removed wheat from my diet.

It seems to me that the bacteria I ‘collected’ on my trips could have lead to my problems…and potentially to Roo’s too since I have read that the mother’s gut microbiota get passed on to their children (and Roo unfortunately got exposed to a lot of antibiotics…through the birth and when very young due to numerous infections as a baby, including pneumococcal meningitis).

However, if I am honest things haven’t been ‘right’ for a while.  I crave sugar all the time and last year decided that I should remove it and reduce my carbohydrate intake.  I felt much better only to visit the Allergy and Freefrom Show, pig out and fall off the ‘bandwagon’!

So, last week, with dreadful symptoms back including swollen joints in one of my fingers, I reluctantly decided that the sugar and carbs would have to go again.  No fruit (except a few blueberries), no grains, no potatoes, no legumes (because they hate me at the best of times!)…enter lots of coconut products, organic raw cider vinegar (a natural anti-microbial), cheese, nuts, seeds, vegetables, meat and fish.

I would be lying if I said I was coping well!  I have found it more tough than I thought I would.  I feel listless and tired and as far as developing recipes for the book?  Well…lets just say I haven’t!

Last night I ordered myself a copy of the ‘GAPS’ book (The Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet) and ‘Breaking the Vicious Cycle – The Specific Carbohydrate Diet’.

Rather than making up my own diet I have decided to follow one of these to try and heal my gut once and for all.

If you don’t know about either of them and have ongoing stomach or health problems (including mental health problems), then it is worth taking a look at these two websites…GAPS and Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).  They are said to be effective in treating a whole range of ailments from bi-polar to ADHD to IBS!

I will keep you posted with which one I decide to follow and how I get on.  In the meantime I would love to hear from you if you have ever tried these diets or if you struggle with ongoing health issues that conventional medicine cannot explain…

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