The Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet has its foundation in the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) created by Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas to heal digestive disorders. SCD gained great popularity after a mother, Elaine Gottschall, healed her own child and became an advocate for SCD. Elaine Gottschall is also the author of the popular book Breaking the Vicious Cycle. Intestinal Health Through Diet.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has taken SCD and evolved it further to create a full protocol for healing digestive disorders and subsequent issues.
The GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) diet is a strict elimination diet designed to “heal and seal” the gut lining. Created by neurologist Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, it is based on the theory that leaky gut syndrome allows toxins into the bloodstream, triggering neurological and psychiatric conditions.
The protocol is intense, lasts for years, and consists of three main phases:
1. The Stages of the Diet: The Introduction Diet (3 weeks to 1 year): A highly restrictive, 6-stage process where you begin exclusively with homemade meat stocks, boiled meats, and probiotic foods (like fermented vegetable juices). You gradually introduce egg yolks, ghee, and soft-cooked vegetables as your digestion normalizes.
The Full GAPS Diet (1.5 to 2 years): Once you tolerate the introductory stages, this phase makes up the bulk of the program. Your diet consists of 85% fresh meats, fish, eggs, fermented foods, and non-starchy vegetables.
The Reintroduction Phase (several months): After experiencing normal digestion for at least 6 months on the full diet, you slowly reintroduce restricted foods (such as potatoes and gluten-free grains).
2. Foods Allowed vs. Avoided Foods to Emphasize: Fresh meats (preferably grass-fed), fish, shellfish, organic eggs, animal fats (tallow, lard, ghee), bone broth, and fermented foods (such as sauerkraut and kefir).
Foods to Avoid: All grains, pasteurized dairy, starchy vegetables (e.g., potatoes), sugar, refined carbohydrates, and ultra-processed foods.