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The GAPS diet Advantages and disadvantages

Homepage Articles The GAPS diet Advantages and disadvantages

The GAPS diet Advantages and disadvantages

The interaction between diet and health is a big issue, and many experts have been working for years to discover the mechanisms behind this correlation, which has resulted in a number of different models of nutrition, one of which was created in the early 21st century, the GAPS diet.

Table of Contents

1. The GAPS diet is defined

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) is a term coined in 2004 by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride in her book GAPS: Gut-Brain Syndrome. Its concept is based on the connection between the brain and the digestive tract, whereby these organs interact with each other. It postulates that gut disorders can impair their ability to protect against harmful bacteria and toxins from food and the external environment, leading to inflammatory disease, disease (e.g. LeSniewski-Crossius disease, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD), and the use of food allergies and intolerance, but it is only possible by observing and re-examining the data from the following clinical trials to confirm that this is not the case.

2. The GAPS diet is based on assumptions

The GAPS diet is an elimination diet with strict rules. The menu is largely based on animal foods: meat, fish, eggs and animal fat. Additional restrictions also apply to the origin of products (vegetable, starchy vegetables), pasteurized protein and high-processed products, followed by a slow re-inclusion in the diet.

3. The GAPS diet has its advantages

Among the advantages of the GAPS diet are its clear rules specifically established recommended and prohibited products, as well as successive stages and phases. Its use does not involve the need to calculate the energy value or macronutrients in the meal, it only recommends the consumption of individual products. It also does not require the introduction of intentional calorie restrictions, but at the initial stage, due to the list of permitted and excluded products, it is very difficult to provide the body with an adequate amount of energy.

4. The GAPS diet has its drawbacks

The GAPS diet is an extremely demanding nutritional model The foodstuffs used in the diet should be organic, which may involve the patient having to spend a lot of energy planning and preparing meals. Especially in the early stages of the diet, the foods are significantly different from those used on the traditional diet, which implies the need to prepare food for the patient and other households. The diet must be organic which may require a change in dietary habits which may also involve purchases and the search for places that lack such food. In addition, organic products are much more cost-effective than conventional dietary diets.

5. The GAPS diet recommendations for use

It is worth noting that the GAPS diet is not currently recommended by evidence-based medicine guidelines as a way of eating in specific disease units. In order to determine the benefits and drawbacks, as well as the long-term effects of its use, it is necessary to conduct extensive research. It is also not a model developed and recommended for weight reduction.

6. The GAPS diet is controversial

Considering the validity of the GAPS diet, it is worth considering the concept of diet wond (ang. fad diets). Among the defining characteristics of this type of diet are the following: the promise of fast-paced nutritional programs that promise spectacular results in a short period of time with the application of specific interventions of a simple and clear design. Usually their goal is to reduce body weight; in some situations they also ensure health improvement. However, the most common scientific recommendation regarding this type is the promise of rapid achievement of this goal. The researchers also note that the lack of short-term results in the implementation of the long-term treatment of ADHD, the lack in effective treatment of patients with diabetes, the absence of the use of lifelong therapy for the treatment of these diseases, and that the development of these drugs and other antipsychotic drugs is not possible in the long term.

7. The GAPS diet is an alternative

The GAPS diet is a very restrictive program requiring many sacrifices and careful preparation and planning of meals, the short and long term effects of which are difficult to predict due to the lack of scientific evidence for its effectiveness.
Source

Campbell-McBride N., What is GAPS?, gapsdiet.com/about/ (21.11.2022).
GAPS Diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome), vanitadahia.com/files/diet/gaps-diet.pdf (21.11.2022).
Howley E.K., GAPS Diet, health.usnews.com/best-diet/gaps-diet (21.11.2022).
Margolis K.G., Cryan J.F., Mayer E.A., The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: From Motility to Mood, „Gastroenterology” 2021, 160(5), 1486–1501.
Pelsser L.M. et al., Diet and ADHD, Reviewing the Evidence: A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses of Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials Evaluating the Efficacy of Diet Interventions on the Behavior of Children with ADHD, „PloS One” 2017, 12(1), epub.
Socała K. et al., The role of microbiota-gut-brain axis in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, „Pharmacological Research” 2022, 172, epub.
Tahreem A. et al., Fad Diets: Facts and Fiction, „Frontiers in Nutrition” 2022, 9, epub.