Low-FODMAP, GAPS Combination Diet: Healing IBS, Pathogen Overgrowth, and SIBO

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FODMAPs is an acronym (abbreviation) referring to Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols*. These are complex names for a collection of molecules found in food, that can be poorly absorbed by some people. When the molecules are poorly absorbed in the small intestine of the digestive tract, these molecules then continue along their journey along the digestive tract, arriving at the large intestine, where they act as a food source to the bacteria that live there normally. The bacteria then digest/ferment these FODMAPs and can cause symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome include abdominal bloating and distension, excess wind (flatulence), abdominal pain, nausea, changes in bowel habits (diarrhoea, constipation, or a combination of both), and other gastro-intestinal symptoms. –Shepherd Works

SYNERGY: LOW-FODMAP DIET/GAPS DIET COMBINATION

After being introduced to the Low-FODMAP Diet, about a year ago, I quickly became convinced that this theory deserved a trial period in many of our lives.  To alleviate IBS, it may be a God-send of insight.  I readily admit that at first I shied away from one more diet that suggested taking more foods from anyone’s kitchen repertoire, especially my own. But to feel better, aawww, well, that’s worth a lot.

Oddly some of the foods suggested seem so gentle, avocado, for instance. But notice that the name of the diet contains the word, “Low” instead of the word “No.”  This can mean simply reducing the amount of certain foods we eat, while it’s true, being ready to temporarily eliminate others. Wouldn’t you do it if it meant no more gas, bloating, or difficult bowel issues?[1]

I believe that when we have alternatives to old favorites, we can thrive on a more limited diet.

What I’d like to discuss in this article is not only the Low-FODMAP diet, but also the particular importance for many of us of combining it with the GAPS diet.  This can be tricky to figure out.  What foods are okay to eat if you’re combining the two diets?  Below I’ve mapped it out and also written out meal suggestions!  I hope this makes your life easier!

Try out the “Yes Foods” and focus on what you can have.  Try not to put yourself in work or social situations where you have to see what you can’t have, or at least not too often.  Clean out your cupboards and fridge so that you are surrounded by “Yes Foods.” It will make the process much easier.  And there are still so many feasts to be made and enjoyed while you heal your gut and give it the reprieve it needs from antagonistic foods.

FROM WHERE DOES THE LOW-FODMAP DIET ORIGINATE?

Before delving in further to the combined diet, let’s take a moment to look at the Low-FODMAP Diet alone.  Firstly, bravo to Australia!  It has birthed a revolutionary mind and potential relief for millions.  Bloomberg news reports about the dietitian, Sue Shepherd, who conceived of the diet,

The 38-year-old Australian dietitian invented a food regimen with a bizarre name in her early 20s to relieve symptoms of bloating and stomach cramps. It’s now being adopted internationally, changing the way doctors manage a set of digestive troubles known as irritable bowel syndrome.

The article goes on,

Peter Gibson, gastroenterology professor at Melbourne’s Monash University, helped coin the term Fodmap to describe the molecules people with irritable bowel syndrome have difficulty stomaching — fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols found in dozens of everyday things from apples and wheat to milk, high-fructose corn syrup, and sugarless chewing gum.

A leading dietician in the American Fodmaps movement is Patsy Catsos.  She says, “Doctors have pushed high-fiber diets and fiber supplements almost across the board for IBS patients. Therefore, health-conscious Americans are guzzling smoothies filled with yogurt and fruit, juicing, eating loads of cruciferous vegetables, beans and high-fiber nutrition bars and nuts, then they wonder why their IBS has gotten worse.”

Proponents of the diet recommend giving up the potentially offensive foods, (see the “No List” below) for 2-6 weeks, then reintroducing them one at a time to see which ones are benign and which ones cause an adverse reaction.

MY PROPOSAL IS TO GO ONE STEP FURTHER.

By doing this elimination in conjunction with the GAPS diet, discussed in greater detail in my prior article, you will be relieving your gut while also giving it the added advantage it needs to fully heal.  You will remove uncomfortable symptoms but also be working toward the bigger goal of getting well.  Of course, doing a low-Fodmap diet alone can be helpful.   And doing the GAPS diet alone is great. But if you have it in you to give up onions and sugar, well, then, you are already more than half way there.

There is one more very important reason to consider doing these two diets in conjunction with one another.  WebMD says,

People with chronic digestive problems such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, and/or constipation may be told they have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) when the underlying problem is actually small intestine bacterial overgrowth. Given that IBS is the number one gastrointestinal diagnosis, bacterial overgrowth could be underdiagnosed.

WHAT IS SIBO AND HOW DOES IT RELATE?

We are seeing more and more of our customers (we own a healing health-food café) who have been diagnosed by their doctors with SIBO, referred to above as “small intestine bacterial overgrowth.”  I personally have never been diagnosed with IBS, and doubt that it would be an accurate assessment of my condition.

A lot more of us probably have SIBO (overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, where the overall flora count is supposed to be relatively low) than IBS; and the natural cures are somewhat different. That’s what I love about Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride’s work.  She focuses on the cause of all these symptoms, and then on the solution!

The GAPS diet can heal the body of IBS and will help with SIBO, (although food-based probiotics must be eliminated as they exacerbate the problem. Cures for SIBO are elusive; I will look forward to mentioning these in a future post.)  But the FODMAP diet alone will not get close to healing SIBO. And it will only provide relief for IBS, not a cure.

In conclusion, by combining the low-FODMAP diet and the GAPS diet, we are relieving the cause of uncomfortable symptoms, and persevering toward a real solution.

One additional detail is that the low-FODMAP diet is not beneficial to adopt for the full period of the GAPS diet.  So while this combination diet is somewhat challenging, the idea is really to eliminate the high-FODMAP foods for the above-mentioned 2-6 weeks.  Then, by trialing, you will see which foods need to stay out and which foods can be allowed back in, and in what quantity.

As a point of clarification, the FODMAP foods are not inherently “bad.”  They are just one more factor involved in a complicated story playing out in your gut.

I am picturing a tired man who went on a long journey.  Although he started out alone, he was eventually joined by two creatures, one, a donkey, the other, a faithful canine.  One month into his journey, he said goodbye to one of these companions. It was a smart creature and had carried a heavy load. This creature helped him get closer to his destination.  But the animal was also a thorn in his side, being stubborn and choosing its own course. He was grateful for the assistance the creature had given him; after all, he reached his destination sooner because of the speed and strength of this ass.  But he carried on the full distance of his journey with the second creature, a dog, who understood the desires a man has for variety and adventure. 

The ass in the story is the low-FODMAP diet.  We may need it, but only for a time.

Now let’s focus on the foods we can have and see if this is a viable diet for you.

THE “YES” FOODS, A LIST

• Organic or grass-fed meat[2]: beef, buffalo, chicken, canned albacore tuna (twice a week is actually fine and great![3]), canned salmon, eggs (must be organic, grass-fed, or soy and corn-free), fresh fish, lamb, pork, shellfish, turkey, Applegate farm cured meat (nitrate-free, humanely raised), Applegate farm grass-fed hot dogs
• Lactose-free dairy (okay for some)
• Fully cultured (24 hours) yogurt, real probiotic sour cream, such as Nancy’s
• Hard cheeses: aged cheddar, parmesan, and swiss
• Cultured cheeses: brie, camembert, and blue cheese
• Soaked and sprouted nuts and seeds, in moderation, and their milks, homemade (but no pistachios or cashews, which are high-FODMAP foods)
• Berries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, honeydew, kiwi, lemon, lime, mandarin, orange, tangerines- but all fruit in moderation, small amounts
• Alfalfa, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, bell peppers, bok choy, chives, cucumbers, carrots, eggplant, lettuce, leafy greens, pumpkin, rhubarb, all winter squash, tomatoes, zucchini, the green part of green onions, small amounts of garlic
• Weak coffee, tea, most spices and herbs, as long as they are pure (no other ingredients), homemade broth, grass-fed butter or ghee, natural olives only (no ferrous gluconate, no vinegar, just olives, salt and olive oil, and citric acid okay), homemade aioli (see recipe below), onion powder (small amounts of dried onion may be okay for some), extra-virgin olive oil, black or white pepper, sea salt (must be “sea salt”), NuNaturals brand stevia (Reb 99 is dextrose-free), mustard powder, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil spray, if tolerated (very helpful for all grain-free baking)
• Coconut, in small amounts, is tolerated by many. See this article for more specifics.

Meal Suggestions

FOR BREAKFAST

o  Grain-free waffle (revolutionary recipes in my cookbook) with walnuts and warmed blueberries (tossed with stevia, to taste, and a small amount of water to make a syrup)

o  Scrambled or fried eggs or an omelet with spinach, bell peppers and aged cheddar cheese

o  Sprouted nut butter porridge (combine ½ cup homemade sprouted nut butter [see my blog on How to Sprout Nuts and Seeds for the nut butter recipe] with hot water and 2 T. chia seeds; stir well), top with chopped “crispy” almonds (it’s important that they’re sprouted) [see here for how to make crispy nuts], strawberries, butter or ghee, stevia, to taste, and optional nut milk garnish

o  Fruit smoothie using Nancy’s[4] plain yogurt, if tolerated, (full fat [whole milk or their sour cream] and fully cultured = no lactose), stevia, to taste, nut milk (optional) and one or more “yes” fruits listed above; add super-foods like spirulina or blue green algae for added nutrition

o  Chia seed porridge (2T-1/4 cup chia seeds [depending on desired consistency] stirred well into a bowl of warm nut milk; add berries or above “yes” fruit of choice and stevia, to taste)

o  Baked winter squash with butter, ghee, duck fat, or coconut oil, sprinkled with sprouted nuts and 2 fried eggs on the side; try different squash: butternut may cause bloating, whereas spaghetti squash may not. Also, enjoy the bonus videos, a free gift with the purchase of my e-Book. One of the videos teaches/shares my all time favorite custard! It’s super high in protein, quick to make and I LOVE it for breakfast poured over winter squash (or a baked good)! This custard makes life good! 🙂

o  Applegate farm bacon with eggs your favorite way, served with cucumber and bell pepper slices, plain or dressed with extra-virgin olive oil

o  Grain-free mega-muffin (fold sprouted nuts and blueberries into the waffle batter below and bake at 325 in muffin cups till knife inserted comes out clean, [first line muffin cups with parchment paper and/or spray with coconut oil]; or fold in sautéed sausage, spinach, optional sprouted walnuts, and sage for a savory muffin alternative!)

o  Sausage patties (made quickly with your own hands with plain ground pork, white pepper, sea salt, and sage) and eggs, with cucumber on the side.

Try having eggs about 5-6 mornings a week!  They are easy to digest, an affordable protein, and the raw yolk is full of healthy cholesterol.  Have no eggs at all at least one day a week to avoid allergies.  If you already have a mild allergy to chicken eggs, put a small amount of yolk from a duck, goose, or quail egg on your wrist before going to sleep.  If it is red in the morning, avoid this food.  If it isn’t, trial eating that yolk, raw in hot soup.  Then try the same wrist test with the white.

I reversed my chicken egg allergy by only eating duck and teeny quail eggs for about 9 months. These specialty eggs are worth seeking out if you are allergic to chicken eggs.

If you are allergic to all eggs, focus on what you can have, allowing your body time to heal.  Usually these kinds of allergies are considered “secondary” and go away on their own if we completely remove them from our diets for an extended period.

(The wrist test is recommended by Dr. Campbell-McBride in her book on GAPS.)

FOR LUNCH OR DINNER

o  Bone broth soup[5] with fresh or dried herbs, poached chicken, meatballs, or poached eggs and your choice of low-FODMAP veggies, such as winter squash, carrots, bok choy, tomatoes, and zucchini, well cooked for easy digestion.

o  Spaghetti squash (see method below) baked and topped with chicken, tomatoes, spinach and pesto sauce, ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil

o  Chicken salad made with chicken, lettuce, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and homemade apple cider vinegar salad dressing; or use homemade aioli, thinned with more olive oil and/or lemon juice, as another dressing option; top with olives

o  Beef (or other meat) and vegetable stew (made with homemade broth, beef, allowed vegetables)

o  Applegate farm lettuce wrap sandwich- use a cured meat that doesn’t use sugar like their salami, add cucumbers, tomatoes, “yes” olives, mustard powder stirred into olive oil, aioli; choose big leafy lettuce and dry it well after washing it

o  Baked spaghetti squash topped with homemade meat sauce (tomato paste & stewed tomatoes stirred into ground meat (pork, buffalo, beef) that’s been cooked up in a pan with sea salt and spices like oregano and basil)

o  Grain-free pizza dough (again, use the waffle batter below, omitting the cinnamon and adding in oregano or basil instead, this time pouring it onto a well-greased cookie sheet, spreading it in the shape you prefer, a circle or a rectangle, topped with tomato sauce, aged cheese, a meat listed above, bell peppers and tomato

o  LOTS of other meals can be made by making a big salad from lettuce and approved veggies, then topping the salad with tuna, salmon, fried up Applegate farm hotdog or a fried egg, lamb burger, ground meat, roasted chicken, soft boiled egg (great to keep the yolk runny!) etc. Make sure to use lots of extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt for these salads.

o  VEGGIES can be steamed, sautéed, baked, roasted, cooked in simmering soup, or eaten raw

OTHER IMPORTANT SUPPLEMENTS recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell- McBride or that I have found to be helpful in my research and in my personal experience are as follows:

(Consult a naturopathic or functional medicine doctor to be sure these supplements are right for you!)

o  Extra-virgin coconut oil (Coconut is high-FODMAP; so some will handle this supplement with no problem, while others will not be able to use coconut at all. It has so many health benefits that it is worth trying.)

o  Nut/seed oil, of the highest quality, in a dark glass bottle, refrigerated, with a 2:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, starting with just a few drops a day, watching for any adverse reaction, and building to up to 1-3 T. daily (not flax oil); this is one supplement I do not use personally, although Dr. Natasha does recommend it.

o  Betaine HCI with Pepsin, at the start of every meal.  HCl is extremely important in establishing a healthy digestive process.  By giving your stomach an appropriate acidic ph, all the other digestive mechanisms are triggered to act normally.

o  Thorne Research – Formula SF722– This is undecylenic acid which is great for balancing gut and vaginal flora.

o  Thorne Research Bacillus Coagulans– A unique probiotic that may be more effective than most other probiotics available.  Used in conjunction with SF722, someone with pathogen overgrowth is both killing pathogens and repopulating their gut.  Used alongside a grain and sugar-free diet, these supplements really have a chance at helping a body to heal. However, watch for bloating with this one, if you have or suspect SIBO. For completely SIBO-safe probiotics see the next two products.

o Prescript Assist– This is an essential probiotic for those with SIBO. It’s a soil bacteria and will not colonize the small intestine.

o Saccharomyces Boulardii– One of the best probiotics for SIBO and also for those who struggle with diarrhea. Excellent used alongside Prescript Assist.

o  Magnesium Chloride Salts to bathe in, or Magnesium Chloride Oil to rub into your skin.  Here’s my favorite magnesium oil spray!  (No more leg cramps.) Magnesium Oil Spray – with Lavender This product lasts and lasts, a good value.

o  Nascent Iodine or Lugols Iodine- Starting with just a few drops a day (consult a doctor for dosage), if a sluggish thyroid is suspected, this can be a life-changing supplement for many. Whether or not to supplement iodine with a very low dose of selenium is debated hotly.   A great quality liquid soil mineral alongside the iodine provides selenium and other necessary minerals naturally!  (Again, consult a doc.)  This is the iodine we like: Nascent Iodine

o  Additional anti-pathogenic herbs; see my article here for a full list of many potential herbs and how to rotate them to overcome candida overgrowth.

RECIPES!

Homemade Aioli

This is an easy recipe that can be whipped up in 5 minutes!  It is absolute decadence!  The grass-fed egg yolks will make the aioli a beautiful yellow color; and the saturated fat and cholesterol should be embraced and enjoyed.[6] Use it lavishly to help abate other cravings.

Place 4 grass-fed egg yolks into a blender. Add ¼ tsp. sea salt. Turn the blender on. In a very thin slow constant drizzle, add in ½ cup extra virgin olive oil and then add to it an additional ½ cup melted rendered meat fat like lamb, duck, or bacon, with the blade turning on a low speed the whole time. Use an immersion/stick blender for greater success with the emulsion process if a blender is inconsistent.

The aioli will thicken and set up more in the fridge.  Use for sandwiches, or thin with more olive oil or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to use as a salad dressing. Add more sea salt, mustard powder, citrus juice, or herbs, as desired.

The Best Way to Bake Spaghetti Squash

I love this method for baking spaghetti squash. A 20 minute pre-bake makes it easier to cut in half. Then baking the halves face down creates the right-textured noodles, not mushy, just right.

Preheat oven to 375.

1. Rub a cookie sheet with animal fat, to make the drippings clean up more easily. Set aside.
2. Place whole squash in oven, on bare rack.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove with hot pads. Cut the stem off of the squash. Then cut the squash in half.
4. De-seed, then rub the insides with fat of choice: tallow, avocado oil or ghee. Place greased halves face down on cookie sheet.
5. Bake until the strands of squash are al dente. Check after 40 minutes of baking.
6. Use a fork, scraping, to reveal the strands of cooked “noodles” and scoop out large spoonfuls to serve.

Carrot, Zucchini, or Pumpkin Waffles (grain-free & stevia-sweetened)

Part of the reason I’m so excited to share my cookbook with you is that so many current on-line grain-free recipes rely on almond flour/butter and coconut flour, which are deficient for various reasons (see my almond butter post) nutritionally. In the following recipe, I see coconut flour as a tool, not as a huge nutritional asset. But the other key players are indeed nutrient-dense.

8 eggs, preferably grass-fed

3/4 cup melted butter, ghee, rendered duck fat, or coconut oil, slightly cooled

½ cup coconut flour

½ cup well-cooked smashed carrot, zucchini, or winter squash

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1/16-1/8 tsp. stevia, to taste (depending on the product), or 10-15 drops, to taste 

Coconut oil spray (optional)

1. Place all the ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides once with a rubber spatula, as necessary.
2. Pour the batter onto the waffle iron as directed by manufacturer’s instructions, greasing the griddle with appropriate high heat fat.  (If you have a Belgian waffle iron, pour or ladle about a ½ cup batter per quadrant, using 2 cups total per batch.) Coconut oil spray works great and facilitates the process of keeping a no-mess, non-stick surface.

THE “NO” FOODS, A LIST (Foods NOT to eat on this diet of GAPS and low-FODMAP COMBINED)

• Cheeses that aren’t aged and also the following dairy: buttermilk, milk chocolate, cottage cheese, ice cream, creamy/cheesy sauces, milk (from cow, sheep or goat), sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, soft cheeses (cream cheese, ricotta), sour cream (depending on the person and commercially made preparations), whipped cream, yogurt (depending on the person and any varieties that aren’t fermented for a full 24 hours, which is most commercially made varieties)
• Many veggies: artichokes, asparagus, beets, leeks, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, fennel, garlic, green beans, mushrooms, okra, onions, snow peas, yellow summer squash
• Many fruits: avocado, apples, applesauce, apricots, coconut*, coconut milk*, coconut cream*, dates, canned fruit, cherries, dried fruits, figs, guava, lychee, mango, nectarines, pears, papaya, peaches, plums, prunes, persimmon, watermelon (*UPDATE*~ For more information on coconut, please see this article. Coconut has largely been vindicated and is safe for many in small quantities.)
• Legumes: beans, black eyed peas, cashews, hummus, lentils, peanuts, pistachios, soy products
• All grains: corn, high fructose corn syrup, wheat variations: einkorn, emmer, kamut, spelt, wheat flours: bromated, durum, enriched, farina, graham, semolina, white flours, flour tortillas, barley, rye, even gluten-free grains are avoided for the GAPS diet: teff, quinoa, amaranth, millet.  Buckwheat is a seed but is starchy and best to be avoided as well.
• Miscellaneous: chicory root, inulin, agave, chutneys, honey, jams, jellies, molasses, pickles, relish, pre-made sauces or salad dressings, artificial sweeteners: sorbitol, mannitol, isomalt, xylitol (cough drops, gums, mints), all juices, wine, beer.  And it is best to avoid almost all prepackaged foods.

Cheers to your healing and please comment with any questions or your own experiences.  I am a Recipe Counselor.  I help individuals implement the diets their doctors have prescribed for them. I help with the contentment side of things, making something so new and seemingly difficult stick. If you need help implementing the concepts in this article, you can contact me.

Yours truly,

Megan

EAT BEAUTIFUL

[1] In fact, reducing, instead of eliminating, some of these foods is advisable, as some of them play an important prebiotic role in our bodies, that we don’t want to eliminate.  Trial and error, after first eliminating the foods, will tell you how much of which foods you can tolerate.  Reintroducing certain foods that are well tolerated is really at the heart of the low-FODMAP diet.  This diet is meant to be short-term and a method of diagnosis.  I will discuss this further below.

[2] In Eugene, OR, for good meat choices, enjoy shopping at our brand new Natural Grocers.  Also try The Kiva grocery market for plain ground pork to use as sausage (no sugar) from Deck Family Farm or Rain Shadow El Rancho; Capella Market sells Rosie Organic Chicken, whole legs or whole chicken, always skin on, and grass-fed buffalo; and Long’s Meat Market sells Knee Deep grass-fed beef and lamb (save all the rendered fat in the pan and use it in cooking); or shop online at eugenelocalfoods.com for meat from local farms; In other cities, buy meat from local sustainable farms or order meat online that is perfect grass-fed meat from sources like US Wellness Meats.

[3] Dr. Nicholas Ralston, special guest of well-respected alternative practitioner Chris Kresser, has revealed some very important studies that reliably de-myth most Americans’ concern about eating too much ocean fish.  He illuminates the fact that it is not so much the quantity of mercury we should be concerned with, but the ratio of selenium to mercury in the fish we’re eating and in our own diets.  The main “fish” to avoid are actually whales, sharks, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel.  Notice tuna is not on the list.  It has a higher ratio of selenium to mercury, by a lot, and is actually recommended.  “Eating more fish is actually good advice…, but unfortunately still too many people have the misconceptions that are kind of the outdated ideas, and we’re trying hard to get everybody on board so that they understand this and have a unified message so more and more of the people that formerly were arguing, Oh no, fish has to be avoided, are coming around and saying, Oh, no, actually ocean fish need to be eaten in greater amounts.” Here’s the full interview for a fuller explanation!  http://chriskresser.com/the-truth-about-toxic-mercury-in-fish

[4] Nancy’s yogurt, kefir, and sour cream can be found organic and grass-fed. This is a company out of Springfield, OR with national distribution that you may be able to find in many of our 50 states.  However, if not, look for comparable high-probiotic, organic, full-fat, grass-fed, cultured dairy. Making your own is actually quite easy too, and is ideal if you have the time, inclination, energy, and a source for grass-fed, raw milk.  But for those of you who are already a bit overwhelmed, it’s nice to benefit from whole foods that are readily available that set the standard for excellence in packaged foods.

[5] Bone broth can be made with high-fat bones, such as beef marrow bones or chicken with pieces of skin and ligament.  Add generous sea salt, to taste, and simmer the bones for 2-3 hours. Skim off the fat and use it and some of the broth for your first round of soup.  Continue to simmer the bones for 24 hours, with more added water as needed, to extract more minerals.  Puree well-cooked winter squash, carrots, or zucchini with cooled fatty broth for a thick, healthful, and truly delicious base. See this link for the exact recipe on How to Make Bone Broth.

[6] Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, creator of the GAPS diet, says “The most important fats for GAPS patients, which should be consumed daily and which should constitute the bulk of all fat consumption, are animal fats…and fats in egg yolks…Animal fats have nothing to do with heart disease, atherosclerosis and cancer. Our human physiology needs these fats; they are important for us to eat on a daily basis…Saturated fats are heart protective…(and)…GAPS patients are in particular need of cholesterol…Contrary to popular beliefs, fat is a preferred source of energy in the human body. Remember, the brain and the rest of the nervous system, as well as our immunity, are largely made of fats.”

So while most of us have been conditioned by 100 years of propaganda favoring oils detrimental to our health, feel now liberated to enjoy this healing source of saturated fat and cholesterol that is not only good for you, but that will help your body to heal and function better.

If you have IBS, start out with it slowly, if the high fat makes you nervous. See how it does in your body and increase your daily consumption as you gauge the response. But be intentional to increase the number of raw egg yolks and saturated meat fat if there is no adverse reaction.

My usual disclaimer here is that I am not a dietician or doctor of any kind.  I am basing my recipe counseling advice on my own experience and the reading I’ve done and agree with, the writings of the Weston A. Price Foundation and Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, as well as others. Having a naturopathic or allopathic doctor guiding your journey can be very helpful, assuming they agree with principles of the GAPS diet, in my opinion.  So don’t just take my word for it; consult a doctor.