I love rice. All varieties, white and brown, short and long grain, nutty basmati and fragrant jasmine. I adore the smell of it cooking. I love spicy Thai and Indian curries over mounds of rice, and even eating rice with just butter and salt. It’s the ultimate comfort food for me. Others have similar feelings about potatoes. Paul Jaminet’s categorization of rice as a “safe starch”, was immediately a very seductive and appealing notion to my ears.
I have been following the “safe starch” controversy (see link for a wonderful summary of the debate at Jimmy Moore’s LLVLC ) with interest, and have felt both surprised and not surprised, by the sustained and heated controversy it has generated. I have received several e-mails from readers asking me about my take on this subject. My surprise about the duration and passion of the controversy has to do with how clear it is to me, that for individuals with insulin resistance, carbohydrate intolerance and metabolic syndrome, it does not make sense. My lack of surprise about it, is related to the power of wishes. At least for some of us.
Freud was very interested in wishes. They feature prominently in dreams, where the dreamer dreams something that she/he unconsciously wishes or fears is true. It also happens in waking life, when through an exercise of the imagination, we believe what serves or comforts us, or resolves a conflict. For me, the wish that rice would be a safe starch is not unconscious. But unfortunately for me, and for other GAPS patients, categorizing rice as a safe starch, would fulfill a lovely desire, but would ignore reality. Ignoring reality generally has a painful cost.
One peculiar and puzzling aspect of this controversy, is that Paul Jaminet asserts that these safe starches are protective against the ravages of dysbiosis. He contends that safe starches facilitate mucous production in the bowel, thereby protecting the wall of the intestine. Without consuming safe starches, the gut wall is vulnerable to damage by pathogenic microflora. This specifically contradicts the theory of dysbiosis according to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride of the GAPS healing protocol. Dr. Campbell-McBride, whose recommendations are in the tradition of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, teaches that starches which are metabolized to disaccharides, such as all grains, sugar, and starchy vegetables, specifically feed the pathogenic microflora. These pathogens overwhelm the beneficial protective microflora, and thereby compromise the integrity of the bowel wall. This is the root cause of many disease states, as microflora, toxins, and food particles, which should remain within the bowel, diffuse out into the body causing inflammation and infection in the body and the brain. Both Jaminet and Campbell-McBride are addressing precisely the same issue, but are asserting the opposite. Hmmmm.
Though I did not attend the Weston Price Wise Traditions conference in Dallas several weeks ago, I heard that in his lecture, Paul Jaminet referred to GAPS as a ketogenic diet. This is by no means accurate. GAPS is not even really particularly low carb. For those individuals who are not insulin resistant, and who can tolerate it, fruit and honey are a regular part of the diet, though should not exceed 15 % of calories. (Fruit and honey are metabolized to monosaccharides and do not feed the pathogenic microflora, and are thus permitted. Hence “specific carbohydrate” diet).
In her clinic in England, Dr. Campbell-McBride has seen thousands of patients with psychiatric, auto-immune and digestive issues, who she has successfully treated with the GAPS healing protocol, which specifically excludes all grains, sugar and starchy vegetables. In a communication to me regarding the “safe starch” issue, she wrote that she has not seen one GAPS patient who needed starch in any form, if the program is conducted properly.
There is an interesting blog post about the GAPS healing protocol last month from the Nourishing Gourmet, which is followed by a series of comments that are even more interesting. Some individuals reported feeling a lack of energy after having initially felt well on GAPS. My guess is that this is likely due to blood sugar issues, as well as die-off from the pathogenic microflora, as they are starved of their usual nutrients, i.e. grains, sugar and starchy vegetables.
Upon initiation of the diet, if an individual habitually has consumed a diet high in starchy carbohydrates, there can be a period of metabolic adjustment, when she/he switches to a diet consisting of GAPS permissible foods. In those cases, Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends creating a mixture of equal parts butter or coconut oil and honey, and consuming a spoonful every 30 minutes or so to stabilize blood sugar, until an individual adjusts to the new diet. For those who have been on the diet for an extended period of time, and equate their fatigue with a need for more carbohydrate in their diet, there are GAPS legal foods which are high in carbohydrate, such as winter squash and carrots. I do not personally understand why grains or other non-permitted starchy vegetables such as potatoes or yams are necessary for energy, or for mucous production, for that matter. There are multiple sources of permitted carbohydrates on the the GAPS diet.
For those individuals who are not suffering from insulin resistance or a metabolic disorder, who do not have digestive, psychiatric or auto-immune issues, there seems to be no reason to leave these starches out of the diet. They are delicious, add variety and do not have the damaging effect that gluten has on so many individuals.
The GAPS protocol is not intended as a life long dietary prescription. It is meant to heal psychiatric, digestive and auto-immune conditions. After healing has occurred, an individual may return to eating properly prepared grains and starchy tubers. We all know that one size does not fit all, and that each individual needs to take any health protocol, and adjust it to her/his needs and monitor the effect. It would be wonderful if some omniscient doctor could tell us exactly what we need to do, but we all need to take responsibility for tailoring any dietary recommendations and adapting them to our own unique physiology.
One woman wrote to me that she followed the GAPS diet with much improvement, but her vision deteriorated. When she began to eat rice, her vision improved. Who knows what this is about? If I were her, I would definitely eat rice. As Dr Natasha writes, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” Despite the advice of experts, we all need to ultimately find our own way. I always liked this saying, “Go, pilgrim, there is no path, the path is made by walking.” This is true for much about living, but I think particularly so when it comes to diet.
Linked to Monday Mania Real Food Wednesday
I did the gaps diet to a T for a year. I’ve never felt worse. My gaps registered dietitian told me to avoid honey and fruit. Also the biggest mistake people make is not eating enough fat and drinking bone broth instead of meat stock. There is a HUGE difference between the two while starting out. DO NOT DRINK BONE BROTH if you are starting out with histamine and oxalate intolerance you will get very sick like I did. Meat stock saves me I make it with lamb and beef shank and it gels and tastes amazing and I have delicious meat to eat for dinner. I crack egg yolks into the stock with meat and make a soup and ITS DELICIOUS! But before I knew these mistakes I was getting so dizzy I was falling over. Now? I added in some honey again and even though I was eating lots of winter squash and carrots it wasn’t enough carbs. I also have blended oatmeal (1/3 cup) with raw cream and water every other day. I don’t care if it’s not Gaps legal because my skin cleared up, my period came back, my sleep is better, and my inflammation is down. I’m still low carb but I’m no longer avoiding honey and oatmeal because it’s not legal it’s literally saving me. Find what works for you there is no one size fits all and not every terrible symptom is from detox. Sometimes the body doesn’t have enough of a macronutrient and becomes stressed out and that isn’t what we want either. Good luck! Hope my experience helps someone else.
What a wonderful comment! It’s truly not one size fits all. It’s so important to figure out what works for you. For those who are histamine intolerant, bone broth can be really toxic. Each of us is unique, and what is important is tailoring any approach so that it works for you. Thank you for writing and sharing. I think it will be useful to many people who are suffering.
Thank you for sharing. That was VERY helpful! 🙂
Hi, I am from Malaysia, and on GAPS Diet myself as I have auto-immune.
Rice is our daily main dish. I went up on Google to convert some GAPS-Allowed ingredients to be practically acceptable with Asian diet. So I came out with resistant starch articles.
I have read about resistant starch which quite compatible with GAPS diet. The idea is to cook the rice a day before consuming it. Once the rice cooked, it will be kept in the refrigerator overnight and reheat the next day. The microbiome in overnight-rice will convert the rice and it will be digested in small intestine and feed the good bacteria.
I was not sure how far anyone had tried this ? And I am not sure when can we eat rice during stages in GAPS diet ?
I would love to know… Thank you.
Is it fine to eat rice fermented in kefir whey during gaps initial stage? As far as I know, fermented rice is predigested by beneficial bacteria.
It is my understanding that no grains are part of the GAPS healing protocol. I never heard of fermented predigested rice as an exception.
i have had difficulty sticking with the diet; for years. As the more I have bone broth soup the more sensitive, irritated my stomach and skin becomes to any vegetables I put in the soup. I recently cut out carrots and red peppers out of the soup. I eat bone broth, marrow, bone broth jar broth, onions, celery, cabbage peppers, but no eating of the veggies. The broth has no sugar, vinegar, lemon, canola oil, tomatoes, no carrots, no potatoes, etc. Just bone marrow broth and salt maybe lemongrass, jalapeños. This is my daily food intake. I think that onions may be bothering me too! Soon to be cut out.
You should not be consuming bone broth. You should be consuming meat stock instead. Only boil meaty bones for about 1.5 hours.
I haven’t read through all the comments so maybe this is addressed by someone, but the sources of carbohydrates on the gaps diet, like carrots and winter squash, have much lower carbohydrate counts than do potatoes, rice and other grains. So if one happens to need carbs (like those of us with adrenal fatigue, for example) then the gaps diet could be problematic. (I was on a low carb diet for quite a long time which actually led to my adrenal fatigue). By comparison to what I’m eating now, which is roughly a 2 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein, gaps is very low carbs. Anyway, I want to put my family on gaps for several reasons unrelated to the adrenals but this carb issue is a big one that I haven’t found a way around. And as for fatigue that comes from gaps, it is a sign that the adrenals have been working too hard because too much protein without a balance of carbs lead to too much stress on the adrenals. This is my understanding of it anyway.
Hi Katherine, a bit late but on,y just found this site. I was also diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue or Wilson’s syndrome ( because he wrote the book on AF) and I was advised to take more potassium and other minerals. I started with Creme of Tartar ( potassium carbonate ) as in 1/4 teaspoon daily in my drinking water and started feeling better immediately. But cream of tartar isn’t allowed on GAPs so I stopped and felt so dreadful, pains in my back, tiredness etc that I tried ReMyte which is a diluted mix of minerals including potassium and iodine easily absorbed by the body. You have to build up the quantity ver slowly starting with 1/4 teaspoon or less daily( in juice or minted water as it tastes unpleasant) . I’m now on 1 teaspoon a day split in two parts. My basal temperature is up from 36.1 to 36.7 , my energy levels are good and my eyes no longer itch or get blurry as my tears have become more viscous and stick to my eyes thus protecting them. It’s not cheap but it’s made such a huge difference it’s worth every penny . The consultant I saw told me it was my age and I had to put up with it as my hormones were unbalanced! Not any more as my thyroid seems very happy with this supplement which you can order on line at Botanica Health in the UK. I’m over 70 and feel and look a lot younger. I give it to my husband who is a sprightly 80 year old and he no longer falls asleep after breakfast and lunch and has far more energy.
I also find that if I take a little Milk Thistle or Triphala capsules or tincture it helps with fat digestion. If I take too much I feel terrible as all the detoxed toxins flood your system. Not a good plan.
Great article! I am going to try rice soon. The diet is far too plain and I always thought of rice as a healing food anyways, so I’m going to give it a try. I was surprised to find that I couldn’t handle nut mix, so I’m really hoping that rice will be okay. Right now my daily diet is 2 servings of soup (carrots, celery, chicken, broth), bone broth alone, 2-3 bananas and a glass of almond milk. This seems to be find with my system and the bananas keep my energy up.
When I started the GAPS Intro I started feeling many of the ketosis symptoms, like increased urination, thirst, constipation etc. I did some research on the ketogenic diet that helped me get over this hump. First, I added Himalayan sea salt to my water to make sure I was putting back in minerals that my body was pushing out. Salt helps your body retain the water it’s pushing out because it increases the solute concentration of your blood (my own personal interpretation from my pre-med studies). That actually helped a lot. The other thing was that I started taking “detox” baths nightly using a mix of Epsom salts, baking soda, and sea salt. The Epsom salts do an amazing job on the constipation and helped me stay regular. You should soak in the tub for about 20-30 mins.
The reason for constipation on Intro, which is something McBride addresses, is that you have removed most of your fiber intake. That’s why she recommends enemas, and the sort.
For me, addressing the carb issue was done through increasing my vegetable intake. I made sure to eat lots of carrots in my soups. Once I got to butternut squash pancakes and apple puree I really stopped dealing with carb issues. I also made sure I was getting about a tablespoon of honey a day mixed in tea. I usually mix honey and coconut oil in my tea and sip that throughout the day.
Also make sure you increase your water intake. At least, for me, that helped a lot.
I have problems with raw honey, so I have to heat it up in tea. I suspect it’s some local pollen that is causing me issues, but when the proteins are denatured, they are fine! That might be a problem for others who wrote that honey was an issue.
I have been on GAPS Intro for a month now, I’m in stage 5 and I’ve seen a number of improvements. I have dealt with depression/bipolar since my teens and then developed a variety of food allergies. Recently I developed chronic hives. My chronic hives have gotten so much better. Not cured, yet, but I only seem to deal with them under bouts of high stress or when I rub my skin against something (physical urticaria). The other improvement has been with my geographic tongue. My allergist believes that this is a result of food allergies and since I have been on GAPS Intro, it has completely gone away!
The way I’ve managed to do well on Intro is through reading a lot of articles online, buying a a GAPS guide and a GAPS related cookbook that gives recipes for each stage. I also joined the GAPS Yahoo group and check McBride’s GAPS FAQ online.
If things start to go south while on GAPS, I think that’s a sign you should see a GAPS certified practitioner. Just a thought. One last comment, McBride does address issues like parasites and related underlying conditions. She writes that if you are really struggling to move forward on the Intro diet, you may have these underlying issues that must be addressed first. The only way you can do that is by working with a doctor.
Many decades ago now, I read of a population from somewhere in Europe who, due to long term exposure to arsenic in the soil, had developed a certain tolerance for that poison. Later generations came to be *dependent* on the higher levels, as was finally discovered when those who emigrated became ill.
There was, of course, no genetic study done, and it was little more than an aside in an unrelated paper on the beneficial medicinal use of toxic substances.
I do recall, that a symptom of these people was deteriorating eyesight in an otherwise healthy well fed individual. I wonder, given the dangers of arsenic exposure in rice, if this woman with the eye problems might not have activated such ancestry or developed a similar condition.
Just and odd musing.
In regards to “beneficial medicinal use of toxic substances” I have been using homeopathic remedies for many years including homeopathic arsenic. https://www.elixirs.com/arsenicum.cfm. Also, I’m grateful I had genetic testing done. https://www.23andme.com/ is only $99 and the various programs such as Genetic Genie are helpful and inexpensive or free such as Amy Yasko’s https://www.knowyourgenetics.com/.
I’m currently on Gaps diet myself.
Although I’ve gone between constipation or , I’ve leaned the importance of drinking enough water.
I think part of the problem that some of these people could be experiencing issues, is that they’re not including probiotic supplements. I think they’re trying to only do the food without the help. It’s like trying to stay healthy with food without exercise.
I’ve noticed swelling in my feet & legs (BEFORE Gaps Diet) & I realize now that when I was going to college a few months back I would do a lot of walking. I’d gotten lazy since graduation & now I have swelling in my feet & legs. (I also have a heart problem which could contribute to this as well.)
My recommendation would be to try taking probiotic supplements (not over the counter because I’m told they’re not strong as ones you can find & order online) WHILE trying this or any similar diet. The product I’m using for this is called “Standard Process”. You can Google this & you may find this helps as you’re doing the Gaps diet.
Also look up Jack Stockwell & Associates as they can help do a bioscan which takes an electrical reading (doesn’t hurt…I’ve tried it; intact the impulse reading it sends is about as much as your brain sends to the rest of your body) & from there they can recommend the best supplements to use from Standard Process along with the Gaps Diet.
Good luck & I wish you all well!
I realized I made some errors.
I mentioned that I went back & forth between constipation or…; I meant to include the word “diariahh” (I couldn’t remember the spelling).
Also, the word “intact” should really be “in fact”.
I think I caught all the important words.
Sorry for the confusion & spelling errors!
My appologies! 🙂
This is a great site for info on leg swelling. I often use homeopathic remedies, regularly skin brush, & use D-mannose powder as needed. http://daveshealingnotes.com/ailments/leg-feet-swelling-natural-remedies.html
As an alternative to taking probiotics, you could try increasing the amount of fermented food (veggies, and especially milk kefir). I tried GAPS when I was really sick with Crohns, but whilst I was taking probiotics, I wasn’t consuming fermented veggies or kefir. You get so much more probiotics from kefir. I think if I had that then, I wouldn’t have ended up losing most of my large intestine.
I’m starting GAPS diet. I’m very thin went from 107lbs to 98lbs. I’m DESPERATE to gain weight but I find it hard while doing this diet. Yesterday I woke up and had this weird feel like if my sugar dropped (I have never experienced this before)… but I’m thinking that maybe bc I’m eating a very low carb diet (I’m not used to it) maybe that caused my hypoglycemia? Any advice on how to maintain blood sugar levels? Thanks.
I’m sorry I forgot to mention I’m not diabetic. .. (I went to the doctor after feeling so weird and I had eaten an Oreo bc it was all I could find that had sugary and my blood sugar was 85. So it was normal and also no one in my family is diabetic. ..I think that my body is running low on “fuel”.
Dr. Natasha recommends eating a mixture of honey and butter to increase calories, also you can eat a great deal of winter squash and good animal fats.
Hi Verina,
Sorry to hear you are in a difficult space at the moment. I don’t believe however that we can blame a diet for our ills. I’ve done some really silly diets in the past and do not blame anyone of them for the illnesses I have developed and am now healing with the GAPS diet, amongst other things. A diet is a process just like any other and some responsibility needs to be taken by ourselves in order to read our bodies and address issues that are not working appropriately. The GAPS diet for me has been an eye opener into my bodies issues and the level of disorder I have developed over the years. I am thankful of the diet for bringing these issues to my attention, so that I could seek appropriate help and adjust my eating patterns accordingly.
Perhaps consulting with a health professional, who is versed in your condition and has nutrition training could bring about balance in your life again.
I agree with Lisa’s comments below regarding parasites. This is where a health professional with training in this area can help. The diet has provided me with a good dietary foundation, and parasite cleanses with remarkable results.
Ultimately no diet will be a perfect magic pill. Personal exploration and learning is very important.
I did the gaps diet for like two years. It focused perfectly on removing the foods I couldn’t tolerate, starches via potatoes and grains and also disaccharides. If I ate these foods I got loose stools and diarrhea. But ultimately I don’t think it was actually healing the problem. There are parasites that can cause this problem. There is no info on this fact in scd or gaps books. It will not necessarily go away from the diet. Symptoms subsided on the diet but even after many months a slip would cause misery.
I’m thankful some people have gotten well using gaps but many people end up on it for years just keeping symtoms under control. That was not acceptable to me. I don’t think it needs to take that long and in many cases never occur. I am an herbalist and nutritionist so I searched for helps to speed healing. What ended up doing the trick for me was berberine. It is a chemical constituent of bitter herbs like barberry and goldenseal that have been used to heal dysentery and other intestinal infections for thousands of years. It is a mucous membrane alterative or tonic that doesn’t directly kill microbes but corrects the immune functions and mucous secretion in the gut lining. It increases immunoglobulins and macrophages and is highly anti inflammatory. It closes tight junctions. After taking it for just a few days I was able to eat normally for the first time in years. I had to start with a low dose so I could bear the herx symtoms. I took 1/2 capsule of swansons berberine 400 mg capsules and slowly increased every 5 days or so up to 1 1/2 caps. That has been a couple years ago and I’m still doing well. Maybe I had giardiasis or something who knows. I couldn’t get doctors to take me very seriously just kept telling me I had IBS and testing is very unreliable. People go on for years with negative results often before it is discovered. I don’t like taking toxic drugs anyway. Berberine is awesome and I’d highly recommend a try for anyone with intestinal problems.
I agree that gaps is too low carb. The only significant carb sources are fruit and winter squash maybe. Even winter squash is not very high carb. You have to eat a lot to get much. Fruit is high sugar not a great choice to eat a lot of. It just doesn’t stick with you and sustain you like starches do. The gaps diet did take a toll on my energy, and adrenal status.
Another important aspect about starches that is being discovered is their resistant starch content that feeds microbes in the gut that produce short chain fatty acids butyrate, propionate and acetate which are the primary food and fuel for the colonocytes and is highly anti inflammatory. They are very impotant for health and for building a healthy microbiota. I am so much healthier since I got starches back in my diet.
I understand that there is a point at which you can’t tolerate starches. But the sooner you can the better. For a lot of people gaps is just alleviating symptoms I believe. That is better than nothing but I believe it is not an ideal or healthy diet and itself will cause problems if followed for a long time. My advice would be use it because it is an improvement over active ibd but work diligently to speed healing and get off it. Try berberine and mucous membrane tonic herbs and supps like glutamine.
Thank you so much for writing. What a wonderful and helpful comment. I am interested in trying the herbs you recommended and I am sure that it will prove to be valuable information for other readers. I have to say, that as much as I love and respect Dr. Natasha and her ideas, GAPS also has not been the answer for me. I have continued to need to avoid foods that are allergenic for me, like eggs whites, nuts and seeds and of course gluten and dairy. The food sensitivity piece seems for me to be the tip off that there is leaky gut involvement. I also feel well eating plantains and sweet potatoes and find them much more grounding energetically than fruits. If other readers try berberine containing herbs, it would be interesting if they would comment upon their results.
Thank you very much, Judy, for sharing that you feel well on plantains and sweet potatoes. I am in the middle of a GAPS vs Paleo AIP struggle and would like to include those two starches in particular, but have been scared by what Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride has said about starches becoming food for pathogens. I think I’ll try introducing them when I’m symptom free and see how I feel. I’d just like to add how much I love what you share here. Thanks again.
Thank you for your expression of appreciation. It means a lot to me. I am so glad that its meaningful to you. I hope that you tolerate sweet potatoes and plantains. They add a great deal of diversity to the diet.
Thank you so much. I am so happy that you appreciate what I share. I hope that you are able to tolerate plantains and sweet potatoes. They add a great deal of diversity to the diet, and plantains are particularly versatile.
Have you tried eating Japanese sweet potatoes? They are sweeter in taste and wonderful in dishes to give it a sweetness without the sugar. They also do not bother me like sweet potatoes. I agree too that GAPS is probably not the complete answer for me but mentally I feel better and look better. Starches do make my neuropathy worse but so does the fat (but not as much). Even though I feel better I am still at least 30 pounds underweight, at 5’11” and 110 pounds. I will try the plantains. But I hope the plantains don’t bother me like bananas and avocados. I think the biggest benefit I have received from the GAPS diet is consuming stewed meat or bone broth on a daily basis. I am nearly 60 years old and thanks to the bone broth this is the first time I have noticed my body being able to heal itself (e.i. obvious cuts and wounds that would not heal, even with Vitamin E on the surface.) So I know it is a least helping my gut heal. I have tried many cleanses but it occurred to me to go on this diet because my gut needs to heal.
I have not tried Japanese sweet potatoes, but I will. It’s great to hear that GAPS is helping. What a blessing!
Thank-you for all the great info! I have had lifelong health challenges and have been on a low salicylate and other food chemical diet including products applied to my skin and inhaled since 2010 based on the RPAH/FAILSAFE diets http://fedup.com.au/.
This year, I tried adding some foods based on FODMAP http://shepherdworks.com.au/disease-information/low-fodmap-diet and when I became much worse explored a very low fructose diet which cleared my hypoglycemia symptoms http://www.bu.edu/aldolase/HFI/treatment/.
I had vast improvement when I reduced my oxalates http://www.lowoxalate.info/ and had been using guaifenesin on/off due to side effects since 2001 for fibromyalgia and found this interesting connection http://www.coreonehealth.com/oxalates-and-their-role-in-fibromyalgia-syndrome.
I am now following GAPS closer blending it into all I have learned by studying every other diet and am so glad I bought the https://www.23andme.com/ and http://geneticgenie.org/ tests last year to help understand that we are all different.
I stopped eating soaked white rice today but will have some if I feel I need it for the glucose. I currently eat organic farm fresh grass fed beef, chicken & turkey that is not fed soy, iceberg lettuce juice (I am going to try fermenting it soon using this http://www.culturesforhealth.com/fermented-vegetable-master-half-gallon.html. I make bone broth in a pressure cooker to hopefully reduce amine formation. I sprout then cook and mash crimson lentils for carbs and make homemade unpasteurized goat milk yogurt and eat unpasteurized goat butter. I will try eating butternut and choko/chayote squash soon. Best of health to all of us!
Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed account with all the interesting links. I am sure that it will be very helpful to another reader. I am always impressed with the resilience and perseverance that is reflected in these comments. I wish you all the best.
Somebody above commented about how her eyesight deteriorated on the gaps diet. The same thing has happened to me. I have been on the gaps diet for ten months. As soon as I started the gaps diet my eyes became extremely dry upon waking up. I attribute this to the low mucous production from starch/glucose deficiency. I have read about it many places. Low mucous production will also increase leaky gut because the intestines are not coated in enough mucous. Along the gaps diet I started to develop more sensitivities. I developed beef and histamine sensitivity (which made me unable to eat fermented foods and bone broth). The gaps diet increased my constipation a lot and it only got worse with time. I started the Gaps diet and immediately noticed a difference in energy. However as time went on I noticed my energy going down hill until I was back to square one. I was eating plenty of carbs and even fruit smoothies when I could. Within about a week after I started eating starches again, my energy and mucous came back, and my constipation completely vanished. I don’t have dry eyes upon waking anymore. I think that diet and what works for people is extremely individual and it is necessary to find out what works for you and what doesn’t. The purpose of removing polysaccharides from the diet is to starve bad bacteria, but in turn this also starves the beneficial bacteria. Still not sure where I stand on this but I seem to be leaning on the side of starches. I would love other opinions. Thanks for the article.
Thanks for taking the time to write. Its another great example of “one size does not fit all “Clearly the GAPS diet is not for you. The dry eyes and constipation are really interesting and very clearly correlated for you with the presence or absence of starch in your diet.
Hi there,
This was a great article and spot-on with regards to everything I am learning in holistic nutrition school. I am on the GAPS diet in hopes of dealing with my own gut issues, mental symptoms, and a history of schizophrenia stemming from my mother’s side. What you say about avoiding “safe starches” for those experiencing autoimmune disorders as well as psychiatric issues is very true. Although I originate from a culture based on white rice three times a day, if I have too much white rice, I experience horrible mental fog, even what I would call “autistic” symptoms, where I feel like I am on drugs and detached from reality. It was only through complete removal of grains that I have cleared my mind and body.
It is important for people to realize, as you say, we’re all individual. There is no blanket rule for any one person–it is multi-faceted: the state of your current gut, your food sensitivities, your genetic susceptibilities, current medical conditions, etc. If you feel good eating white rice, then eat it! For me, I can’t, so it all depends. This safe starches vs. no starches controversy shouldn’t even be one. Every one is different.
Thanks for taking the time to write. Your experience with white rice is very dramatic and striking. Its hard for some people to believe the effect foods can have on us. But I know it for myself first hand, as do so many of my readers.
I know this is an old post, but I am still stuck between the whole safe starch thing and how it could possibly cause problems for people with dysbiosis.
I did the GAPS intro for 10 days or so and felt horrible! I then moved to full GAPS with plenty of cultured cream and sauerkraut. However, I eventually got sucked into the Safe starch thing bc I was always hungry on full GAPS and interested in trying something new so I introduced white rice. The first time I ate too much and it gave me a headache and then later on some hypoglycemia. However, I then started eating the rice with lots of fat and this seemed to be ok. With the addition of white rice, my constant hunger went away and my BM’s were better and so it seemed to be affecting me positively.
Right now, I backed off the starches again and recently tried some sprouted buckwheat porridge and my BM’s again were improved. So, I am confused as to whether the buckwheat and rice or providing something I need for better BM’s–fiber? Resistant startch? More carbs? What?
Any thoughts?
I must note that while on strict, full GAPS, I did seem to be burning my adrenals and so the white rice seemed to help relax me.
There are many people who have different opinions about this issue. Dr Natasha is very clear that in her opinion there are no safe starches for people with GAPS conditions. If you wanted to follow the GAPS healing protocol and you became constipated without grains, then you could use a product like Natural Calm, which is magnesium citrate, and it is very effective and healthful.
On the GAPS diet if you want to have more carbs, you can eat a lot of winter squash, which is allowed on the diet. Winter squash with ghee would be a good meal that would not leave you hungry and would not be a grain.
I tried to do the GAPS diet for 3 years, my issue is no matter what I would go into Ketosis and feel terrible, even ended up in the ER two times due to severe dizziness and fatigue. I have a painful bladder condition and being in ketosis due to the acidic nature makes my pain way worse. I am also allergic to a lot of veges, all fruit and most grains and all nuts and seeds. I can have white rice and gluten free oats though. I am very allergic to bone broths, I suspect glutamate. I also cannot have any high oxalate foods. When I follow gaps with the limited foods I can have, (VERY FEW) I get very sick. I started doing NAET allergy elimination a few months ago and so far my IBS is much better and the foods I have treated for are not causing me issues anymore. I also have to add though that I “only” had IBS and IC a bladder condition, I did not have a severe digestive disorder. Hopefully NAET will take care of enough of my allergies, that I will be able to do GAPS totally, because I do believe the science behind it makes sense.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I am not very familiar with NAET, but its terrific that you are getting some help finally. I wish you all the best, and would be interested to hear about your progress.
I really appreciate this article. This is exactly what I was looking for. An educated article that talks about both sides. And I like the conclusion, too. I’ve been very confused about whether brown rice is “good” or “bad”, but it makes more sense that it’s on an individual basis.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write. I appreciate it and am so happy that the piece was useful to you.
This is a tremendous discussion. Thanks for hosting it. I don’t know if you can clarify things for me or not. I am gluten intolerant and have been gluten free for 15 years. Recently I went on a well respected candida diet. But, from what I read lately, a candida diet will not truly heal my gut. So, I am considering the GAPS diet.
The only grain I eat is Flax bread, and I believe flax is a seed, not a grain, but the bread also contains corn starch and tapioca starch. I suspect this is unacceptable on the GAPS diet.
My question, if I only have one, is whether or not it’s important to continue to avoid sugars? Of course the candida folks think so, but the GAPS diet contradicts that with suggestions of fruit and honey. Can you clarify this at all?
And thanks again.
I am delighted to hear that the discussion has been useful to you. I appreciate you expressing that to me.
The GAPS healing protocol is similar to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Particular carbohydrates are metabolized in different ways. According to the GAPS diet and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, only carbohydrates metabolized to monosaccharides are healthful to the gut, not carbohydrates that are metabolized to disaccharides. Tapioca and corn starch are metabolized to disaccharides, and are thus not permitted. Fruit and honey are metabolized to mono saccharides and are thus permissible.
Each person is unique, and for some people, they will not feel well with fruit and honey, even though they are theoretically permissible on the GAPS diet. For anyone, those fruit and honey should constitute a small percentage of the diet. They are not healthy in large amounts for almost anyone because they cause a significant insulin response.
Also for many people with gut issues, flax seeds are difficult to digest, and I believe would be a permissible food when the gut is already well along in the healing process. I hope this helps.
If you do decide to do the GAPS diet, there is a delicious bread made with almond meal which is permissible, but again, baked goods should only constitute a small portion of the diet.
My son was diagnosed with UC. We have been on the Gaps diet since September. His digestive symptoms have cleared, but he extremely underweight and needs to gain weight. Any ideas.
That is so wonderful that his symptoms have cleared. I would recommend a winter squash and ghee. The winter squash provides healthy and GAPS friendly carbs and the ghee the calories in a healthful form as well.
A little clarification for some of the above commentors. Vlc and SCD or GAPS are not the same thing. As stated by Paul himself and Mcbryde. VLC can be a problem over the long term. You do need some glucose. Which can be achieved by eating adequate protein and carbs like squash and fruit. Depending on how efficient your body is at converting protein will tell you how much additional carbohydrate you need.
This can safely be done without resorting to “safe starches.” However, over the long run, safe starches make the goal of adequate glucose easy. Fruits do not. The problem being fructose. Our bodies do not like fructose.
However, if you’re suffering from G.I disease and dysbiosis there is a very good chance that safe starches do not exist. Which is why SCD and GAPS variations WORK! I keep hearing everyone repeat the same things regarding the feeding of pathogens and yes that’s a major component. However, if people would read the SCD chapter regarding the digestion of double sugars and starches you would understand the intestinal damage which exists makes breaking these sugars down impossible. Which is why people with true G.I disease no first hand what happens when starches are eaten or reintroduced without proper healing. It’s called a disaster.
Which is why thousands of people with gut disorders who adhere to the diet have overcome major disease and now live healthy lives. Which means they may once again eat safe starches.
I speak from experience. I’ve been on Paleo variations, The PHD, VLC -high protein/fat, SCD and GAPS. What finally worked was intro GAPS and the slow reintroduction of fermented acidophilus yogurt, berries, banana, winter squashes.. I do not eat nuts. I eat plenty of fat and protein and when the time is right, I will add you know what.
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. What is the reason you do not include nuts? I imagine they don’t agree with you.
I was very struck that Dr.Natasha was so very clear that for those with gut dysbiosis, there are no safe starches in her mind, other than those included in the GAPS protocol.
Hi-
Yes. With the kind of gut damage found in G.I disease, there is no safe starch. The exceptions(ex)being certain squashes(butternut squash) and fruit(banana) which have very little which is tolerable to most. Even these have to be temporarily avoided for some. Which is why many people follow the GAPS intro protocol and make wonderful progress.
Nuts can be difficult to digest, have problematic 6/3 omega ratios and I avoided for digestive reasons initially and found no need for them. Myself and others who initially dove into the SCD years ago found it very easy to just start eating large amounts of nut flour as a replacement for grain. I got burned. My digestion was too poor and I could not handle them. I had terrible dysbiosis and would react to just about everything.
This is where GAPS comes into play. The emphasis on elimination and reintroduction of foods. She doesn’t address nightshades and fodmaps
Hi-
Yes. With the kind of gut damage found in many suffering from G.I disease, there is no safe starch. The exceptions(ex)being certain squashes(butternut squash) and fruit(ripe banana) which have very little which is tolerable to most. Even these have to be temporarily avoided for some. Which is one reason why many people follow the GAPS intro protocol and make wonderful progress.
Nuts can be difficult to digest, have problematic 6/3 omega ratios and I avoided for digestive reasons initially and later found no need for them. Myself and others who initially dove into the SCD years ago found it very easy to just start eating large amounts of nut flour as a replacement for grain. I got burned. My digestion was too poor and I could not digest them. I had terrible dysbiosis and would react to just about everything.
This is where GAPS comes into play. The emphasis on elimination and reintroduction of foods. She doesn’t address nightshades and fodmaps directly, however they are addressed indirectly by intro diet. I think nuts in moderation should be apart of the diet for most because of the additional protein and fat they supply. Even if they are mostly lopsided omega wise. If individuals find they are a problem, avoid them. I can eat them now, but I really haven’t found a great need for them. I eat the oils of macadamia, avocado, olive, a little borage and flax and am satisfied. I also eat lots of butter and grass fed beef tallow.
I’ve been eating this way for quite some time and my desire for simulating baked goods disappeared along time ago.
I hope this helped answer your questions.
So generous of you to write such a thoughtful and detailed comment. Your perspective is very much in synch with Dr. Natasha’s. It’s so hard for some people to contemplate a radical shift in their diet. But for many, it really pays off.
You’re very welcome. It’s amazing how many people I see continue to advocate for this idea of safe starches under all circumstances. I happen to see many of these people still complain of problems regarding, as previously mentioned, fodmops, nightshades and all sorts of continuing autoimmune struggles. I used to react to nightshades and some fodmop included foods. I also suffered from severe autoimmunity. However, not anymore. So, maybe these people should reconsider their dogmatic advocacy of safe starches and see what happens on a properly administered GAPS protocol for a year or two. Then go back to enjoying safe starches. Best Wishes.
Thanks for Info! Find it all Fasinating. 10yrs ago had 70% Gut Missing – hence Probs with Dairy, Gluten, Yeast, Egg White, Soy etc etc. Now on Craveman Diet (less Probs). If I eat most Starch = Severe Pain (mainly in Back) Some Acidic Fruits = Stinging Fingers [Can’t eat Nightshades for same reason] Fairly Ok with unripe Bananas + Beetroot (Raw Carrot) All Grains a No! No! Severe Cramps everywhere. Tested for Stomach Acid, mine Low + Tongue reveals: Malabsorption. Don’t think I have AS or Whipples, but would like any Info please.
Thanks again Guys!!! x
Thank you for writing. Your symptoms are mysterious and no clear category of food intolerance springs to mind. But when I hear about multiple sensitivities and malabsorption, the remedy that I recommend is the GAPS healing protocol.
im so confused
i have had ibs and depression (manic depression mostly depression)
on the gaps diet i did well with the constipation i struggled with
all of my life… Yes!
however my throat started to have this ticking effect
mixed with a kind of cough
something i have come to recognize whenever i eat cooked fats
also my breasts are sore
all of my life i have been eating organic
i…like most of you ..am trying my darndest to figure out what carbs protein fats work for me
in the past i would have sore breasts and this tickling in my throat if i went off of my health diet
(if i eat something like pasta and cheese etc..bread…foods i consider not healthy)
what ever that was at the time
usually i am following a type of healthy carbs with the right amount of protien and fat
Hi Judy,
Wonderful discussion. Thanks for listening to my pod cast with Jimmy Moore. Yes, I did invent the concept of Fermentation Potential, which uses the glycemic index along carb count, fiber and sugar alcohols (if applicable) to measure the likelihood that the carb-containing food in question will be malabsorbed and fuel bacterial fermentation. Good bacteria or pathogen, too much fermentation, particularly in the small intestine spells trouble for GERD, IBS, Crohns, diverticulitis and many other chronic digestive conditions. The mathematical formula for FP can be found in my new book Fast Tract Digestion.
Fascinating. It sounds like a much needed, very creative and comprehensive perspectiveI I look forward to reading your book.
Amen! I just had a phone consult with Dr. Campbell regarding my 14 year old autistic son, and I was advised to abandon my anti candida approach in favor of stabilizing his blood sugar. I now give him Raw butter and honey every 30 minutes. It has already had a calming effect on his raging mood swings. Is there any chance you might be presenting at any of the upcoming autism conferences??
My seven year old boy ended up in the hospital yesterday on day four of GAPS Intro. He had ketoacidosis. We took him in because his breath smelled like acetone and we he was shoing other showing symptoms of diabetic ketosis–excessive thirst, weakness, wooziness, lack of appetite (even for turkey bacon, one of his favorite foods).
Even though he’s been eating a low carb/zero sugars diet for at least a year, I think this diet was really hard on him because he couldn’t tolerate the fruit or honey. I wasn’t aware of the risks of omitting the fruit and honey as I am now. The first night he threw up twice violently–and after that he refused to touch broth or soup. He would eat, get too large an insulin response (ketosis increases the insulin response), dive into hypoglycemia and dehydration. We had several days of intense emotions, crying over every meal, bad breath and general misery. By the time he went to the hospital on day four, he was not only in ketosis because of the lack of carbs, but also because he was starving. He was not getting enough food.
At the hospital, they quickly determined that his ketoacidosis was diet induced. They put him on fluids with dextrose. He ate 8 fish tacos (complete with corn tortillas) and two orders of carrots and hummus from the hospital kitchen. He was still asking for food.
I write this to suggest that when we talk about the successes of the GAPS diet, we also talk about the risks, and how to recognize and correct problems that might develop.
GAPS might not be a ketogenic diet, but it certainly was for my child.
It sound like a nightmarish experience for you and your child. I am very sorry to hear of it. It is important to balance adhering to the diet, and making an assessment of an individual’s medical condition. Of course you don’t want to adhere to the diet in such a rigid way that your child requires hospitalization. I would imagine that the traditional GAPS approach needs to be modified or implemented in a very gradual fashion for someone like your son. Again, so sorry to hear about what you have been through.
I also get very bad symptoms from Gaps with how I need to do it. I cannot tolerate most fruit, honey, or nuts and seeds because of oxalates. So, I am left with meat and veges. I also cannot eat carrots and many other veges due to the same reason. Within a few days eating gaps without these things I get dizzy, cold, shaky, nauseous and extremely thirsty. I have hypoglycemia so I think this diet being so restricted from me because I cannot have the high sugar veges and fruits like most people. I feel caught between a rock and a hard place because I after reading gaps I feel like the only way to get well is grain free but, I just cannot do this diet safety. People need to be aware of the risks if you cannot tolerate all the food on the diet and you have blood sugar issues.
Its important for each of us to figure out what works for us as individuals. It would be so great if someone could tell us exactly what to do so we would not be in the position of trying to figure things out by trial and error. From what you describe, this is not a diet that works for you, though others may be able to find a way around their particular sensitivities and still follow the diet. I find myself wondering if you are intolerant of winter squashes which are GAPS legal. They are high in carbs, and eaten with a lot of ghee might be nourishing and agree with you. The SCD diet permits legumes. I am wondering if that might also work for you. They also provide carbs. At any rate, I wish you all the best, and understand how frustrating and distressing not feeling well can be, especially when the well meaning recommendations leave you feeling worse.
melissa i have had the same between a rock and a hard place with oxalate issues and gaps. i just concentrated on low oxalate diet for a time and what i could do of the gaps. i am intolerant to most grains so didnt do them. i also took a lactic acid probiotic called dura flora to try to restore the good bacteria responsible for removing oxalates. (oxabaclator- maybe spelled wrong) oxalates were causing me to have low mag and i had horrible symtoms.
i had taken two rounds of antibiotics that kill that good bacteria which i found out some time after. after about 8 months LO and the duraflora my symtoms are almost completely gone and I have been able to eat higher oxalate foods with no low mag symptoms.
Wow, this is really a striking and powerful reaction, and I am sorry that you have had it. Its so remarkable how unique each of us is and how things affect us so differently. Thanks so much for writing and sharing your experience. It will likely be of use to another person who is experimenting and getting this adverse response. They will know more quickly that this is a possibility, maybe not even try it to begin with!
I think different starches affect different people in different ways, so to say that one starch is “safe” for all, or even that one starch is “bad” for all, is a shaky stance to take. For example, rice (though I like the taste), causes gas when I eat it, whether brown or white. Hence I have to assume that my digestive system does not handle it well. My husband, who is very sensitive to many starches, can do well with rice. I do fine with (horrors!) wheat! As well as oats, rye and potatoes.(I’ve been eating a WAPF-type diet for nearly eleven years, and am very acutely observant of my own diet, so this is not an uneducated comment). To each his/her own.
Thanks for writing. Your comment is totally interesting. I am fascinated that you do well with wheat and rye, but not rice. Its so true that each of us is so unique. Its very hard to generalize.
Thank you for writing this article. I read all the comments too.
After being on the GAPS Diet for 5 months, I began to feel very dizzy. I thought it was low blood sugar. In my attempt to solve it, I started eating potatoes, soaked white rice, and supplementing chromium (Someone in my GAPS support group told me I was going to suffer from diabetes with the starch addition!). Nothing changed right away, except my digestion! I hadn’t had a normal bowel movement since following the GAPS protocol. HCl didn’t help, juicing didn’t help, enemas didn’t help, and ferments didn’t help my constipation. Potatoes help! After a month of eating mostly potatoes everyday, I stopped drinking my second cup of coffee, and noticed I wasn’t feeling faint when I stood up. At that point I learned I had some glandular issues, particularly sluggish adrenals. I’m wondering if the potatoes are helping my adrenal fatigue as well…
I do have a questions about ketosis. When I started the GAPS intro, my body had all the symptoms of ketosis, but I was consuming plenty of carbohydrates (upwards of 200 g). Previously, I was eating many more – grains with every meal, desserts, etc. Are there other terms under which the body turns ketogenic? Perhaps by just significantly lowering carb intake without being “low-carb”? Or at the point when the body starts burning fat for energy instead of carbs?
Thanks!
Hi Marissa.
Thanks for your interesting comment. It seems like your story is not unique, that some people they feel better with the addition of starch. I do not know how to understand it. Dr. Natasha says that she has never met a single GAPS patient that needed starches, and yet your story is not rare. I have been reading about adrenal fatigue. There is a great recent post about it on the blog Animal Pharm. I recommend that you read it.
She includes many great links in that post. I have been following them and studying the issue as regards my own health. I have insomnia and was starting to get stiffness in my hands and feet when I woke in the AM. I wondered if I was overdoing the carbs on GAPS with the fruit and honey. I was not having much, but maybe too much for me. I am now eating much lower carb and timing my meals a la Dr. Jack Kruse’s leptin reset. We all have to find our own way and figure out what works. I do not know how to understand your potato cure. It seems like something Dr. Jaminet would understand.
I only know of ketosis induced by very low carb diets, not relatively low carb as compared with previous consumption. Its an absolute amount, not relative. What were the symptoms of ketosis you mention? Many times when an person starts GAPS they have a reaction from no longer consuming gluten, as well as blood sugar instability, as well as die off from starving the pathogenic microflora. It can make a person feel really sick, but its a detoxification reaction, and indicated that you are heading in the right direction. Its a temporary phase.
Thanks again for writing. You are blessed to figure out the potato cure!
Wow, what a fabulous informative and detailed comment! Thank you so much for taking the time to write about yourself and what you have discovered over time. I agree with you that each of us is our own best chemistry lab. Do you have the same reaction to fermented raw dairy as to pasteurized dairy that is not fermented? Dr. Natasha has a whole protocol for introducing fermented dairy very gradually, and has found that many people who think that they are intolerant of dairy can tolerate it well, if it is fermented and introduced very slowly, starting with dairy that is most fat like ghee and slowly introducing butter and then sour cream and then yoghurt and kefir. But a very slow titration of the amount.
I look forward to reading the websites you listed.
Thanks again for the wonderful interesting post.
I join the human race reading the insights and processes shared above.
My own experience is grounded in autism research which reveals that, at a minimum, the autistic’s brain has an opiate reponse to gluten and dairy. As it turns out, lots of people have this reaction, and me to.
I couldn’t figure out exactly how my brains opiate response to gluten/dairy impacted the rest of my body, so I researched opiate addiction. There I was, including the opiate induced SLEEP APNEA! (might look like: regular sighs, slight gasps when awake, fatigue, ADD, snoring, shallow breathing slowing to a gasp at night or even during the day… etc.)
“Sigh…” I am almost completely carbohydrate intolerant (the obligate mentioned above), and that for me there is essentially a
hierachy of carb toxicity, topped by fructose.
The silver lining: No science background, yet I can use my body as a chemistry lab and get results that I can measure, and become healthier without drugs or surgery, WOW! Here are my results:
1. When I eliminate gluten and dairy, I no longer have bone or muscle
pain, warts, skin tags, moles, less fatigue, and more.
2. My level of sleep apnea is directly proportional to my carb intake, down to NO sleep apnea if I am on a low carb diet, and have also eliminated the following: the top 5 alergens (gluten, dairy, soy, corn, nuts) no grains, no sugars including fruit and honey. (I can also
instantly stop my sleep apnea (really?) by taking the presciption drug Naltrexone, which is the drug develped in the 80″s to block the opiate response in alcoholics and addicts.) STOPS IT COLD while I get
back to right eating.
3. The severity of my ADD ( and diseased perception of the world) is
in direct proportion to my level of carb intake.
4. I was gluten and dairy free when I developed IBS anyway (eeek! )
because I ate a bag of slightly stale rice chips. I had IBS until embarking on the “Specific Carlbohydrate Diet”. How am I so fortunate, I thought, after 6 months of gradually worsening symptoms, the IBS WAS GONE IN 3 DAYS! (SCD = No grains, or sugar, a little fruit and honey)
5. I discovered that, essentially, my liver stores (overstores) glucose, and that a ketogenic diet is reversing my ageing becasue it is blowing the plaque out of my veins, and reducing my insulin resistance by drawing the excess glucose out of my liver. High protein, sat. fat
diet also pulls this glucose out of my liver when I sleep, so that I don’t have hypoglycemia during the night, something I didn’t realize was happening becasue my body had developed “hypoglycemia unawareness” quashing its symptoms. Critically, I learned that every hypoglycemic event that I have, whether or not I am aware of it, causes reversible brain damage. (Yikes!)
6.It is absolutely not possible for me to be overweight if I am on a low carb diet, and low weight by itself helps every aspect of my health.
7. I was raised on marketing strategies extolling the virtues of high carb, low saturated fats, and that if its pretty, you can eat it. But no, I obtain recovery and health on high saturated fats, high egg intake and grass fed meat, low carb.
My little daughter and I have the same food intolerances -I find myself saying to her, often, “Honey, (ironically) the mouth ( nee, the brain) loves all that pretty food, but the body crys if we eat it.”
Two of my favorite websites:
(this veternarian tells my story when he shares his):
http://www.dogtorj.com
&
http://www.drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com
Sadly, my wanting carbs is only rational in the context of opiate addiction, who would have ever guessed that for some of us, good carbs are as elusive as neutrinos?
LSTEVENS: Thank you for your story. I find it interesting that you feel best on my fruit, honey, grains. For me, when I do meat, veges, eggs, and butter only it throws my hypoglycemia into full force and I feel like I am going to die after 3 days. If I eat a piece of fruit that I can tolerate I feel better.
I really like your term: carbohydrate intolerant, as well as Phillip’s: obligate low carber.
Sadly, in my view at least, there is a real disconnect in the ancestral community re: obesity, not that this is only confined to this community! There is a kind of wishful thinking, as you alluded to, that once you get the weight off via “paleo” – and low carbing is ok for THAT – that you are essentially metabolically healed. Although for some, especially much younger and non-female persons, we do seem to see instances of this, overall, with the obese/signifcantly overweight population, I feel very strongly that this is NOT true.And, I would hasten to say, that though getting the weight off can be a great challenge indeed, and those who get it off get my great applause and support, it is the maintenance of weight loss which is the most herculean task which is why CMS funding was originally pulled for weight loss counseling as 97% of all losers of any amount of weight regain it all back, with 50% or more regaining even more. It is maintenance of weight loss that is the problem.
I read Arya Sharma’s blog alot and there is pretty clear research pointing to the big differences between a post obese person’s metabolic/digestive functioning and a never obese person’s. Our gut bacteria become wizard’s at nutrient “extraction,”our muscles much more efficient at energy use, our metabolisms roughly, if not more than 20% less than whatever our post obese weight is, and our appetites, due to well established leptin signaling and circulating levels issues in response to our weight loss are far greater than the normal appetite of a person at our now much reduced weight. This can be described thusly: I, as a weight-reduced 132lb woman have the mets of a 112lb woman and caloric needs of a 112lb woman, with the appetite of a formerly ~240lb woman.
Recently I shared some research on Paleohacks.com that looked at prefrontal “recognition” of satiety in response to a non carb-reduced meal It did not surprise me in the least that in the obese, the prefrontal areas didn’t “light-up” properly and once again we see that while the non-obese are sated and not hungry a couple of hours after the meal, the obese ARE. And my guess is that this malfunctioning is not just confined to the obese, but sometimes inborn (interesting that it involves the same areas of the brain as Attention Deficit Disorder and there are so many unidentified ADD persons among the class 3 obese who seek bariatric care!) and sometimes develops along the way in life in response to who knows what kind of food or environmental toxins or stressors, etc.
Here are some links that may interest you and other readers:
http://www.drsharma.ca/obesityblood-glucose-levels-modulate-neural-control-of-appetite.html
http://www.drsharma.ca/obesitywhy-is-it-so-hard-to-maintain-a-reduced-body-weight.html
http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-why-diet-and-exercise-is-not-a-treatment-for-obesity.html
PubMed also has a very interesting study of lean young women who are fed the usual highest carb fare for breakfasts and then intakes are monitored by researchers over a period of time. The outcome was that for a group of lean women, this led to overeating…lack of appropriate satiety. Given genetics, some of these young women will luck out and have the skinny genes. However, some won’t and this study is exciting to me because it demonstrates, prior to obesity happening, some degree of dysregulation which, if these women had been in the first study I mentioned, would likely have been observable in perhaps their prefrontal brain areas, PRIOR to them becoming overweight/obese.
I don’t have the study handy as I am not on my usual computer, but will try to find it again.
Thank you for your blog! It has already become an important place and source for me.
All that gut bacteria Dr. Natasha and you refer to is becoming quite a subject of thought for me…
Thanks for taking the time to post such a thoughtful detailed comment. I look forward to exploring the links. You highlight what I have intuitively known, that the metabolism of the obese and formerly obese is irrevocably altered, and they are thus condemned to the Sisyphean task of constant vigilance, lest they regain their weight.
Dr. Tsafrir,
I have learned that I am an obligate low-carber. For many, the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis seems very valid.
I agree that what happens to carbohydrates in the gut is of paramount importance. What I wish I could find is a detailed description of the digestive process with regards to the *saccharides (*=mono, di, oligo and poly). My simple understanding is that the simpler saccharides are digested enzymatically in the small intestine to simple sugar that enters the blood stream and that the more “complex” make it to the large intestine where they are fermented by gut bacteria producing short chain fatty acids (as a byproduct) which are absorbed into the blood stream.
However, given the wide variety of available starches, the overall process must be much more complicated than I have described. With different saccharides supporting different bacteria types and perhaps the possibility of fermentation in the small intestine with some combinations of bacteria and saccharides. Surely, this is an area that someone like Dr. Campbell-McBride has studied extensively. Have you seen a detailed description of the digestive process beyond the simple scheme I outlined?
Best Regards,
Philip Thackray
Thanks for writing, Phillip. I do not know where to refer you for a detailed description about the digestive process.
There was a fascinating new podcast on Jimmy Moore’s LLVLC Show with an expert on acid reflux, Norm Robillard, that is loosely related to your question. I found it fascinating. You might want to take a listen. It has to do with the different ways that various foods are digested. Robillard gives a designated “fermentation potential” for each food in the gut. The higher the potential, the greater the power to cause acid reflux. An example was given of Uncle Ben’s Rice vs Jasmine rice. Uncle Ben’s causes like 20 times more fermentation because of its chemical structure. I don’t know if that is a concept Norm Robillard, the author, Heart Burn Cured: The Low Carb Miracle invented, but it makes a lot of sense. If you have acid reflux it would be advisable to choose foods with a low fermentation potential.
I like your phrase obligate low-carber. I think its a description that really captures the situation for some of us. In my view as well, the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis seems valid.
Hi Judy,
A few clarifications. It is not starches per se that are protective of the gut, but glucose; this is needed for mucus production, for preservation of the intestinal barrier, and for immune function. It is possible in very low-carb diets, especially if protein intake is limited, to significantly reduce mucus production and impair the integrity of the gut mucosa and barrier.
Both starches and sugars (such as are found in honey, squash, and carrots) are possible sources of glucose. In cases of gut dysbiosis, one wants to avoid foods that feed pathogens. Both starches and sugars can do this.
Some pathogens benefit from fructose, and fructose malabsorption is very common in bowel diseases.
Many pathogens can also benefit from resistant starch, or the branched structures in starch that humans cannot digest. Starchy foods tend to be fiber rich. As such, they are often problematic in bowel disorders.
I often recommend dextrose or rice syrup, which is readily digestible to glucose only, for bowel disorders. This seems to be the safest glucose source.
There is such a diversity of pathogens in bowel diseases, that no single dietary prescription is universally safe. Zero-carb diets are potentially problematic due to glucose deficiency or ketosis that favors certain pathogens; and for any given carb source, there is a pathogen that can flourish on it.
GAPS came up in my talk in response to a question someone asked. I had recently had two people on GAPS diets report that when they added starches, in line with our recommendations, their health improved and they were able to clear lingering gut problems, including fungal infections. Of course I have no idea how faithfully they were following Dr Campbell-McBride’s recommendations; but I think their cases illustrate the points you make in your final two paragraphs. Every pathology is unique, and diets have to be tailored to individual needs.
I am not quite sure what I said, since this was extemporaneous and I haven’t watched the video, but the symptoms those two readers had were ones that tend to develop on ketogenic diets. If they were excluding fructose because it gave them gut symptoms, then their diet could easily have become ketogenic. I do not think that GAPS is ketogenic in general, but in at least those two cases its attempted application seems to have been so.
I have the utmost respect for Dr Campbell-McBride and I am well aware of the many people her diet has helped. I hope no one thinks that I was in any way denigrating her diet or her very valuable work. I was able to attend part of her talk at Wise Traditions and thought it was the most valuable talk I saw at the conference.
Best, Paul
Thanks for writing and your most interesting comments and clarifications.
I was so glad to hear that you think highly of Dr. Campbell-McBride’s work. The GAPS Practitioner’s training workshop that I attended in New York, was an absolute tour de force. I thought she was a most remarkable clinician with such a wealth of clinical experience. I was truly impressed. I am so glad to hear that you appreciated her when you heard her at Wise Traditions. What I had heard about what you said in your talk was obviously a misrepresentation of your perspective. Its like the game of telephone. I was not at the conference, but heard from someone who had heard from someone else, that you had referred to the GAPS diet as ketogenic, which is absolutely false, and that you had been somewhat disparaging of it. All not true. So, I am so glad to have all of this cleared up.
What I am most struck by, is your comment about the multitudes of varieties of microflora in the bowel, many of which, I imagine, have never even been identified, and who knows how they function. There are apparently 5-6 pounds of microflora in our gut. Dr Campbell-McBride makes the point that 90% of the DNA in our bodies is from the microflora, and only 10% from us. We are like a shell to house and carry them around. Who is running the show here? Its all very mysterious and amazing. I have the sense that the study and understanding of the impact that microflora has on our health and illness is the future of medicine in general. I believe their centrality has been vastly underestimated. I am puzzled by the frequent focus placed upon Candida, as though it could be specified, that it is that particular fungus that is causing symptoms.
I do believe you are onto something important about very low carb diets for some people. I myself, feel so much better since I am following the GAPS diet which includes fruit and honey, than when I was eating a really low carb diet for a number of years. That being said, I believe I am also somewhat insulin resistant and have a tendency to gain weight very easily, so need to find just the right balance, which is a delicate matter. Its definitely a complex situation. One interesting thing that I have noticed is that the more probiotics and fermented foods I include in my diet, the more I seem able to tolerate carbohydrates.
I also know that you are right about the sensitivity to fiber in certain bowel disorders. The standard American medical recommendation to treat constipation is to increase your fiber intake. In some individuals, this totally exacerbates the problem. It is so misguided, as are so many of the standard recommendations to treat diabetes, heart disease, acid reflux, osteoporosis, to name just a few. Its staggering and totally dangerous.
I also believe that there are certain individuals (particularly the obese or formerly obese) whose metabolism is truly damaged. They are insulin resistant and tremendously carbohydrate intolerant, and I do not think that potatoes and rice are safe for them.
But as we both agree, its all so individual. Thanks again for writing. I have heard many good things about you and your work.
I realize this is an old comment but wanted to add my two cents. I think firstly that people fail to really understand what Paul is saying (either they haven’t read his book, they’re too brainwashed into believing carbs are the devil or they just don’t grasp the concepts). As someone who ended up with severe anxiety/insomnia ‘after’ a year of vlc, following Paul’s advice to add back starch and fruit has helped. I obviously can’t say for sure that was the ‘cure’ but after 7 months of following this advice I am sleeping and my anxiety is greatly improved (I’d say I’m 85% better).
I’m involved with others who also became quite ill following vlc and I can tell you that even some diabetics who were formerly on metformin have better blood sugar control with Paul’s recommended carbs than with vlc.
Obviously, as someone who was so negatively impacted by the advice that eating vlc is safe for everyone … I have real issues with the spread of that information to others. I think it’s too bad that so much of the information is driven by those who stand to profit by proliferation of their message.
Thanks for taking the time to write. Each one of us is unique. And clearly Paul Jaminet’s suggestions have been really helpful to you and to many other people as well. I think it can’t be said often enough and with enough feeling, “One Size Does Not Fit All”. Just as diversity and tolerance is a good approach in so many domains of human life, this is I believe true for diet as well. One man’s meat is another’s poison. I don’t think the passion that some people feel about their perspective is always based on greed. Sometimes it is because they have been so personally transformed, that they feel evangelical about it. They are born again, so to speak, and can’t see beyond their enthusiasm based upon their own personal experience. Tolerance and forgiveness is called for, as sometimes they know not what they do. Maybe it sounds Pollyannaish to you. But that’s how I see it.
Very nice article.
Dr. Jaminet also doesn’t recommend safe starches for everybody. He just says that 50gms of glucose/day would be required on a life long diet for most people. There are always exceptions :-). Rice and Potatoes are safe starches in the sense that most people do not have a problem with them. And they don’t have any known toxins (potatoes without skins or green parts).
Obviously you want to avoid them if you have an issue with them. People on SCD will want to avoid them. The glucose is important not starch.
I guess his theory of safe starches hasn’t been understood by most people.
Thanks for writing. The question is safe for whom? One of the disagreements is about patients who have dysbiosis, and what is the most effective food choices to treat that condition. For most people with insulin resistance and carbohydrate intolerance, potatoes and rice would also not likely be the best choice. If someone is in good health, there does not seem to be a compelling reason to avoid them. I guess the question is, are they really beneficial or simply neutral?