I’ve been studying the connection between gut & brain health for a long time. Technically called the enteric nervous system, this second brain controls the gut function independently of the brain. There is a significant amount of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin produced in the gut. Intestinal inflammation can lower serotonin production, exacerbating depression and even contributing to constipation. That’s why anti-depressants (SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) can cause digestive upset or side effects.
Because of this connection between gut and brain health, it only makes sense that healing the gut can improve certain mood disorders or neural conditions. The GAPS diet is similar to Elaine Gottschall’s Specific Carbohydrate Diet which eliminates certain complex carbs (like grains, starches) because they are not easy to digest and actually feed the harmful bacteria in the gut. The addition of so many processed grain based foods into our food supply has brought us to a place where digestive related illness is on the rise. And depression and mood related disorders too! We want to get back to a place of absorbing easily digestable nutrients in food and reversing the malabsorption that occurs as a result of our highly processed Standard American Diet with too many grains and complex carbs that aren’t easily digestable.
This stuff can get pretty (needlessly) complicated with lists of foods on a do and don’t list. The GAPS diet–which is appropriate not only for the mood disorders but also to heal the digestive tract in the case of Crohn’s, IBS, colitis, celiac, etc, and even chronic constipation, bloating, gas, and other digestive concerns–has you go through an introductory phase and then introduce other foods over time. It’s basically a more complicated version of the diet I preach: eggs, meats and fish, shellfish, fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds, garlic and olive oil. Plenty of broth and even raw egg yolks from free range chickens.
Avoid these foods: sugar, sweeteners, aspartame and artificial crap, desserts and sweets, booze, processed foods, grains (rice, corn, rye, oats, wheat and anything made of wheat flour (breads, pasta, biscuits, cakes and anything from the bakery, anything with bread crumbs or batter), buckwheat, quinoa, millet, couscous, spelt, semolina, tapioca, etc), breakfast cereals, starchy vegetables and anything made out of them (potato, parsnips, yams, Jerusalem artichoke and sweet potato), milk, fruit juice, soy, coffee, beans.
This type of diet will reduce intestinal inflammation (and brain inflammation) and help heal leaky gut while also boosting good gut flora. Win-win! One also must take probiotics and use broths and fermented cod liver oil for healing. I recommend this type of plan HIGHLY to all my clients with digestive concerns.
Here’s an example of a healing broth recipe to use in conjunction with the diet, at least twice daily digestive repair (edited from GAPS diet book):
broth is very healing for the digestive tract
“Chicken stock is particularly gentle on the stomach. To make good meat stock you need joints, bones, a piece of meat on the bone, a whole chicken, and giblets from chicken if possible. It is essential to use bones and joints, as they provide the healing substances like gelatin, but not so much the muscle meats. You can use the bones from a chicken you’ve roasted yourself, or ask the butcher to cut in half the large tubular bones, so you can get the bone marrow out of them after cooking. (ED NOTE: you can also make bone broth using other types of animal bones from the butcher. I’ll share that recipe another time. Same benefits) Put the bones, joints and meats into a large pan and fill it up with filtered water, add unrefined sea salt and sea vegetables (kelp, kombu, wakame, dulse: find at Whole Foods or natural food grocery) to your taste at the beginning of cooking and about a teaspoon of black peppercorns, roughly crushed. Bring to boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for 2.5 – 3 hours. You could do this in the crockpot too on low for several hours. The gelatinous soft tissues around the bones and the bone marrow provide some of the best healing remedies for the gut lining and the immune system. Consume a cup with every meal. The stock will keep well in the fridge for at least 7 days or it can be frozen. Do not use microwaves for warming up the stock; use conventional stove (microwaves destroy nutrients). It is very important to consume all the fat in the stock, as these fats are essential for the healing process. When cold, the fat/gelatin will solidify on the top. Just spoon out a portion and heat and sip. Take this with a probiotic, or add a little juice from sauerkraut or cultured veggies to the stock before you drink.”
Read more:
GAPS Diet: Gut & Psychology Syndrome, by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
http://www.gutandpsychologysyndrome.com/
Breaking the Vicious Cycle, by Elaine Gottschall
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/index.htm
2 Comments
Thank you for the interesting article about linking the gut with the brain. The only part that didn’t seem right to me was the reccommendation of eating meat and eggs. Meat, dairy and eggs are inflammatory and very difficult to digest. I also believe that small amounts of grains such as quinoa , spelt, small amounts of brown or wild rice, etc. are good for you. It’s the processed foods, white flour, sugar, etc. that needs to be eliminated from everyones diet to be as healthy as can be. Vegtables (especially, big green leafy ones) should be the top of the list as to WHAT to eat the most of . I would be interested in why you are recommended meat for people with digestive disorders? Thank you, Lia Venet
Great question. I believe there is a lot of misunderstanding around which foods are inflammatory. Yes, meat can be inflammatory if one is choosing factory farmed, grain fed, conventional meat over grass fed/organic. The omega 3 to 6 ratio in conventional meat is altered and thus higher in the inflammatory omega 6s and lower in omega 3s. the grass fed/free range/pastured meats have more anti-inflammatory omega 3 which is difficult to get from vegetarian diet. and interestingly, it’s the grains that can be inflammatory and may worsen digestive issues. grains are covered in a stick protein called lectin that the body has a hard time breaking down. Those with digestive issues will have an even harder time with grains bc they are likely not producing sufficient stomach acid to help break down food. The lectin and inability to fully digest the grains increases inflammation. Here’s a great link explaining it:
http://undergroundwellness.com/hatin-on-grains/
If you are going to consume grains, always soak them overnight to increase digestability. Traditionally prepared grains were soaked and fermented to break down the undigestable components. Best foods for inflammation = meat, fish, eggs, lots of vegetables and lots of good fats and omega 3s!