GAPS Diet

*Simone*

Just wondering if anyone had heard about this GAP (Gut and Psychology) Syndrome and how going on this diet can "cure" certain conditions such as autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies etc.

The theory is that people who suffer from these conditions have unhealthy guts, but by cutting out certain food and following this rather restrictive diet for approx. 2 years you can restore the natural healthy gut bacteria, thereby "curing" or significantly reducing these problems.

I've read a lot about it online, but just wondering if anyone has any personal experiences with it.

Thanks.

Dave!

Steer clear of quackery like that mate, there is no scientific basis for treatments such as these. If there was anything to them, they'd be pursued and advocated by the hundreds of medical researchers who have spent their lives trying to understand conditions such as ASD.

This term (GAPS) seems to have been coined by someone called Dr Natasha Campbell–McBride, who is quite intent on selling you her book. One site who endorses her is http://www.healyourself.com.au/, which also endorses 'the Secret', dowsing, self-help stuff, and other such new-agey crap.

Seriously OP, steer clear. I dunno if you're investigating this because you have an autistic child, but if so, you are heading down a dangerous path. Stick with mainstream (i.e. proven) medicine. There are no miracle cures for autism unfortunately.

Maybe someone else here will be able to point you in the right direction for up-to-date information regarding autism research.

Nonoperational

I'd be very doubtful this is of any use.

*Simone*

While I appreciate your response and opinion Dave, it seems a little premature and uninformed of you to call it "crap" considering you haven't really researched it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating it either. But I think the theory makes a little bit of sense. ASD children have very poor digestion and tend to have a lot of runny noises, mucus, constipation etc., therefore this would suggest a problem with diet and intolerances/allergies. I'm not saying cutting out certain food groups will "cure" autism, I think that's a pretty strong statement. But I think it could perhaps deal with some of the behaviours/crankiness if their digestion was working better.

Vorsprung

What papers have been published that outline the positive effects of this diet?

*Simone*

Well this is the thing, I haven't seen any scientific research on this, just read personal statements and reviews online, which is why I was interested in finding out more about it.

*Simone*

*Simone* wrote: »

Well this is the thing, I haven't seen any scientific research on this, just read personal statements and reviews online, which is why I was interested in finding out more about it.

Usually when sites give you these before or instead of actual science, it's kind of a red flag.

lynnsback

I have read about the GAPS diet yes; but am not too sure of the science behind it. Then again, I haven’t read the book, so I can’t judge it.

OTOH, there is a massive linked between gluten and autoimmune disorders. Autism is not an autoimmune disorder, but since I have three autoimmune disorders, I often run into parents online who have their autistic kids on the gluten free casein free diet. They state their kids do better, BUT there is sadly no cure for autism.

If I were in your shoes, I'd take my kid off gluten anyway, but personally I am not so sure about casein, as I think calcium in dairy is very important and I am not convinced by the anti dairy lobby.

These studies might be of interest to you:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/?term=autism+%28casein+or+gluten%29

El_Dangeroso

Had a quick look for the GAPs diet there, as far as I can see it's just a gluten-free unprocessed foods diet. It may or may not improve autism, but the worst thing that could happen is the child eats a healthier diet. No one ever died of a gluten deficiency ASAIK.

Found this on a gluten free casein free diet for autism:

http://www.biomedsearch.com/nih/ScanBrit-randomised-controlled-single-blind/20406576.html

<Before someone jumps on me I know it wasn't controlled and that previous studies found no improvement but they were very small studies and might have not included the subset of children affect by ASD that respond to dietary therapy>

So it seems that it works to improve some kids, but not the majority, and definitely not a cure. This tallies with other research that measured leaky gut in children with autism and their families and found 32% of children with autism had leaky gut compared to <1% of controls. So a substantial subset might benefit from a gluten free casein free diet.

Having said that I think it would be worth engaging in some n=1 experimentation given that the side-effects are non-existent. Engage the help of a knowledgeable dietician too to ensure adequate nutrition, especially since autistic children tend to be much pickier eaters.

El_Dangeroso

lynnsback wrote: »

Autism is not an autoimmune disorder

There is evidence to suggest autism actually might be an auto-immune disorder:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15546805

Vorsprung

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

There is evidence to suggest autism actually might be an auto-immune disorder:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15546805

Your Link wrote:

However, to date, the evidence for involvement of the immune system in autism has been inconclusive

.

El_Dangeroso

Sheesh, I didn't say CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. I said 'some' evidence. What part of that statement is incorrect?

But y'know, feel free to ignore the actual content of what I was saying and nitpick semantics.

tallaght01

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Sheesh, I didn't say CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. I said 'some' evidence. What part of that statement is incorrect?

But y'know, feel free to ignore the actual content of what I was saying and nitpick semantics.

No you didn't.

El_Dangeroso

tallaght01 wrote: »

No you didn't.

Oh for god sake, 'evidence to suggest' can be construed as some evidence.

Now would you like to get back on topic and actually address the content of my post, y'know, the point of this thread?

chanste

Just throwing in my two cents on the original post...

I have great sympathy for anyone who suffers from a chronic illness or disorder which affects themselves and the people around them, but I would have to say I agree with the sentiment that if there really was something to this diet that it would be picking up some momentum in mainstream medicine. However I can point to no evidence which disproves it either.

What is a fact though, is that there are people out there who are very good at marketing things as being far more useful than they are, and the reason it works (in my opinion) is that their claims can really strike a chord with the needs of someone in a real difficulty, whether it is someone who'd love to lose weight, or a lonely person looking for a relationship, or (as it seems in this case) people with a chronic illness who hope a new cure will be found.

As someone has already said the diet probably won't do any harm, but I actually feel quite strongly that people who market "hope" without sufficient evidence should be boycotted. If they really cared they could divert profits to research leading to actual proof of their concepts. But the chance of that happening is pretty much non existant. I wish you or whoever the diet is for all the best though.

El_Dangeroso

Just to clarify, the diet is actually outlined for free on the website without ever buying the book, so you don't actually have to hand over money.

On the subject of generating hope, surely (expensive) medication that may or may not work can do the exact same thing?

There is research ongoing into this area and they are now recognising that there may be specific subtypes of children with autism that do respond to this therapy. The gluten-free diet has been shown in controlled trials to help improve some children in autism's symptoms, only a subset and as I said, not a cure by a long shot. But given the fact that it is a harmless intervention I would recommend giving it a try. If you were a parent of a child that improved using the diet I don't think you'd care if it were 'mainstream' (whatever that means) or not. The worst thing that could happen is the child eats a healthy, unprocessed food diet. There is nothing at all to lose by just trying it.

*Simone*

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Fortunetly I am not a parent of a child with autism, but I do work in this field and know a child who is on this diet, so that's why I was interested in finding out more about it.

I believe that the parent of the child who is on this diet thinks that it is making a difference, that the behaviours have reduced significantly, as well as opposition and general mood. But that could be down to the child's ongoing education/home tuition also, so it's really hard to know.

I've definetely experienced a lot of ASD children with poor digestion, constipation, flatulence, runny noses, excess mucus, so there is definetely an arguement for dietry issues as a possible cause/link.

AFAIK, the woman who wrote this book says she 'was' a parent of an autistic child, yet she claims that her daughter is now indistinguishable from other normal, healthy children, after changing her diet.

I wonder why there's been no scientific studies to date...

El_Dangeroso

There have actually been several, with mixed results. Some respond to it and some don't. That's why I think it is worth a try with the monitoring of a doctor.

*Simone*

Could you link some of those articles? Thanks.

Palmyra

Simone,
Did you get any further with this. Is it used in Dublin or Ireland at all?
I'm interested to hear from someone who has gone through with it.
Pat.

Arbie

Doctors and dietitians try to use diet all the time to help patients lose weight, prevent hypertension, improve diabetic control, etc. If the GAPS diet worked then healthcare providers would be advocating it.

The reason they are not is that the GAPS diet has not been scientifically validated and is not endorsed by any professional medical or scientific bodies. It is just one of a long list of pseudoscientific schemes marketed at people who are desperate for treatment.

It was invented by 1 doctor who based it on something called SCD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_carbohydrate_diet. SCD itself was invented by 1 doctor and was not proven beneficial - in fact it may well cause nutritional deficits. The days of 1 person discovering a revolutionary medical treatment are dwindling - these things are complex and require teams of researchers and many years of rigorous experimentation before they can be relied on.

Someone said above that there is nothing to disprove GAPS, but that is the opposite to what is required - it is the person making the claim who has to provide the proof.

There was a good article written about this on Science-Based Medicine a few years ago https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/gaps-diet/ It's interesting to note that the Wikipedia article on GAPS has been deleted twice - the consensus was it was nonsense.

I could not find a single article on PubMed, nothing in any indexed journals, and just 1 article in an obscure New Zealand journal. GAPS is just not credible and the perceived popularity of the GAPS diet is based solely on testimonials. It is totally unethical for people to promote an unproven medical claim.

Even a young and healthy person should not follow a restrictive diet without supervision by a doctor and dietitian. For anyone with a medical problem to follow the GAPS diet could be dangerous.