I'm on Day 4

As per usual, it's been a while since I last blogged. That's how I roll apparently.

Well, since the last time I blogged there isn't anything terribly new and exciting. My psoriasis never really went into full remission except for the week I was on a Bermudan cruise, go figure. Since the cruise (in May) I started to develop more food sensitivities, and after messing around with avoiding salicylates (a phenol found in 80% of all foods, and the compound that makes food good). I had some slight success, but never any full remission. So, after doing some research and reading/listening to some interviews with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome, I've decided to go on the GAPs protocol.

The reason for this decision is because no matter what restrictive diet I could put myself on, I would eventually have less and less food that I could eat. This would be the case because at the root of all my problems is a leaky gut and bad gut flora. The GAPs protocol is designed to heal the gut, and GI tract.

So, there's a part of the GAPs diet that is called the GAPs Introduction Diet. It really helps to speed up the healing in the gut. This is because the diet is pretty restrictive, but it doesn't last indefinitely. I am currently on Phase 3 of the Introduction diet. I have been on this diet for 4 days. I'm not going to lie. It has been really really hard. I thought "oh soup stock, boiled meat, I can do that." I had no idea how I would be feeling by doing this. I stayed on Phase one for 3 days. That was really hard. I essentially had chicken soup, boiled cauliflower, and stock. I had to deviate from the diet by using coconut oil in my soup to help to satisfy my hunger. The only fat that's allowed in the first few phases is duck fat, but since we are a one car family, I had to do what I had to do.

The other awesome mistake I've made is started probiotics on day one of Phase one. Apparently from what I've read since then, you are supposed to start probiotics on Phase four to help control the die off. Well, since I didn't do that, I'm having some die off. With all the die off, I do see some improvement in the psoriasis on my knee and my hand.

I can honestly say, that getting to Phase three really makes this introductory diet do able. Below is the summary of what you can eat in the different phases. As you'll see, the first two phases are pretty depressing, but once I was able to start having scrambled eggs and trying out the "pancakes" (I actually made them into muffins b/c it was easier), this has become much more doable, and I feel a lot more optimistic.

You can eat on stage 1:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, leeks
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled meat
• Sea salt,
• 1-2 teaspoons a day of sauerkraut juice
Stage 2
You can eat on Stage 2:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled GAPS-legal vegetables (no starchy root vegetables)
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled meat
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Fermented vegetables; sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
Stage 3
You can eat on Stage 3:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled GAPS-legal vegetables (no starchy root vegetables)
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled meat
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
Stage 4
You can eat on Stage 4:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled GAPS-legal vegetables (no starchy root vegetables)
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled, roasted, or grilled meat (not burned)
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Cold pressed olive oil
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
• Freshly pressed juices, start with a few tablespoons of carrot juice
• Bread made with nut flour, eggs, squash, tolerated fat, salt
You can eat on Stage 5:
• Meat or fish stock
• Raw legal vegetables, peeled
• Squash, winter and summer
• Peeled, cooked apple, pureed
• Honey, up to a couple tablespoons a day
• Boiled, roasted, or grilled meat (not burned)
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Cold pressed olive oil
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
• Freshly pressed juices, carrot, mint, cabbage, lettuce, apple, pineapple, mango
• Bread made with nut flour, eggs, squash, tolerated fat, salt
Stage 6
You can eat on Stage 6:
• Meat or fish stock
• Raw legal vegetables, peeled
• Squash, winter and summer
• Peeled, raw apple
• Other fruits, raw, introduce slowly
• Honey, up to a couple tablespoons a day
• Boiled, roasted, or grilled meat (not burned)
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Cold pressed olive oil
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
• Freshly pressed juices, carrot, mint, cabbage, lettuce, apple, pineapple, mango
• Bread made with nut flour, eggs, squash, tolerated fat, salt- use dates and dried fruit to sweeten.