Healing My Autoimmune Disease with Diet ~ GAPS snack recipes

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[desireelovell]

When my youngest child was in High School I was asked to run the school canteen. With the principals permission, I revamped the menu. Originally, the whole school had sport and exercise after lunch on Wednesday (The only day they had canteen), because the kids couldn't focus on their work. Once I changed the menu, the kids were able to focus and the teachers took advantage of this to teach them new things whilst they were focused. Parents also reported that their children were better behaved on Wednesday and more focused when it came to homework. I believe diet can definitely affect our health and behaviour.

[heatherw.]

I havent watched this yet, but i have had the most excruciating autoimmune illness ever since getting a flu shot with the adjuvent squalene bavk in 2019. It caused inflammatory arthritis in my whole body, even my eyes and lungs swell. I have had to take steoids, hydroxychloroquine, and celebrex daily as well as painkillers to function, and even then, i was having constant flare ups and daily pain. Recently however, i decided to fast sweets for spiritual reasons, and 2 days into that i also got a stomach flu. So for about a week and 3 days, i ate no processed foods, and only had a small amount of homemade chicken stew once a day. The end result has been that all my immune disease symptoms disappeared! I couldnt believe it! Ive returned to trying to eat regular meals at supper, that are not processed or fast food, and absolutely no sweets, and my illness has remained in remission (which it has NEVER been, for weeks. So far so good. I hope i can get even more guidance from this video. Going to watch right now. 😊

[nolahomesteading]

I was diagnosed with an extreme case of Candida last year. My dietitian suggested a sugar free, dairy free and grain free diet. I lasted 6 weeks and had heaps of benefits, wasn’t hungry, lost 20 pounds, and had energy, and my inflammation in my body had really improved. The problem was it was so very expensive to eat that way. We have 7 kids too and we homeschool. Only 1 income and the cost of food had just started to go up at that time. We just couldn’t afford a diet high in proteins and vegetables! Isn’t that a shame! The modern system doesn’t allow the suburban masses doesn’t leave many people with a way to provide healthy food for their families.

BUT…I have to thank you so much for this video though! I’ve been feeling a renewed pull toward doing this way of eating. I didn’t know it was called GAPS 🤪 But I’m realizing that the Lord has been paving the road for me to do this…

We live in a suburb and live in a neighborhood with lots of trees and semi high standards about yards and gardens and such, so my ability to grow food is limited. We used all our tax money last year to have 3 large pines removed to open up a sunny patch in our backyard and added 4 large 4’x16’ garden beds (in addition to our 5- 4’x12’ raised beds in our front yard).

We built a compost bin system and maintain it weekly. We started raising rabbits when someone from church offered us a mating pair for free (we currently only use them for the abundance of free manure 🙌🏻)

I do order bulk foods from Azure Standard occasionally as the budget allows and have built up a small food pantry. I shop meat sales and buy in bulk when I can. One of my kids godparents has been raising cows for 4 years and butchered his first steer last winter and shared half with us at a extreme discount. He just started raising a hog for us too.

I received a canner from my mother for Mother’s Day last year and a dear friend gave us the 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator about 10 years ago so I dry fruit and veggies so nothing goes bad.

And low and behold someone gave us 3 chickens when they heard my daughter joined the new 4-H group in our city and a neighbor donated scrap wood and materials to give us a head start on a coop. We also got 9 baby chicks for the other kiddos to start raising and we’re all learning so much!

I’ve been struggling to get recommitted to the process of a GAPS diet, but your video has given me HOPE. I see that God has been slowly providing all these little and BIG things to make it possible even in the middle of major financial struggles. This has all been several years in the making, but I see how a framework has been laid for me to make my health a priority and find true healing ❤️‍🩹

Your recipes look delicious and I am eager to try them. Thanks for sharing your story! Prayers appreciated! I’d love more content about GAPS diet ideas please ☺️

[debwiley]

Good morning Jessica. As a mother of 40 year old twins on the spectrum, I will agree that often food choices impact behavioral outcomes. For instance, my sons could not drink soda because it would cause them to become violent. It took a long time before I figured that one out! As a special educator who works in the autism community, I would caution that diet cannot cure autism, because it is a neurological condition which affects the way brain synapses connect to one another. You can effect changes in behavior, but not "cure" a condition that is hard wired into the brain. As a human who has experienced gut health issues for most of my adult life, when I cut out fast food (I simply couldn't afford it) and processed commercial bread products, my gut health has 90% cured itself. Yesterday my nephew and I went out for food due to a power outage (I have an electric stove) and we were hungry. I paid the price most of the evening because I ate french fries. The grease will get me every time! Thank you for an informative description of how this process works. Eating mostly homemade, mostly unprocessed foods has done a lot to heal a condition I thought would continue until I died.

[jeannamaynard]

I had a friend about 12 years ago with Chron's disease that took her own life. She was sooo disheartened by the constant roller coaster of meds, doctors, symptoms, hospitalizations, and social interruptions that she felt she had no other choice. Thank you so much for your candor, sharing, and all the great food suggestions.

[spicychickpea]

I can relate to this SO much! I did keto gaps for severe depression, healed DEEPLY, but once i was healed, my cravings came back with a vengeance. We're all human, we're gonna have cravings for tasty food. Now I just try to do keto gaps as often as i can, as much as i can, if i need healing. I'd really not be happy if i forced myself to do it forever. Quitting the diet was the hardest decision ever as i didnt wanna let go of how great i was feeling, but when you're desperate to heal, you'd do anything for it!!❤

[megrob]

I'm so in awe of you finding an answer beyond western medicine. There is another YT family I follow that was able to help their son heal from a debilitating neurological disease by modifying their diet and the entire family follows the diet in support of their son. It is amazing the healing power of food, as well as finding out how some foods are harmful.

[CherieNorquay]

I had a blood test thru a registered dietitian and discovered I was highly reactive to almonds, yeast, and several other items that were a big part of my healthy diet. Once I removed all the foods that triggered my body, all my symptoms went away. The thing I discovered is that everybody is different. It's too bad I had to seek an independent dietitian outside of the medical system and pay for the test myself. But it was so so worth it. It should be accessible to everyone. Diet is key

[kittyrichards]

My daughter once said to me, "It just makes sense that what we put into our bodies, affects how our bodies feel."

[tolohuexochitl]

Wow. I was in tears hearing this. I had a different type of autoimmune disease and know what it is to hit rock bottom. Praise God for the healing for yourself and your son!

[ab]

I am healing my chronic atopic dermatitis and was told that I'd rely off of hormonal topical steriod for the rest of my life. I had to go through painful withdrawal symptoms once I ceased used. My body couldn't provide it's own regulating hormones after 8 years of steroid use... I have to now eat only meat, low salicylate vegetables and fruits, no gluten/wheat, and small amounts of maple surup. My quality of life gas gone from aching, itchy, unrested, inflammation from head to toe, and now I can live daily without being reminded of my extreme pain, and live daily with no artifical hormones! There's are more autoimmune conditions than cancer in the USA. We all should heal from the inside, out. I plan to go-to school and study nutrition to specialize in kids with autism. I relate and appreciate your story immensely.

[AlexandraAndStuff]

Thanks to the internet we can now see how so much of what we've been told for years, is completely wrong. There are countless testimonies of people curing (or improving) all kinds of issues with diet alone, and it's astonishing how doctors and nurses have ZERO KNOWLEDGE about diet. It's all wrong. I'm so glad we have access to this vast knowledge outside of the standard solutions.

[claudialeger]

When we learn to trust our ‘gut’/ourselves, doors open. God’s hand guides us to go within, to listen, to thrive. So happy you found the answers for you and your family. I found no sugar, no starch, no carbs keeps me at my best. Doctors frown-I feel great. LOL.

[dlrichbourg]

What a blessing for you to share your testimony of your journey on Gabriel and your health. Everyone can benefit from knowing how to get our guts healthy and others benefit who have complicated issues such as crohns without the years and scary decisions you navigated. Thank you for taking time to do this for us.

[wallowinthehallows]

What an incredible Mother, on a remarkable healing journey with her son. I’m currently on Phase 3 of a more restricted GAPS diet called REIGNS and it’s curing my autoimmune Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. This journey is hard—but a lifetime of no more symptoms is worth it! Thank you for sharing your story. ❤

[crowley_crazy]

I was on my couch almost everyday sick and in full body pain every single day for the last year, trying to homeschool my kids from my bed. I have ehlers danlos syndrome and POTS. MY CARDIOLOGIST said to be strict keto, closer to carnivore, with other changes as well (no dairy, high salt, no fermented foods) 6 weeks later I have no pain, flares are gone, I sleep like a baby and my energy is back. I'm so thankful for my Dr and his help and for not pushing meds.

[mountaincreekhomestead]

I have Chronic Fibromyalgia and Raynaud's disease it's been 10 years now. I am 💯% med free since "2015". Some days are unbearable and I'm too young for disability so I must struggle to work. Meds makes me worse and added tons of awful side effects. I've tried every diet but eating garden fresh foods helps the most and staying away from nightshades. May God heal us all❤
Definitely stay away from fast foods and GMOS⚠️

[WhyDoIHaveToHaveAHandle]

I threw up everyday for 10 years and had horrible debilitating migraines. Doctors told me nothing was physically wrong with me and had me taking nausea medication everyday. I did the keto diet which helped to reset my gut and now I don't throw up and I don't get migraines. It's sad how undereducated people are about the effect their diet has on their body.

[stephaniegraf]

I am so excited to watch this! I have hashimotos, and today is the first day I'm starting a new way of eating to hopefully improve my condition. Great timing! Thanks!

[ajl]

Thank you for sharing Jessica. I too was diagnosed with Crohn's about 10 years ago. Lots of tests, meds and elimination diet advice with marginal success and high costs. I never tried gaps, but for me eliminating dairy and proccessed foods was the key. I still take maintenance drugs, because I'm afraid not too, but worry about what the effects of them will be long term. Everyone's personal journey is different and I hope everyone struggling finds their own path the healing.