We are only just beginning to really understand the complex and powerful impact of probiotics for human health. There is also a lot of misinformation out there about probiotics, as well as complete ignorance/lack of education. So let’s try to better understand the role of probiotics and how to choose quality brands.

Benefits of Probiotic Bacteria:

•    help us digest lactose – minimize or eliminate lactose intolerance
•    digest proteins to free amino acids – aid in protein digestion
•    balance intestinal pH or lower the colon pH
•    improve or prevent irritable bowel syndrome
•    stop diarrhea and treat diarrhea from antibiotics, as well as prevent infection by producing antibiotic    and anti fungal substances.
•    regulate peristalsis, increase and improve bowel transit time
•    reduce intestinal inflammation and protect our intestinal walls
•    protect gums & teeth
•    manufacture vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 & K
•    manufacture essential fatty acids and short chain fatty acids (about 5-10 percent of them)
•    convert flavonoids to usable forms
•    increase absorption of minerals
•    microbes produce end stage enzymes
•    prevent food poisoning
•    prevent and alleviate eczema, asthma and allergies
•    neutralize toxins, break down and prevent synthesis of bacterial toxins
•    protect and modulate autoimmune diseases
•    support healthy blood pressure levels
•    trigger hormones – break down and rebuild
•    promote optimal growth, healthy metabolism and weight
•    break down bile acids
•    normalize serum cholesterol and triglycerides

We have approximately  3-4 pounds of bacteria living inside each and every one of us.

After we are born, it is our responsibility to maintain our own inner ecology. Generally, microbes can bounce back on their own, but our composition will never be the same once we’ve encountered antibiotics, birth control, excess sugars etc. Just one or two courses can upset your inner eco-system for life. Anti-biotics destroy ALL forms of bacteria – they are indiscriminate. Yeasts and fungus can then dominate the inner environment. No antibiotic kills a yeast or fungus. So this can really compromise your intestines and immune function.

We must replenish the probiotics , or beneficial microorganisms in our bodies throughout life. Simply because we have many things that compete with or deplete the good bacteria inside us.  Our colon has a pH that is slightly acidic – this helps the probiotics to multiply. Diet plays a major role in supporting healthy gut flora. Certain nutrients are required, such as riboflavin, niacin, pantothenate, pyridoxine and more. Candida cannot thrive if the colon pH is correct, slightly acid between 5.3 and 5.8. This acid pH is maintained as a result of the lactic acid secreted by the good gut flora (acidophilus). When acidophilus is predominate in the colon and a person’s nutrition is adequate candida will not be able to take hold in the system. There can only be disease where there is a medium.

It takes prebiotics, transient probiotics and native strains of probiotics to get a full spectrum supplemental approach. To do this with food, you’d want to be consuming prebiotic rich foods such as; green & black teas with phenols, fresh herbs and spices, legumes and beans (deeper colored), red wine (has the phenols, organic), dark chocolate or cacao (not processed), soluble fiber; friendly gut bugs thrive on it, collect toxins to be flushed out with the stool (no need for a supplement though – not insoluble fiber) & fruits, vegetables (especially garlic and onions). Then you want to get a variety of strains of transient (just passing through) probiotics through fermented foods such as; sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, milk kefir, natto, kombucha, water kefir and pickles (as well as other brine fermented vegetables). Lastly, you want to obtain some of the native soil based strains of probiotics and you can get those from healthy soil, air and water. Your best bet is to grow your own garden in rich soil and not worry about every speck of dirt getting rinsed off your produce. Also get your hands and feed into that healthy soil. Compost. Or, if you can’t garden join a CSA or buy from your local farmer’s market from farms that grow organically (I promise you there will be some dirt still clinging to your produce).

In case you are not able to ferment your own foods or grow a garden, and are perhaps experiencing moderate health issues, supplementation will be necessary. Supplementation will be imperative if you’ve gone through more than 1-2 rounds of antibiotics in your entire lifetime. Let’s touch on my suggestions for supplementation.

Supplementing with Probiotics

Look for probiotics that contain Lactobacillus acidophilus plus Bifidobacteria strains. There are many more, and there may be times when you want to use specific strains for a specific purpose. One example would be with chronic diarrhea – you could use Saccharomyces boulardii by itself to put out that ‘fire’ so to speak. Then make sure to add in a more broad spectrum probiotic supplementation approach. Look for refrigerated products- for the most part these will be the most viable. When having probiotics shipped they can retain their potency out of refrigeration for a couple days or even weeks. Freeze dried products are also a good option. There are SOME viable products out there that can be stored at room temperature.

Maintenance dose, for improved health or mild health conditions; anywhere from 3 billion per day up to 25 billion per day.  Everyone will be different as to what their body needs specifically. For severe health conditions, 30 billion plus per day is a good start. After antibiotic treatment: 30-100 billion per day. Studies on people with ulcerative colitis have found dosages of more than 2 trillion per day to be of benefit. Start low and slow to allow your body to adjust. It is possible to experience gas, bloating, etc while you adjust the first few days to week. If your symptoms get worse – stop taking the probiotics -this is a die-off due to the pathogenic disease producing bacteria and fungus -they release chemicals as they are killed off that can really aggravate one’s symptoms. Stop and re-start with very small amounts to avoid the die off.

My personal recommendation after having worked with clients on introducing probiotics would be to start a high quality probiotic if you are working on improving your health conditions and slowly work up to a dose that starts to give your body the results it needs most. Hang out on that dose for a short time when you have the consistent results you need then back down slowly to a maintenance dose. This will look different for everyone.

Check out ConsumerLab.com to find studies done on certain probiotic supplements.

Brands I recommend:

There are numerous probiotic supplements on the market, too numerous for me to review every single one to determine if they are good quality or not. Here are a few that I’ve worked with or have been recommended are good by others that I trust or by some research.

•    Biotics Bio-Doph 7 Plus

•    Biotics Saccharomyces Boulardii (great for traveler’s diarrhea and diarrhea in general, especially in those with IBS or Crohns disease)

•    Bio-Kult – recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride for the GAPS protocol.

•    Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 Billion – has 10 different strains.

•    BioTrust Pro-X 10 – contains 7 strains, is micro-encapsulated to survive stomach acid and reach the gut. (not necessarily a good thing if you need the bacteria in the stomach, but can have it’s benefits).

•    Custom Probiotics- high quality probiotics with many different blends as well as individual strains (currently what my family is using as well as their yogurt starter 2). Spend some time on this site reading all the resources. Call in to talk more with Harry about what strains you should be taking.

•    Florastore- made of live freeze dried yeast cells, saccharomyces boulardii. (also found in kombucha, and kefir, 1 to 1 ratio of bacteria and yeasts) these cells clear the body within 5-7 days. Transient form

•    VSL #3- megadose transient based medical food probiotic, 450 billion per packet.
For severe health conditions. Please note it does contain cornstarch and maltose. Mix with cold water or food. Up to 8 packets per day can be take for severe health conditions. Capsules in lower doses are also available.

•    Ultra Dophilus, Ultra Bifidus, Ultraflora Plus (with colostrum) from Metagenics. You can get these through physicians only.

Brands of Soil Based Organisms:

BioKult – mostly transient, but it does have bacillus in it. This is a safe slow detox approach.

Prescript Assist – 100% native, prebiotic & probiotic (only one out there like this)
Start on half a capsule, wait 3 days to see if there is a reaction. Then add 1, then 2 and so on. In a base of carbon which is a bowel detoxifier. Humic and fulvic acids as well (prebiotics). Best option we know of on the market.

Theralac – gel that protects the bacteria as they pass through the acid stomach into the intestines at full strength. (good maintenance) Has transient and native microbes in it, 20 billion colony forming units at the time of consumption. Good for mild or moderate health condition dose. Decent option.

Why take probiotics in the first place?
•    antibiotics in food and water
•    birth control pill (substances in pill that change the pH of the gut) This interupts our feedback loop.     Digestion is a system of hormone messages that can be disrupted by taking exogenous hormones.
•    hormones- same as above
•    pharmaceutical drugs
•    too much sugar (changes body pH)
•    chlorine in water, bacteria/toxins in water
•    BPA from cans/plastic – probiotics bind with them in the gut to help remove from the body

It’s  a good idea to keep your gut guessing by taking a variety of probiotics and strains. Rotate through different brands/strains of  probiotics to constantly introduce different strains to the immune system. Use foods first and supplements additionally. A good probiotic should have as many different strains/species of beneficial bacteria as possible. The human gut contains hundreds of known species of probiotic bacteria that have different strengths and weaknesses. If we have a mixture of them then we have a better chance of deriving maximum benefit.

Affiliate links are used where appropriate, which allow me to earn a small commission on your sale. This does not affect your price at all and is a cost of doing business for the affiliate companies. The monies earned from those commissions are like a tip at a restaurant and help support the maintenance of the website and free content. Shop on Amazon?  There’s a handy Amazon.com search box over in the right-hand side bar you can click through to shop on Amazon. You’ll get the very same prices, plus a portion of what you spend will support this site. Thank you!

Lydia Joy Shatney is a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association. Additionally, she is the chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation in Delaware County, Pa. (Find the group here on Facebook). Lydia is also a member of the Nourished Living Network. Lydia founded Divine Health From The Inside Out in March of 2010. You can find Lydia on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest. Sign up for the Divine Health From The Inside Out newsletter! Pick up a copy of Lydia’s eBook; ‘Divine Dinners: Gluten-Free, Nourishing, Family-Friendly Meals’.

Lydia offers specialized step by step counseling to transform your health. Personalized consultations to suit your specific needs are offered via phone or in person. Lydia offers a variety of packages offered to suit your individual needs. Contact Lydia today to get started as well as to learn more about what she has to offer you!

Booch is my term of endearment for kombucha, in case you were saying; ‘What is booch?’ My my whole family  loves the booch. We go through a lot of it, and we try a lot of different flavor combinations. Sour date booch is a flavor we fell in love with this winter when I let the booch go a bit too long. It was quite sour, but not yet turned into vinegar. Two of the kids actually like the sour booch just fine, but 2 did not so much love it. I just so happened to have some dates in the fridge and decided to slice them up and add them to the bottled sour kombucha to help sweeten it up a touch. Thus, my sour date booch was born.

If you are new to brewing kombucha and want to get started – check out Kombucha Kamp. They have everything you need to get started. Plus there are tons of videos and tips on the site. Click the image below.

Resources for Brewing

Affiliate links are used where appropriate, which allow me to earn a small commission on your sale. This does not affect your price at all and is a cost of doing business for the affiliate companies. The monies earned from those commissions are like a tip at a restaurant and help support the maintenance of the website and free content. Shop on Amazon?  There’s a handy Amazon.com search box over in the right-hand side bar you can click through to shop on Amazon. You’ll get the very same prices, plus a portion of what you spend will support this site. Thank you!

Lydia Joy Shatney is a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association. Additionally, she is the chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation in Delaware County, Pa. (Find the group here on Facebook). Lydia is also a member of the Nourished Living Network. Lydia founded Divine Health From The Inside Out in March of 2010. You can find Lydia on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest. Sign up for the Divine Health From The Inside Out newsletter! Pick up a copy of Lydia’s eBook; ‘Divine Dinners: Gluten-Free, Nourishing, Family-Friendly Meals’.

Lydia offers specialized step by step counseling to transform your health. Personalized consultations to suit your specific needs are offered via phone or in person. Lydia offers a variety of packages offered to suit your individual needs. Contact Lydia today to get started as well as to learn more about what she has to offer you!

I’m excited to announce that I’ve begun a new podcast and that you should expect to see weekly podcasts from me from here on out! Yay, good news right?! Today’s podcast is an interview with Pauli Halstead, author of ‘Primal Cuisine: Cooking For The Paleo Diet’. Pauli has a pretty cool story to share as to what led to her writing this book. I hope you will take the time to listen. We talk about the introduction portion of her book and how she covers things like gluten, getting tested, A1 & A2 milk, GMO’s and more. She does a wonderful job of teaching some of the most important issues with our current food supply. I told her that her book will be one I recommend to ALL of my clients! The recipes are right up my alley too! More on that in a bit, for now enjoy the podcast!

Both Pauli and I were deeply impacted by reading Nora’s book; ‘Primal Body-Primal Mind’. She went on to become a client of Nora’s and I went on to become a nutritional therapist because of Nora’s impact on me through her book. Kindred spirits, wouldn’t you say?

You can find Pauli’s site, Primal Cuisine-Cooking for the Paleo Diet as well as find Primal Cuisine – Cooking for the Paleo Diet on facebook.

Pauli’s book is available at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon, and will soon be offered in Costco stores as well. I love her cooking style and the fresh creativity she brings to the table. You can pick up a copy of her book through the below image. It’s a book I will be recommending to my clients, and already have!

Affiliate links are used where appropriate, which allow me to earn a small commission on your sale. This does not affect your price at all and is a cost of doing business for the affiliate companies. The monies earned from those commissions are like a tip at a restaurant and help support the maintenance of the website and free content. Shop on Amazon?  There’s a handy Amazon.com search box over in the right-hand side bar you can click through to shop on Amazon. You’ll get the very same prices, plus a portion of what you spend will support this site. Thank you!

Lydia Joy Shatney is a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association. Additionally, she is the chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation in Delaware County, Pa. (Find the group here on Facebook). Lydia is also a member of the Nourished Living Network. Lydia founded Divine Health From The Inside Out in March of 2010. You can find Lydia on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest. Sign up for the Divine Health From The Inside Out newsletter! Pick up a copy of Lydia’s eBook; ‘Divine Dinners: Gluten-Free, Nourishing, Family-Friendly Meals’.

Lydia offers specialized step by step counseling to transform your health. Personalized consultations to suit your specific needs are offered via phone, Skype or in person. Lydia offers a variety of packages offered to suit your individual needs. Contact Lydia today to get started as well as to learn more about what she has to offer you!

Warm weather is upon us now and I find myself reaching more often for a refreshing drink these days. This is the time of year that I really depend a lot on having a variety of fermented beverages around. What a great way to stay hydrated, get electrolytes as well as a probiotic hit to keep your gut and whole body healthy!
Today, I’m sharing with you a compilation of fermented beverage recipes. My hope is that you may try something new. And, if you haven’t tried any of these yet, perhaps this post will inspire you!

Water Kefir – A Healthy Homemade Soda Alternative

Water kefir is a staple beverage in my home year round. I have two kids in particular that crave their fermented beverage daily, and water kefir is easy to keep on hand at all times. It’s easy to make and flavor various ways. It may take some time to adjust your palate to the taste of water kefir, especially if you are/were a regular soda drinker. You can purchase water kefir grains here, to get started brewing!

Water Kefir Recipe & A Vanilla Water Kefir Recipe

Water Kefir Troubleshooting

Blueberry Lavendar Water Kefir

How To Make Water Kefir

Water Kefir: Primary & Secondary Ferments

Kefired Lemonade

Kombucha

Kombucha might be the most commonly known of all the fermented beverages. Perhaps you’ve tried a purchased version from the store. More and more varities are starting to pop up in health related foods stores as well. Maybe you even heard about Lindsay Lohan’s kombucha controversy. Regardless, this popular ferment stems way back and for good reason. Kombucha is probably the least rich in probiotics of all the fermented beverages, but it packs a powerful B vitamin punch. Read more about Kombucha’s health benefits.  I highly recommend you try your hand at making this at home. It will save you a pretty penny!

Brewing Kombucha- A Beginner’s Guide

How To Second Ferment or Flavor Kombucha

Continuous Brewing System for Kombucha

Strawberry Hibiscus Kombucha

Cherry Vanilla Kombucha

Spicy Pineapple Cranberry Kombucha

Lemonade Kombucha

Lemon Ginger Kombucha

Pumpkin Pie Kombucha

Orange Spice Kombucha

Apricot Star Anise Kombucha

Bottled Roses Kombucha

Kombucha Brewing Supplies

You can get everything you need to brew kombucha through Kombucha Kamp. There you can purchase tea for making kombucha, and a scoby to start the brew with, along with many other supplies, such as heating systems and continuous brew system kits. I recommend you spend some time on Kombucha Kamp if you are a newbie -there is a TON to learn and videos to watch too! If you are not ready to invest in a special vessel – a large glass jar will do – see the one at the bottom of this post. You want something with a WIDE opening and with lots of space. The first phase of the ferment is aerobic in nature so you want plenty of air to get to it. You will need a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) and Kombucha Kamp is a great place to purchase high quality healthy fresh/live scobies.  I purchase my organic cane sugar in 10 pound bags from Costco for about $1 per pound. Get your free Kombucha DIY Guide.

Beet Kvass

Beet Kvass should be categorized as more of a medicinal fermented beverage. It is like nothing most Americans drink. However, it’s strangely refreshing and compelling I find. I recommend beet kvass to many of my clients with gallbladder issues. Beet Kvass is a powerful intestinal mover and a great liver tonic as it helps to build healthy bile. Which means it’s also super supportive to those with what I call ‘cranky’ gallbladders. Drink 2-4 ounces twice per day as a supplement to your health – once you get used to that amount you can drink 4-6 ounces twice per day.

Beet Kvass

Carrot Ginger Kvass

Orange Ginger Beet Kvass

Hard Cider

This is a fun one! Something I usually find myself enticed to enjoy in the fall. Since I can’t drink beer anymore and sometimes want an ‘adult’ beverage -this is my go-to! It’s so delicious and pretty easy to make too!

Spontaneous Hard Apple Cider

Sparkling Cider & Hard Cider with Water Kefir Grains

Other Beverages

There are numerous other types of fermented beverages. I’ve made a Fizzy Ginger Limeade in the summer ( a recipe I currently need to revamp), Sweet Potato Fly, Fermented Lemonade and more! I’ve tried my hand at making my own mead (working on a post about that), wine is fun and my man brews his own beer at home (a much healthier way to drink beer). Here are a couple fermented beverage alternatives you can try out as well.

Ferment the Nettle Harvest

Lemon Mint Cantalope Drink

Fermented Orange Juice

Kraut Juice

Recipes shared from the following blogs; Pickle Me Too, Delicious Obsessions, Loving Our Guts, Cooking Traditional Foods, and Hybrid Rasta Mama.

Recipe Book

If you need a handy guide for both recipes and a brine chart,  check out my friend Lisa Herndon’s  book; ‘Lisa’s Counter Culture: Pickles & Other Well Bred Foods.’ This is a great resource, one I refer to time and time again and every recipe I’ve tried has been excellent. I highly recommend you have a copy of your own! Also, check out Lisa’s site: Lisa’s Counter Culture – it’s all about fermentation and is a fabulous wealth of information.

The majority of the recipes I shared here are from my good friend Melanie over at the blog, Pickle Me Too. And yes, her blog is all about fermented/pickled foods. So, be sure to head over to her site and sign up for her feed to get some great fermentation advice, resources and recipes. Also, you can listen to an interview/talk I did with Melanie about fermented foods. We cover some of the basics of how to get started with fermentation, how to’s, what equipment/vessels you need, should you use whey or a starter and much more! It was a fun and energetic chat, I hope you will take some time to listen. Fermentation Basics with Melanie Hoffman and Lydia Shatney.

Online Fermentation Course

Lastly, if you are wanting even more help with learning how to ferment, you can check out this video based lacto-fermentation course from Cooking Traditional Foods. You’ll learn how to make just about every ferment you can think of in a step by step simple to use format.

Resources for Brewing

Affiliate links are used where appropriate, which allow me to earn a small commission on your sale. This does not affect your price at all and is a cost of doing business for the affiliate companies. The monies earned from those commissions are like a tip at a restaurant and help support the maintenance of the website and free content. Shop on Amazon?  There’s a handy Amazon.com search box over in the right-hand side bar you can click through to shop on Amazon. You’ll get the very same prices, plus a portion of what you spend will support this site. Thank you!

Lydia Joy Shatney is a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association. Additionally, she is the chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation in Delaware County, Pa. (Find the group here on Facebook). Lydia is also a member of the Nourished Living Network. Lydia founded Divine Health From The Inside Out in March of 2010. You can find Lydia on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest. Sign up for the Divine Health From The Inside Out newsletter! Pick up a copy of Lydia’s eBook; ‘Divine Dinners: Gluten-Free, Nourishing, Family-Friendly Meals’.

Lydia offers specialized step by step counseling to transform your health. Personalized consultations to suit your specific needs are offered via phone, Skype or in person. Lydia offers a variety of packages offered to suit your individual needs. Contact Lydia today to get started as well as to learn more about what she has to offer you!

Today, I’m bringing a guest post to you from my good friend Melanie Christner. Melanie and I attended the Nutritional Therapy training program at the same time, and met during our 3 weekend workshops. We hit it off well and continue to keep in touch as well as work together in many ways. I asked Melanie to contribute to my ‘Heal Your Gut’ course material and she obliged. This post is an abbreviated version of a talk she did with me for the course. I hope you enjoy it!

Hello, my name is Melanie Christener and I am a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner as well as a GAPS Practitioner. Before I go into the details of the GAPS concept I first want to say that I became a GAPS Practitioner because of what I saw the protocol do for my own family and what it has done for so many, many others both in the US and around the world. I am passionate about GAPS because of what it has done to restore vibrant healthy childhoods to those who could be described as barely living. Here is a short list of symptoms that the GAPS protocol can address:

Autism, ADD/ADHD, Celiac, Diabetes, Depression, Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Learning Disabilities, Diverticulitis, Cystic Fibrosis, Anxiety, Chronic Diarrhea, Constipation, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Schizophrenia, Eczema, Nightwakings, Asthma, Gas, Bloating, Colic, Feeding Difficulties, Reflux, Food Intolerances, Heartburn, Psoriasis, Dyspraxia, Hyperactivity, Malnutrition, Tummy Pains, OCD, Non-Anaphylactic Allergies, Hormone Imbalances, Migraines, other Autoimmune Conditions not listed, and more…

I think everyone can look back and see pivotal moments that changed their life course. Getting sick after my 4th child and then hearing Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride speak about the Gut and Psychology Syndrome was one of those course corrections for me. I will be forever grateful for her work on gut healing.

I first heard Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride speak about GAPS in 2007, when I was nursing my fourth child. I was hungry for information that could help me clean up the mess in my body caused by conventional food and medicine. I had become interested in the Weston Price Foundation and Nourishing Traditions and heard of one of their regional conferences coming to my state. So I grabbed a fellow health conscious friend and took the weekend to attend, nursing babe in tow. Hearing Dr. Natasha changed how I understood the connection between food and our bodies. And it made sense to me that given the proper tools, the body had an innate ability to heal itself.

Four years later, with home, business, and most possessions sold, our family was traveling the country in an Airstream travel trailer. It was then that we went on what is called the GAPS Introduction Diet and experienced for ourselves the deep-healing-nourishment of food.

There are six in our family so I won’t go too deeply into everyone’s issues, but here is a short list of things that were resolved:

• Headaches (regular, frequent)

• Migraines (I always had migraines, even as a child. My boys also had throwing up migraines)

• Adult acne (Like embarrassed to go out in public acne)

• Painful and irregular menstruation

• Digestive issues (Bloating, gassy, belchy, constipation, etc)

• Very picky eating

• Skinny kids filled out and became stronger/more muscular (Our oldest boy said his younger brother was so much stronger!)

• Sore/sensitive teeth

• Mouth sores (Canker sores, sore gums)

• Anxiety

• Candida symptoms

• Itchy skin/Eczema

• Minor aches and pains, joint discomfort (aches we didn’t know were there until they were gone.

So what is the GAPS concept?

GAPS is an abbreviation for Gut And Psychology Syndrome as well as Gut And Physiology Syndrome. This concept was created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride in 2004. It comes out of her own despair, finding no help from the medical community for her small son who was diagnosed with autism. Through this protocol she was able to heal her son and thousands of others have been helped.

Dr. Natasha is a neurologist who also has a masters in nutrition. She practices in Cambridge, UK.

The GAPS Protocol has three elements:

1. GAPS Diet

2. Supplementation

3. Detoxification

GAPS Syndrome establishes a connection between the state of the gut and the health of the rest of the body. I like to say that your body is connected to the natural world through food. Disease begins with the miscommunication between the body and food. The GAPS protocol is the best I’ve found to heal the lines of communication.

Recent research has established that about 90% of all genetic material and all cells in the human body is our gut flora. So, we are just 10%, a shell providing a habitat for this mass of microbes. A healthy adult carries around 3 – 4 lbs. of bacteria in the gut. These bacteria are highly organized into a micro-world, with certain species predominating and controlling others. Their role in our human physiology is monumental and we ignore them at our peril. We cannot live without these tiny microorganisms, and just like soil, the more diverse the species the more healthy we are. In a healthy person with a healthy gut flora, this mass of microbes is dominated by the beneficial, or “probiotic” species, which are involved in many functions in the body.

If you are someone that struggles with food sensitivities, constant immune issues, seasonal allergies, skin issues and more, doing an elimination diet would be a good idea. I know this is not necessarily an easy or desirable thing to take on, however, it’s really one of the most effective ways to get to the root of your issues. Remember as Hippocrates once said; ‘All disease begins in the gut’. It’s a good first step for anyone to take in trying to further iron out ongoing  health issues.

Basically an elimination diet is a 2 week (minimum) to 3 month diet that removes the most allergenic foods (such as- gluten grains, dairy, soy, corn, peanuts; if you know you are intolerant to gluten you’ll need to include all the gluten cross reactive foods in your elimination plan). The goal is to remove any foods creating an allergic/immune response in the body and heal the gut. When you’ve completed the allotted time you can start to add foods, one by one, back into your diet to see which may provoke symptoms. You might want to keep dairy and eggs out of your diet for up to 3 months,  and gluten containing grains for 6-8 months to get the best results on those particular foods. You’ll need to become a label detective and know all the hidden sources of gluten, dairy and eggs. You can also exclude any foods you may believe to be suspect. Everyone will be different.

There are a few protocols out there that I am familiar with that are excellent – SCD (the Specific Carbohydrate Diet) and GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) are lifestyle protocols to heal and repair the gut but are not short term by any means. Most who go on these are on them for a long time working to heal and repair the villi in the gut. The introduction diet for the GAPS plan is essentially an elimination diet, though it does not exclude dairy. Pick up a copy of the book and follow the instructions on how to do the introduction part of the diet. Keep in mind it may take some time – plan on at least one month or longer. I also like the Whole 30 plan as an elimination diet (stay tuned as I plan to do a challenge this summer – join my Divine Health Monthly Challenges page on facebook). The Paleo Autoimmune protocol is even more in depth, and I would recommend working towards that if you have a known autoimmune condition. Once an autoimmune condition sets in, healing the gut should be the top priority to help stop the attack on the bodies tissues/organs and prevent other autoimmune conditions from setting in.

Elimination Diet Game Plan

• My personal recommendation would be to start out on a Paleo diet for 3 months. I like something like the Whole 30 challenge because this removes most of the gluten cross reactive foods as well. This plan should get you good results.  This removes the big common allergens, like dairy, grains, legumes and even sugars. Or you could do a GAPS approach removing the dairy as well -remember casein is becoming more of a  problem – you do want to rule that out. The GAPS approach allows honey, which might be more doable for some, though make sure you don’t eat more than 2 Tbsp of honey per day. Just because it’s allowed doesn’t mean the sky is the limit.

• After 3 months if you still find you have some symptoms go ahead and remove eggs for 3 months. After another 3 months you may feel great or still have some minor symptoms. If you feel good and have seen your skin issues etc… clear up, you could try to reintroduce some dairy or even try duck eggs. If you still have some symptoms sticking around try removing nuts and any gluten cross reactive foods (see list here), then after that try nightshades. Keep in mind, finding all the problematic foods may take some time. This is not a formula that you can expect exact magical results, this is a game plan to help guide you on a journey of self-exploration as to what your body can and cannot handle at this time. If you don’t want to self explore, you can get blood work (see below) to help you at least have a good starting point.

• If you really want to cut to the chase and know for sure what foods you need to remove – I recommend asking your doctor/health care practitioner to order Cyrex Labs Array #4. If you cannot get your doctor or a practitioner to order this test for you – you can order it yourself through True Health Labs for $269. (click image further down in the post)

• While you are doing an elimination diet it will be critical to work on healing the gut through supplementation and certain healing foods (many of which are included in the GAPS protocol).

• Keeping a food journal during your elimination diet is CRITICAL If you haven’t started one yet, please do. Here is a good template to use.

• Planning will be key. Once you decide to take on an elimination diet, you will need to plan well if you want to succeed. Plan to start during a time where life is not quite as stressful. One thing you can do is start by having one meal per day that fits your new diet plan. Do that for 1-2 weeks, then add another meal for 1-2 weeks, then add another. Then add snacks if needed. Then figure out the foods you can eat outside of the home and get a game plan for how you will handle that. Include in your game plan what portable foods you can take with you when you are out so you don’t find yourself straying from your plan while you are out.

• While you are gearing towards the complete elimination diet plan, try to set some food aside as you can. For example, if you can double a dinner recipe do it – you’ll be so glad you did. Also, have planned leftovers and learn to shop in bulk and keep a stocked pantry. One of the biggest trip ups people run into on an elimination diet is when life gets busy and you haven’t been as prepared as you would like. The more time you take gearing up the better of a success you may have sticking to the plan for a longer duration and really giving your body a chance to heal/recover.  If you decide to jump in all at once to an elimination diet, then realize the first 3-4 days or even week will be the hardest. If you go with something like the Whole 30 Plan -they have resources available to help you get started, such as foods, even meals you can order online and recipe books.

• Keep meals simple. You don’t have to be a rockstar in the kitchen. Meats and veggies make easy meals and very satisfying ones with some fruit for dessert. Vary what you eat to avoid issues developing more sensitivities. Eat regular meals the same time every day – you want to keep your blood sugar stable and your circadian rhythm happy too. Eat lots of varied fresh, in- season, low glycemic veggies.

• Don’t replace sweets with yet more sweets just in the ‘allowed’ form. This is one thing that drives me nuts – when I see people baking gobs of GAPS or Paleo treats, just because they are made with ingredients from the ‘allowed’ foods list. Listen, eating baked goods daily with almond flour still is not a great idea even if nuts are allowed. Use those baked goods as the occasional treat, not a staple of your diet.

If you want to learn more about digestion overall and how to repair & restore your gut health, please click the image below to find out about my next run of my ‘Heal Your Gut‘ online course!

Also, if you are thinking about doing an elimination diet and need some support, I’ll be hosting a challenge starting in June. Come join me on my facebook page: Divine Health Monthly Challenges and stay informed!

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Lydia Joy Shatney is a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association. Additionally, she is the chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation in Delaware County, Pa. (Find the group here on Facebook). Lydia is also a member of the Nourished Living Network. Lydia founded Divine Health From The Inside Out in March of 2010. You can find Lydia on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest. Sign up for the Divine Health From The Inside Out newsletter! Pick up a copy of Lydia’s eBook; ‘Divine Dinners: Gluten-Free, Nourishing, Family-Friendly Meals’.

Lydia offers specialized step by step counseling to transform your health. Personalized consultations to suit your specific needs are offered via phone, Skype or in person. Lydia offers a variety of packages offered to suit your individual needs. Contact Lydia today to get started as well as to learn more about what she has to offer you!