Re: nuts & coconut on gaps

January 8, 2008

Sue,

Are you using crispy nuts? If so, how long are you soaking them? You are right, sometimes nuts can be hard on the gut, and I will only recommend the GAPS diet to my clients with the understanding that all nuts should be soaked or sprouted and then dried before making flour in the food processor, à la NT, in order to remove the enzyme inhibitors. It might be helpful for our son to sprout the nuts (which happens after prolonged soaking), then dry them and use them for recipes. Coconut, at least coconut oil, has a reputation for being more benign, but each person is so different.

Sometimes people go through something called a “healing crisis.” I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the term, but for those who are not, it means that when we begin the process of natural healing, the potential is there to feel worse before feeling better. (In homeopathy, it’s called an aggravation.) Bruce Fife has written an entire book on the healing crisis, although I have not read it, so I can’t endorse it. I find that broth is incredibly nourishing during a healing crisis.

Likewise, I’ve found that broth can also be filling for hungry bellies! There seems to be a period of adjustment that one goes through when eliminating grains. When we eat grains, we tend to eat larger quantities of food, so when we switch to a diet higher in fat, for example, theoretically we don’t need to consume as much food for the energy and nourishment requirements, yet our stomachs are used to a certain amount of food. That’s where the broth comes in — it’s not only nourishing and healing, but it fills up the stomach in place of the grains.

(We’re actually holding off on starting the diet until we get our pig. We’re going to need large quantities of fat and meat on the diet, so we’ve purchased 1/2 pig from TLC Ranch down in ville, and it is currently at Los Gatos Meats being naturally processed. Even though they do MSG- and nitrate-free, we’re getting mostly plain ground pork so that I can make my own bulk sausage. I’ll let you know how it goes.)

Good luck, and I hope your son is feeling better.

Peace,

On 1/8/08 8:12 AM, " sue vican " <svican@...> wrote:

HI All,

I just started my 18 year old son on the GAPS diet 3 days ago. He has major gut issues as

well as mood issues, and has been nonfunctional (as in sleeping or lying on the couch

watching TV for 1 1/2 years), and has received multiple diagnoses, tried multiple

protocols and medications all to no avail. I am wondering about using so many nuts and

coconut, it seems to me that these aren't that easy to digest, but with no grains or dairy, I

don't know how else I'd keep him filled up. This morning he woke with horrible burning

around his belly button. I'm wondering if this might be from all the nuts/coconut??

Are others finding nuts/coconut problematic, or not?

thanks, sue v.

January 9, 2008

i have been having a problem with nuts as well. i've found that if i eat nuts

that are not

soaked and dried then i get bad gas and bloating. i didn't realize soaking the

nuts was

such a big deal until now. i wonder if you can purchase already soaked nuts? or

better yet

if you can purchase fresh nuts in bulk then do it yourself? we've been getting

nuts from

our local health food store but their $7 a pound and not organic. also my

breastfeeding

son has a problem when i eat nuts that are not soaked, he gets gassy and spits

up i

wonder why that is?

sam

> Sue,

>

> Are you using crispy nuts? If so, how long are you soaking them? You are

> right, sometimes nuts can be hard on the gut, and I will only recommend the

> GAPS diet to my clients with the understanding that all nuts should be

> soaked or sprouted and then dried before making flour in the food processor,

> à la NT, in order to remove the enzyme inhibitors. It might be helpful for

> our son to sprout the nuts (which happens after prolonged soaking), then dry

> them and use them for recipes. Coconut, at least coconut oil, has a

> reputation for being more benign, but each person is so different.

>

> Sometimes people go through something called a ³healing crisis.² I¹m not

> sure if you¹re familiar with the term, but for those who are not, it means

> that when we begin the process of natural healing, the potential is there to

> feel worse before feeling better. (In homeopathy, it¹s called an

> aggravation.) Bruce Fife has written an entire book on the healing crisis,

> although I have not read it, so I can¹t endorse it. I find that broth is

> incredibly nourishing during a healing crisis.

>

> Likewise, I¹ve found that broth can also be filling for hungry bellies!

> There seems to be a period of adjustment that one goes through when

> eliminating grains. When we eat grains, we tend to eat larger quantities of

> food, so when we switch to a diet higher in fat, for example, theoretically

> we don¹t need to consume as much food for the energy and nourishment

> requirements, yet our stomachs are used to a certain amount of food. That¹s

> where the broth comes in ‹ it¹s not only nourishing and healing, but it

> fills up the stomach in place of the grains.

>

> (We¹re actually holding off on starting the diet until we get our pig. We¹re

> going to need large quantities of fat and meat on the diet, so we¹ve

> purchased 1/2 pig from TLC Ranch down in ville, and it is currently at

> Los Gatos Meats being naturally processed. Even though they do MSG- and

> nitrate-free, we¹re getting mostly plain ground pork so that I can make my

> own bulk sausage. I¹ll let you know how it goes.)

>

> Good luck, and I hope your son is feeling better.

>

> Peace,

>

> On 1/8/08 8:12 AM, " sue vican " <svican@...> wrote:

>

> > HI All,

> >

> > I just started my 18 year old son on the GAPS diet 3 days ago. He has major

> > gut issues as

> > well as mood issues, and has been nonfunctional (as in sleeping or lying on

> > the couch

> > watching TV for 1 1/2 years), and has received multiple diagnoses, tried

> > multiple

> > protocols and medications all to no avail. I am wondering about using so

many

> > nuts and

> > coconut, it seems to me that these aren't that easy to digest, but with no

> > grains or dairy, I

> > don't know how else I'd keep him filled up. This morning he woke with

> > horrible burning

> > around his belly button. I'm wondering if this might be from all the

> > nuts/coconut??

> >

> > Are others finding nuts/coconut problematic, or not?

> >

> > thanks, sue v.

> >

>

January 9, 2008

, thanks for the comments about broth for hungry bellies! We've only been on the diet for a week, but my two boys (ages 7 and 4) have been saying "I'm hungry" constantly, despite my best efforts to fill them up. Since we're in our dairy-free phase, we've also lost the butter, which I used to slather on everything, and they're not overly fond of huge amounts of coconut oil. Anyway, reading your post I am going to try even harder on the broth front. Thanks for the tip!

Also, if you come up with some tasty homemade sausage recipes, please pass them on! We tried 's version last weekend, 3 out of 4 of us liked it, but the 4-year-old wouldn't touch it (and ordinarily he LOVES sausage). Sigh.

Re: [ ] nuts & coconut on gaps

Likewise, I’ve found that broth can also be filling for hungry bellies! There seems to be a period of adjustment that one goes through when eliminating grains. When we eat grains, we tend to eat larger quantities of food, so when we switch to a diet higher in fat, for example, theoretically we don’t need to consume as much food for the energy and nourishment requirements, yet our stomachs are used to a certain amount of food. That’s where the broth comes in — it’s not only nourishing and healing, but it fills up the stomach in place of the grains.

..

January 9, 2008

i would love some tips on how to stay full as well. we just started the diet too

and i feel

like i'm starving, i just can't stop eating. even my DH noticed i wonder why

that is. i've

been craving/ eating a lot of nuts, unsoaked as well as soaked and craving fuit

and honey.

does anyone know why or what to do? i've also been having problems with gas and

bloating but i think that's from the nuts.

thanks

> , thanks for the comments about broth for hungry bellies! We've only

been on

the diet for a week, but my two boys (ages 7 and 4) have been saying " I'm

hungry "

constantly, despite my best efforts to fill them up. Since we're in our

dairy-free phase,

we've also lost the butter, which I used to slather on everything, and they're

not overly

fond of huge amounts of coconut oil. Anyway, reading your post I am going to try

even

harder on the broth front. Thanks for the tip!

>

> Also, if you come up with some tasty homemade sausage recipes, please pass

them on!

We tried 's version last weekend, 3 out of 4 of us liked it, but the

4-year-old

wouldn't touch it (and ordinarily he LOVES sausage). Sigh.

>

> Re: [ ] nuts & coconut on gaps

>

> Likewise, I've found that broth can also be filling for hungry bellies! There

seems to be a

period of adjustment that one goes through when eliminating grains. When we eat

grains,

we tend to eat larger quantities of food, so when we switch to a diet higher in

fat, for

example, theoretically we don't need to consume as much food for the energy and

nourishment requirements, yet our stomachs are used to a certain amount of food.

That's

where the broth comes in — it's not only nourishing and healing, but it fills up

the

stomach in place of the grains.

>

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January 9, 2008

,

Why do nuts need to be dehydrated after soaking? I have been having problems

with nuts as

well. I am more constipated then usual and my liver is very swollen. I soak my

nuts overnight

then dehydrate but once I just soaked and put them in the processor while they

were still

moist because I questioned the need for making crispy nuts as the bread is

baked.

Another thing I do not understand is that aren't we killing all of the good

enzymes when we

cook the bread at 300F? I feel like it makes the soaking pointless. Do you know?

Thanks!

Aimee

> Are you using crispy nuts? If so, how long are you soaking them? You are

> right, sometimes nuts can be hard on the gut, and I will only recommend the

> GAPS diet to my clients with the understanding that all nuts should be

> soaked or sprouted and then dried

January 9, 2008

Thanks for all the comments suggestions. And yes, I do soak and dry nuts

for crispy nuts and nut flour, I soak them overnight with sea salt per

NT. I also soak nuts for nut milk but don't dry them before making the

milk.

I'm not saying the nuts are making my son feel worse, he was already in

great pain before starting the diet. I'm trying him on the diet per the

suggestion of one of his doctors, and before we start doing more invasive

testing of many body systems to try and figure out what is wrong.

I hope the diet will help, but actually am not optimistic, he has already

been on a couple other very restrictive diets that didn't help at all,

he's been gluten free for over a year, and I probably don't have more

than 3 - 4 weeks to do the diet before he will go off of it. It would

be much easier if he was younger....

I do make soup with broth every day, but he is a very picky eater, and

only eats one kind of soup so I can't give it to him more than once per

day or he will get sick of it. There is no way he would drink broth. I

have to make muffins, etc. to help fill him up. He will only drink fruit

juice with no veges, while my younger healthy son asks for more of the

fruit/vege juice combo. My sick son doesn't much like veges so he's not

going to fill up on those. That leaves meat and you can only eat so much

plain meat...

, a butter substitute that you might try is the Green Pastures

coconut oil/ghee which has a nice taste and spreading consistency. I

think it would be GAP compatible.

Sue V.

January 9, 2008

Aimee,

Truly, the nuts should be soaked in salt water as traditional cultures have done, then dried in the sun (which is not possible this time of year), in an oven set at 150, or in a dehydrator. (Higher temps will kill the enzymes.) As mentioned, raw nuts contain enzyme inhibitors which make it difficult to properly digest and assimilate the plentiful nutrients in the nuts. There seems to be a synergy between the salt and nuts, because soaking the nuts in water alone does not neutralize the inhibitors unless you soak them until they sprout. A terrific resource here is the Nourishing Traditions cookbook by Sally Fallon. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it is a veritable encyclopedia of information. For nut info, see the section “Snacks and Finger Foods.” She also has a recipe for sprouting almonds (among other nuts and seeds).

While it’s true that the enzymes are killed at 300, what’s more important is that the enzyme inhibitors are neutralized by the soaking in salt water or sprouting (in fresh water). When I make sourdough bread using wheat and rye, for instance, I know that the baking process kills the culture, but the culture has somehow “sacrificed” itself by breaking down much of the gluten in the wheat and rye (making it much more digestible, and allowing for the rising process without yeast).

As far as the digestive system is concerned, the liver is the main processor of toxins for the body. When we begin to release a lot of toxins (perhaps in the case of someone on a GAPS diet, gut pathogens that are dying off), the liver has to work overtime. There are several herbs and supplements that can help the liver with this process, although Dr. C-MB seems to rely solely on the GAPS diet. It will be interesting to see how the GAPS protocol evolves as more practitioners become familiar with her work.

Peace,

On 1/8/08 7:42 PM, " aimee_del " <a.delongchamp@...> wrote:

,

Why do nuts need to be dehydrated after soaking? I have been having problems with nuts as

well. I am more constipated then usual and my liver is very swollen. I soak my nuts overnight

then dehydrate but once I just soaked and put them in the processor while they were still

moist because I questioned the need for making crispy nuts as the bread is baked.

Another thing I do not understand is that aren't we killing all of the good enzymes when we

cook the bread at 300F? I feel like it makes the soaking pointless. Do you know?

Thanks!

Aimee

> Are you using crispy nuts? If so, how long are you soaking them? You are

> right, sometimes nuts can be hard on the gut, and I will only recommend the

> GAPS diet to my clients with the understanding that all nuts should be

> soaked or sprouted and then dried

January 9, 2008

What are his symptoms, Sue?Ann MarieOn Jan 8, 2008 8:29 PM, sue <svican@...> wrote:

I hope the diet will help, but actually am not optimistic, he has alreadybeen on a couple other very restrictive diets that didn't help at all,he's been gluten free for over a year, and I probably don't have more

January 9, 2008

Sue,

I was just thinking about Chinese medicine and wondering if you have

ever thought of taking your son to see a pediatric acupuncturist (they

don't necessarily use needles)? I am going to take my son to a local

ND who is also a acupuncturist, but she uses tuning forks on the

points instead of needles with the little ones, and she also does NAET

testing, which I'm excited to learn more about. Don't know if you're

familiar with Chinese Medicine, but it is a wonderful, ancient healing

system and could help look more deeply into your son's issues. I

would especially look for a Five Element acupuncturist, but they're

harder to find. You can do some research on your own also --

www.acupuncture.com is a great resource I just discovered! So much

can be ascertained from simply looking at your son's face, feeling his

pulse (a LAc is trained in this), looking at his tongue, noting his

habits, emotional state and so on.

For instance, raw foods may not be good for your son, even if juicing

sounds like such a great thing (and it may be for some people). For

people with weak digestive systems, however, eating raw, cold foods

can cause more problems, weaken digestion even more, etc. A good

Chinese medical doctor could determine all of this and make

recommendations and a treatment plan.

I know this has nothing to do with the GAPS diet, but it is something

that came to mind as I read your last post...

M.

>

> Thanks for all the comments suggestions. And yes, I do soak and dry

nuts

> for crispy nuts and nut flour, I soak them overnight with sea salt per

> NT. I also soak nuts for nut milk but don't dry them before making the

> milk.

>

> I'm not saying the nuts are making my son feel worse, he was already in

> great pain before starting the diet. I'm trying him on the diet per the

> suggestion of one of his doctors, and before we start doing more

invasive

> testing of many body systems to try and figure out what is wrong.

>

> I hope the diet will help, but actually am not optimistic, he has

already

> been on a couple other very restrictive diets that didn't help at all,

> he's been gluten free for over a year, and I probably don't have more

> than 3 - 4 weeks to do the diet before he will go off of it. It would

> be much easier if he was younger....

>

> I do make soup with broth every day, but he is a very picky eater, and

> only eats one kind of soup so I can't give it to him more than once per

> day or he will get sick of it. There is no way he would drink broth. I

> have to make muffins, etc. to help fill him up. He will only drink

fruit

> juice with no veges, while my younger healthy son asks for more of the

> fruit/vege juice combo. My sick son doesn't much like veges so he's not

> going to fill up on those. That leaves meat and you can only eat so much

> plain meat...

>

> , a butter substitute that you might try is the Green Pastures

> coconut oil/ghee which has a nice taste and spreading consistency. I

> think it would be GAP compatible.

>

> Sue V.

>

January 9, 2008

Sue,

I am so not looking forward to my children becoming teenagers!

Is Dr. Cowan the one who put him on the diet? He is recommending it a lot these days (what a compliment for Dr. C-MB!). I believe that Cowan would also be a good person to have a man-to-man with your son about the role he will play in his own future, or perhaps a favorite teacher who could offer you both support.

Obviously an 18-yo is different from an 8 yo. It is much more difficult to impose our good wishes on them. It is really up to him to choose to be healthy. He can change his diet and really commit and get over the pain, or he can have issues the rest of his life. (Have him talk to someone who’s had to clean out their intestines before having a colonoscopy.) Unfortunately it puts you, the parent, in a very difficult, vulnerable position. You work so hard already to provide not only nourishing food but a safe, loving home for your family. I know this already from previous conversations that we have had, and you love your sons as much as any mother I know. In fact, you do a lot more for your sons than a lot of mothers I know. It’s very easy for me to tell you to say “tough doo-doo” when he won’t eat the same soup 2 days in a row. I think my reaction would be to let him starve. (I’ll be seeing clients at the FF Clinic on Monday afternoon if you want to bring him by for a little talking to from someone who went through all of those invasive tests in her 20s...) But I digress...

I wonder if any of his food pickiness comes from his gut issues? That was something that Dr. C-MB really stressed at the conference, how much our gut flora affect our cravings and food desires, not to mention our conscious thoughts. She believes that many additions, whether they be to sugar, Mcs, alcohol, or drugs, are a result of pathogenic overgrowth and imbalance in the gut flora. This is particularly magnified in autistic children, who tend to crave the foods that cause them the most “damage” -- i.e., foods like the caseinomorphines — in order to feed the crazy ragamuffins living in their guts.

Ok, I hope I make sense. I just got home from a class meeting and am ready for the rain to stop.

Peace,

On 1/8/08 8:29 PM, " sue " <svican@...> wrote: