Has anyone here had any luck with the GAPS diet?

Most gasteroenterologists say diet has no impact on ulcerative colitis symptoms. Although some here have had luck with diets. Most are modified diets based on his/her own individual trigger foods (determined over time with food diaries) and not universal for everyone. It's not a matter of us being unwilling to adhere to a strict diet, rather it's a matter of actual results and diets don't work for everyone with uc.

Be careful of those glowing Internet testimonials and anything that claims to work for all sorts of diseases. There are lots of snake oil salesman out there.

At the end of the day, I'd say if you're up for trying it and think you can stick to it you have very little to lose from at least trying it. If it doesn't work, you'll know you gave it your best shot and if it does work, well then that's an excellent outcome.

I know you're looking for details of people who it worked for, but I don't think most people who are feeling fully fine are posting on message boards. Many who post here post in part because they've not found a fully effective treatment.

I will say, SCD has helped me. A more strict diet has helped by sister, who has crohns.

Also if you would please cast your vote in the poll that will help me weigh up the amount of people rather than count their posts, I would appreciate it thanks

It most certainly does affect inflammation. People keep saying 'there is no evidence'. Either 1. There is no evidence because the people who discover these diets do not have the financial backing that pharmaceutical companies do. Or 2. There is evidence, but it is either discredited, or hidden away in records that are hard to find because again, they do not have the same backing.

You people need to realise that most doctors work for either state or private pharmaceutical companies and the independent doctors always get discredited. I am shocked that people are fooled by these companies. Despite so many medical advancements there has been no cure for any major disease since Polio. Let's look at all the top epidemics.

1. Cancer

2. HIV/AIDS

3. Autism

(Sorry, while IBD is terrible it just doesn't get the attention or coverage for that list.)

Now, not only are these diseases not being cured, but their rates are increasing.

Cancer: More people will now get cancer than people who don't. Can you believe that? Why are the rates of cancer so low in eastern countries with rural areas? I have family members who failed chemotherapy and was told they didn't have long to live but tried alternative treatment and lived for many more years than expected.

HIV/AIDS: Well seeing as this is pathogenic, the reason for increasing prevalence is self explanatory, however a cure still hasn't been found.

Autism: Probably the most controversial of all diseases, the rates have gone up from 1 in 200 to 1 in 68 in a matter of decades. The vaccine theory has been discredited even though scientists recently found out that autism has a lot to do with the immune system and also having autism makes you more prone to getting infected with other diseases, especially autoimmune ones such as IBD. Suspicious right? Still no progress in a cure, although medication to treat it has been found, and will probably be implemented in the near future.

In other words, if you have a chronic illness that requires medication, expect no cure. Expect better maintenance meds, but even then they make money from the side affects of the meds too as they can make you more ill so maybe not.

I probably shouldn't be one to talk because I have not tried the GAPS diet, and still have doubts because of as you say: no clinical evidence. However, I would prefer this than all the dangerous chemicals and drugs being prescribed.

Right now guys, there is a war going on in your gut. 90% of the immune system is in the gut and 90% of all cells in our body are bacteria that line the gut. There is 'good bacteria' and 'bad bacteria'. Now the good bacteria normally keep the bad bacteria in check and actually make use of them. However when this balance of power is disturbed due to say antibiotics, the good bacteria are killed while the bad bacteria are actually resistant. After a while, the good bacteria are suppressed and the bad bacteria release dangerous toxins through the now damaged gut lining due to toxins, which cause autoimmune disorders. Restoring the balance by introducing various types of good bacteria with probiotics, AND feeding yourself with food beneficial to them restores the balance.

There is a reason for everything. Your t cells don't suddenly decide 'hey let's randomly start attacking the gut', there is a cause for this. Doctors say once you have UC you have it forever. So based on this theory, it is wrong. When in remission, you don't have UC. You just don't. The only time you have it is while flaring. The reason you get a flare up is not because you have UC. It is because your gut is more susceptible, so that curry you ate last night, or that junk food you binged on the other day, is the last straw in your already delicate gut flora. Like a tug of war if you will, it pushes the good bacteria back and gives the bad bacteria the edge. Now you will flare until the good bacteria can fight them off again. And they cycle continues.

Now, in NO way I am a medical professional, nor do I think I am a smartarse, I am going by the detailed explanations of things that I have read about. And I don't just read it about it once and come back and tell you guys. I spend a LOT of time searching many many sources to see if statistics add up, to see what different sources say and how credible they are. This is the one that added up.

We have evolved to co exist with nature. Whether it be God, evolution, mother nature or anything else, we have been naturally provided healthy things to eat to keep our bodies healthy. Pumping yourself with chemicals is not the answer. Drugs are not magic, and if you get to know the process of how they work, you will see what I mean.

I do apologise, this isn't Twitter or Facebook. I was under the impression that this was a respectable forum where people can behave maturely and be decent. If you can't have the decency to read, why are you in my thread? And ok, if you couldn't help but look at my thread, couldn't you have simply skipped my long post and moved on? What has telling me you haven't read it going to achieve? Do you expect me to summarise it for you just because you said that? Not going to happen so I don't get what motivated you to type that.

Guys what I want you to notice is that pharmaceutical companies will never deny a natural cure because they don't want to land themselves in a legal mess. On one site it said 'There is no medical cure for ulcerative colitis'. haha great advice from their lawyers right? Emphasise there is no MEDICAL cure because they don't want to outright discredit natural treatment. And when they do, they simply say 'there is no evidence'.

If you really don't want to take drugs or deal with doctors you could have surgery. I haven't taken a single drug since i had surgery and I don't go to the doctor anymore. I also eat whatever I want. It's a huge contrast to how i lived with UC.

I have thought about that too, the only down side is pooping multiple times a day. Honestly if I ever had surgery i would demand a colectomy but leave my rectum in place. That way I could get proctitis but at least would have less bowel movements in remission. Not to mention removing the colon removes a big part of the immune system and can affect your brain. And the colon is a very personal part of your body. If you had a splenectomy you wouldn't feel a difference but obviously taking a dump is a very personal thing. Me personally whenever I here about someone talking about crap or arses it reminds me that I may end up not being able to poop a normal 'log' stool or I might not even have an anus if j pouch doesn't work. Very depressing.

Jack, I find it bizarre that you are willing to try a diet to cure a disease that currently has no cure that you haven't even been diagnosed with. Most people begin with a diagnosis, which for UC can only be the c scope. Why are you asking advice and not listening to anybody and then insulting everyone to boot?!

RockerGirl thank you for that insightful post

1. This is a new thread. The other thread I made is a different thread, so do not bring things from that discussion here please, that has nothing to do with this.

2. I haven't been diagnosed because even if I wanted to, the colonoscopy is still a while away still, like I said I don't want to talk about any of that in this forum

3. This is what I mean by closed minded. It is bizarre to you because you are used to the stuff given out by mainstream medicine. Apart from pathogenic illness, people have been otherwise healthy and autoimmune and mental disorders were rarer many years ago than they are now. And people used to treat themselves with natural remedies.

4. I have not insulted anybody.