This is definitely one of my favorite books. I read it all in one day... I couldn't put it down! All I did that day was feed my 3 children meals and read. It was so worth it. I have had eczema all my life, as my mother and grandmother had, and my daughter also got about 6 weeks after she was born. I tried a number of natural remedies to help my daughter's eczema (which covered her legs and itched), including a gluten-free diet, oils, creams, and digestive enzymes, but at 18 months her eczema had still not cleared. This book explained why. It's an inability to digest, caused by a lack of good bacteria, which babies are supposed to get from their mothers while going through the birth canal and through breast milk in the first 2 months of life. Though I had given birth vaginally and breastfed, I didn't have enough good bacteria to pass along to her sterile newborn body (since my mother didn't have enough to pass along to me) and so the good bacteria didn't cultivate and left her vulnerable to bad bacteria and yeast, causing her eczema to appear at 6 weeks. Eventually she developed other symptoms like poor sleep and constipation, also signs of an inability to digest and an overload of toxins from the bad bacteria and a plugged-up colon. For quite a while I have been feeding her a similar diet to the one recommended in the book, but when I added the probiotics that Dr. Campbell-Mcbride helped to develop my daughter's constipation disappeared within a few days and her skin cleared up within a week. I'm amazed! Her skin hasn't looked this good since she was a newborn! She is also much happier and sleeping better. She is finally digesting her food! I have also begun taking the probiotics for my similar problems. I can tell I'm finally digesting my food also. What a relief! I am passing the book around to about 10 people that I know it would help. It's not just for parents of autistic children. It's for all the people (which is half of the population) who are constipated and irritable. It's definitely worth the read! I should add that I am not new to nutrition. I have been studying nutrition for 12 years (it was part of my major in college) but until this book I never really understood the digestive system. It is well-explained and thorough, but easy enough for someone who doesn't have much nutritional knowledge to understand.
Another thing that I love about this book is that it gives me hope of eating gluten again. I have been gluten-free for several years because my skin was clearer and I felt better, and I assumed that I would have to be gluten-free for life. However, according to the book, after the diet is maintained for 6 months-2 years (depending on the severity of your condition) the microvilli in the intestine heal and the intestines are able to digest gluten again. That's so exciting!
UPDATE: After writing the above review I put my two sons on the diet also, and my children and I have since completed the GAPS diet. We stayed on it for 8 months. My daughter no longer has eczema and has regular, easy bowel movements (before GAPS she only eliminated about every 4 days, and it was extremely difficult and painful). My oldest son (8) was lactose intollerant before the diet and is now able to digest milk. My middle son wet the bed until he was almost 5. He had no other signs of digestive distress or gut dysbiosis. I figured out the bacterial connection, which Dr. Campbell-Mcbride doesn't specifically address in the book. After putting him on the diet and giving him a probiotic dose of 130 billion/day, he was dry within a month and hasn't wet the bed since (a year later). The behavior of all three children has markedly improved, and they are much happier overall. And why wouldn't they be? I'm cranky myself if I don't feel well! I continue to take probiotics and give them to my children to maintain the gut health we have achieved. I also continue to feed them a healthy diet from scratch, free of as much junk food as possible (although we certainly aren't perfect). Other than that the children have returned to a normal diet. I continue to be careful, as I have been dealing with this a lot longer than they have and adults don't recover as quickly as children do.
If you are hesitating to take the plunge because the diet is completely overwhelming, take heart. Once you get started it isn't so bad. And the benefits FAR outweigh the temporary inconvenience. You can do it!
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
There is a newer edition of this item:
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Top reviews from other countries
Mr. Neil Davis
Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism,ADD/ADHD,Dyslexia,Dyspraxia,Depression,Schizophrenia
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2007
Dr. Bob
a serious contribution to understanding our health
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2010K. Ramnath
The best biomedical book on autism ever
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2008danathediva1
I recommend this book to everyone I meet but is so ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2014
